FFA News

By: Audrey Butterbaugh, chapter reporter

Starting in early November of 2020, two Amanda-Clearcreek FFA members began their attempt at success in the Job Interview Career Development Event (CDE) by competing and qualifying for the County, District 7, and State contest. Junior, Sara Sharp, and Senior, Kaylee Sharp, put in endless hours of hard work at this CDE to earn their success for the A-C FFA Chapter.

On November 10th, Sara and Kaylee competed at the Fairfield County contest. Sara placed first in the junior division, while Kaylee placed second in the senior division. To move on to the District 7 contest, each participant had to place either first or second; therefore, both Kaylee and Sara advanced. Two other A-C FFA members, Madelyn Anderson (freshman division) and Karlee Parry (sophomore division) also competed in the county contest but both placed 3rd and could not advance. In FFA competitions, Fairfield County chapters provide stiff competition!… Continue reading

Get rid of those old, unused vehicles, boats, motorcycles, campers, and farm equipment while benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). Through April 1, 2021, the Miami East-MVCTC FFA is ridding communities of unneeded vehicles and farm equipment. At no cost to you, RMHC will pick up the vehicle or equipment donation and tow it to the nearest auction location. All donations must have a certificate of title.

Have the ME FFA chapter code (OH0182) ready when calling 800-332-8201 to schedule a pick up. By participating in this program, your donation will help keep RMHC families with sick children near each other while receiving the care they need. 

Please contact call/text Chloe Gump at 937-541-9670 or the ME FFA Chapter for more info or help with the process at 937-335-7070 x3212. Let us know if you have something to donate! Just takes a phone call and they do the rest! Free removal and you get a tax credit!… Continue reading

By Meredith Oglesby, OCJ FFA reporter

From the skills learned to the support he gained along the way, one alumni member from the Liberty Center FFA chapter has put, “learning to do, doing to learn,” into action.

As an FFA member, Zac Graber, a 2015 Liberty Center High School graduate, participated in public speaking, served as the Liberty Center FFA President and received his State FFA Degree. These experiences allowed Graber to grow, learn and question the impact he can make in his community and world.

            Graber, who graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in marketing and agribusiness and applied economics, was recognized in 2019 as a President’s Prize recipient, an opportunity former President Michael V. Drake developed to recognize graduating seniors who are committed to social change and their capacity to create bold ideas and make an impact on their global community.

            Graber conducted undergraduate research, which gave him a basis to apply for the President’s Prize where he developed the project rECOvery Organics.… Continue reading

Recently, the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter conducted their annual Fruit Sales Fundraiser. Overall, the chapter had a successful fundraiser and will use the profits to offer leadership and competition activities to its 86 FFA members and provide service opportunities to the Miami East community and the agriculture industry.

The highest selling individual was Keira Kirby. The second highest salesperson was Madison Maxson, third was Emma Sutherly, fourth was Morgan Nosker, and fifth was Dustin Winner. Individual members that sold over $1,000 were Keira Kirby, Madison Maxson, Emma Sutherly, Morgan Nosker, Dustin Winner, Jadyn Bair, Dottie Everett, Isaac Beal, Paige Pence, Landin Putnam, Logan Phillips, Katelynn Dill, Gretchen Stevens, and Adam Bensman.

The family/household with the highest average was Emma and Samuel Sutherly. Second in the family competition was Landin and Anthony Putnam, third was Wil and Rylee Puthoff, fourth was Makayla and Sydney Brittain, and fifth was Carter and Ayla Gilbert. … Continue reading

By: Jadeyn Berry, Chapter Reporter

The Food Science CDE contest was held virtually, like many of our other contests this year. Instead of an in-person contest, participants completed the contest through an online test. Participants were asked general knowledge questions about food science. They were also asked to identify food science equipment, identify safety and quality issues of foods, and complete a math practicum. This year Desiree Smith, Val Imhoff, Jadeyn Berry, Ava Stoller, Melanie Imhoff, and Hanna Wilson competed in the Food Science CDE contest. At the district contest, the top 4 from the team were Val Imhoff, Desiree Smith, Ava Stoller, and Melanie Imhoff. Val Imhoff earned 4th place, Desiree Smith earned 7th place, Ava Stoller earned 11th place, and Melanie Imhoff earned 17th place. The team went on to compete at the state contest on December 8th where they placed 29th out of 61 teams. Great job everyone!… Continue reading

The Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) FFA Chapter has a primary goal to follow the National FFA Mission. FFA makes a positive difference in students’ lives with the potential for career success through agricultural education and Career Development Events (CDE). MVCTC is one of the larger Agriculture Education providers in Ohio, offering six on-campus Agriculture programs to Juniors and Seniors.  

The MVCTC FFA Chapter recently held their Annual Premium Fruit, Cheese, and Sausage Sale through Blue Freedom Farm Markets. This is the Chapter’s only fundraiser. The funds raised help to provide financial support for FFA activities, including Career Development Events, conventions, and conferences. The Chapter’s profit was over $6,000.00, which is an accomplishment as the Fruit Sale was different this year due to the hybrid school schedule. The top three Fruit Salesman included Madelyn Elling from Retail Agriculture Services (Brookville), Cheyeanne Epperson from Diesel Power Technologies (Preble-Shawnee), and Seth Harlow, also from Diesel Power Technologies(Miami East).… Continue reading

The January 2021 Miami East-MVCTC FFA Member of the Month is Madison Maxson. She is a freshman and first year member of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter. Her parents are Tom and Lisa Maxson of Casstown.

Madison was recently named the second top fruit salesperson in the chapter’s annual fundraiser. She sold almost $4,000 in fruit and related items. She also participated in the 2020 Virtual National FFA Convention, County Greenhand Parliamentary Procedures Career Development Event, and State Soils Career Development Event. Her Supervised Agricultural Experiences consists of breeding and market hogs.

Every month of the school year the Miami East-MVCTC FFA will select a student to be the FFA Member of the Month.  The officer team will nominate one member that has been actively involved in the FFA chapter, school and community activities.  If selected, the member will be recognized at the monthly FFA meeting, have their picture displayed in the Miami East Ag Room, and will receive a special accolade in celebration of their accomplishment.… Continue reading

By: Kyla Stockdale, Co-Chapter Reporter

After not being able to do the things that we love everyday due to COVID-19, we as a chapter are so excited to be back in the classroom again. Since we started back in school we have had lots of success in doing what we love as a whole, and helping the other members in our chapter do what they love. Quite a few weeks ago we had some amazing and outstanding members start some shop projects that have been really neat to see come to life. One of the first projects that was started was by a sophomore named Dylan Barr. His great grandfather had an old tractor that was run down so he decided to restore it to it’s natural beauty. Not only did he bring it into the shop and do all the work on it, but he was very much so dedicated to finishing this project.… Continue reading

By: Kayleigh Aiken, Co-Chapter Reporter

As we all know 2020 hasn’t gone how anyone wanted it to go especially for those still in high school. At River Valley High School we have gone through so much so far since the school year started with changing our schooling system multiple times. When this all hit about March of 2020, our school went completely virtual which was very difficult for most and especially for all of the FFA members. When we all started the school year this fall, it wasn’t what we wanted by going on a hybrid school system which made it very difficult for the chapter to hold activities, community service opportunities, and most importantly since ag is a very hands on class it has been hard to teach/learn with only half the students in class because then the other half are missing out. Once we got closer to the middle of our first semester our administration decided to allow us to go Monday through Thursday with going online on Friday.… Continue reading

By: Kayleigh Aiken, Co-Chapter Reporter

Adapting to the virtual life isn’t as easy as it may sound. Some may think that doing work online is easy and less work. That may be for some, but for others it can be challenging and takes more work than being in person. At River Valley all the teachers do things differently in the way they teach. Some teachers may have students do their work at their own pace at home, whereas others may have students work with the class. Through FFA it is especially challenging, we do many class demonstrations, this includes our cow stomach deconstruction, digestion lab, and dissecting DNA. Those who are not in class and are virtual have to find a way to learn it differently with the help of their teacher. Hopefully soon we will be able to go back to normal, with the help of everyone being safe.

Once again I would love it you could consider publishing this because it greatly helps the reporter with our scrapbook and it’s also a way for us to show off how well the students at school are handling these difficult times.… Continue reading

By Emma Hartline, Waterford FFA Reporter

The Waterford FFA and the Greenhouse classes of the Waterford Agricultural Education program have been busy growing and harvesting lettuce in their Greenhouse. The lettuce is grown with the use of Aquaponics which is defined as a system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water. The Greenhouse class currently raises a hybrid bluegill and green and red leaf lettuce, spinach, mustards, kale and bok choy and cherry and grape tomatoes. About once a month the class harvests the lettuce grown and donates it to the school cafeteria for the student body’s lunch.… Continue reading

Four $1,000 grants have been awarded to Miami East-MVCTC FFA members Isaac Beal, Annabelle Penny, Emma Sutherly, and Braden Zekas by the National FFA Organization. The SAE Grant is designed to help FFA members create and enhance their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), a requirement that all FFA members must complete. 

All four are members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter and were selected as recipients of only 289 grants out of over 5,958 applicants nationwide. 

An SAE requires FFA members to create and operate an agriculture-related business, work at an agriculture-related business or conduct an agricultural research experience. Upon completion of the grant fiscal year, grant recipients must submit a comprehensive report regarding their career development experience.

Isaac Beal is the son of John and Melissa Beal. He received a $1,000 grant from General Mills. Beal will use the grant funds to purchase goat kidding pens to be used in his operation.… Continue reading

By: Chloe Shumaker, chapter reporter

On December 5th, West Holmes FFA member Ashley Tate participated in the state job interview contest. She went through an interview process and had to do a cover letter, application, and follow up letter. Ashley placed 2nd in the novice category. Congratulations Ashley!… Continue reading

The Clear Fork FFA had two teams compete in the Parliamentary Procedure CDE (Career Development Event). They had both a novice and Senior team compete. Parliamentary procedure is the body of ethics, rules, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies and other deliberative assemblies. Teams from ffa chapters from across the U.S. practice carrying out Parliamentary procedures for this contest. Clear Forks Senior team placed 1st at the county contest which was in person. They then went onto the District 7 contest for the state of Ohio and placed 3rd, this contest was conducted virtually on zoom. Sadly this was the end on the senior teams journey for the year. As for the novice team, they placed 2nd at county, 1st at the district 7 contest, and continued onto the state contest which was also held via zoom and placed 8th in the state of Ohio.… Continue reading

The West Liberty-Salem FFA donated 8 bushels of Florida navel oranges to the Food Service Department this week.  Several of the Food Service workers alongside the Transportation crew were busy all morning on Friday, December 18th bagging up over 2100 breakfasts/lunches to be delivered to our students’ homes. The WL-S FFA wants to give them a huge shout out for all of their efforts to continue feeding our students during Hybrid Learning time!  It takes a special crew to have such drive and initiative… Continue reading

Filling Christmas Care Boxes with FFA Produce
When our FFA Chapter learned that help was needed to fill 50 care boxes with food items for needy ZT families they stepped in to lend a hand. 35 members worked throughout the day on December 14th and 15th to bake cupcakes, brownies, cookies and pies to include in the boxes. Members also divided up 7 bushels of citrus fruit and donated 70 quarts of grape juice that they processed earlier in the fall to the care boxes project. Our chapter is happy to help serve the ZT community and we had a lot of fun making all of the desserts in the food science lab!

Members Host Dog Adoption Day with Ross Co Humane Society
When members of our chapter learned that animal shelters around the US had experienced an increase in the number of dogs being released by their owners, they felt the need to do something about it.… Continue reading

By: Emma Hartline, chapter reporter

The Waterford FFA Chapters Parliamentary Procedure Team recently competed in two different contests that lead them to becoming one the best parliamentary procedure teams in the state of Ohio.  Parliamentary Procedure teaches students how to run an organized meeting using “Robert’s Rule’s of Order”.  

The sub-district invitational contest was held virtually through Google Meet, where the team placed second, received a “Gold Rating” and advanced to the District Parli Pro Contest, which again was held virtually.  Here the team went on to place second. Unfortunately the State FFA Association made the decision to only allow the top teams to advance to state due to Covid-19. This ranks the team in the top 20 teams in the state of Ohio. Typically each year approximately 200 teams from around Ohio compete in the Advance Parliamentary Procedure contest.     

The Waterford Parli Pro Team consisted of Mackenzie Suprano, Grace Huck, Mackenzie Cary, Ashlee Wagner, Emma Hartline, Josie Burke and Jacob Huffman.… Continue reading

By: Emma Hartline, Waterford FFA Reporter

The Waterford FFA Chapter concluded its Citrus Sale for the year. The chapter has approximately 35 members and sold around $20,000 in gross sales, equally around $571 gross, per member sold. 

Jud Cooper-4th place and top first year member (FFA Jacket Winner), Madi Hiener-3rd place, Ashlee Wagner-2nd place and Emily Hoffman-1st place. 

Great job to all our members and families for selling and delivering the fruit! Also thank you to our community for always supporting our program!… Continue reading

By: Libby Carpenter, Chapter Reporter

Recently the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Food Science and Technology Team competed in the Ohio FFA State Career Development Event held virtually.

Food Science and Technology contestants included Erin Baker, Adam Bensman, Erin Blocher, Makayla Brittain, Anna Broerman, Libby Carpenter, Carter Gilbert, Chloe Gump, Brayden Ingle, Katie Larson, Evan Massie, Morgan Nosker, Kaitlyn Roop, Paige Pence, Meadow Powers, Rylee Puthoff, Gretchen Stevens, Emma Sutherly, Jimmy Sutherly, Samuel Sutherly, Isabelle Waite, Seth Wells, and Lauren Wright.

Miami East students placed 5th out of 61 teams. The highest placing individuals that comprised the team were Lauren Wright, Rylee Puthoff, Carter Gilbert, and Emma Sutherly. Lauren Wright was the highest placing individual from Miami East placing 9 out of 412 individuals. The team earned a banner for the agriculture classroom.

During the contest the team members were asked to take a written test, responded to customer inquiry scenarios, identified sanitation errors in the food industry, complete math questions related to the food science scenarios, and recognize common equipment used in a food production facility.… Continue reading

Jake Zajkowski, Anthony Wayne High School senior, competed in the Ohio FFA Job Interview Career Development Event on Saturday, December 5, 2020. Jake qualified for the contest by winning both the sub-district and district level contests. He then submitted a cover letter and resume, virtually interviewed for a hypothetical job, and wrote a follow-up letter during the state contest. Jake earned 3rd place in division 4, which included 12th grade FFA members from across Ohio. Jake said, “I had a great time competing at the state job interview CDE for the first time. I am very grateful for the opportunity to improve my communication and employment skills.” Anthony Wayne FFA is a satellite of Penta Career Center.… Continue reading