FFA News

By Utica FFA Reporter Brianne Priest

On March 10 the Utica FFA officers for this up coming year met with several district 7 schools virtually for officer training. These officers will be officially installed at the banquet on Thursday April 1. We discussed lots of new ideas for this up coming year. Our goal is to gain more participation in FFA activities by educating and promoting all of the fun things we do. We ended our meeting with pizza and laughter.

The 2021-2022 Utica FFA Officer Team:

President: Kenneth Davenport 

Vice President: Abby Paxton 

Treasurer: Todd Orr

Reporter: Brianne Priest

Secretary: Georgia Gamble… Continue reading

On February 17th, 2021, the Northwestern FFA Chapter held their annual Greenhand/Chapter Ceremony. The purpose of this ceremony is to award 1st and 2nd year members for all their hard work in the program. There were many members of our chapter that received their Greenhand Degree. This is a degree given to first-year students who have demonstrated that they have a thorough understanding of the history and purpose of FFA and they have an SAE plan. Members also are required to recite the FFA creed. The members who received this degree were, Darren Basista, Issac Beun, Jozielynn Brenner, Brooklyn Brinker, Jonathan Burgess, Owen Cassidy, Kayla Cutter, Mateo Dague, Morgan Ervin, Owen Ferriman, Bladen Friend, Nathaniel Fulton, Logan Garman, Jamison Gilbert, Mallory Gilbert, Caeden Graham, Aaron Hales, Will Hamey, Elle Hanshaw, Kelly Harper, Keegan Johns, Brianna Lance, Anthony Linscott, Austin Mooney, Avery Mullet, Mason Myers, Joshua Pinkley, Carson Polak, Denny Ray, Alexa Riffel, Ella Saal, Caydence Scale, Ethan Schwartz, Andrew Sims, Miranda Smith, Chloe Starcher, Thomas Stawicki, Brook Stinemetz, Easton Thomas, Emily Thompson, Mariah Thompson, Alysa Troyan, Anthony Welch, Mary Wellert, Gavin Witucki, Taylor Wurst, and Madalyn Yasch.… Continue reading

By Meredith Oglesby, OCJ FFA reporter 

Ohio FFA members are feeling motivated to make a difference in their local communities and chapters since attending the first Energize Ohio FFA Conference. The virtual conference, offered on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, allowed FFA members from across the state to connect and learn about motivation. 

“Energize Ohio FFA offered [a chance for] students to gain powerful insight and key takeaways to improve their chapters at home through the power of motivation,” said Kyra Davidson, Ohio FFA State Vice President at Large. 

During the opening session, Mallory Caudill, former Ohio FFA State Sentinel and current Ohio Corn and Wheat Intern, spoke to students on behalf of Ohio Corn and Wheat, the conference sponsor. The Ohio FFA state officer team hosted the remaining four sessions. 

“This was not a typical event, and it was not a typical presentation either,” Davidson said. “The Ohio FFA state officers do not normally facilitate all-day conferences such as Energize Ohio FFA, much less virtually!” … Continue reading

By Jadeyn Berry, chapter reporter

This year, the Northwestern FFA Public Speaking team competed virtually through zoom. There were two members who competed in the contest under two different categories. Kirsten Boreman competed in the Beginning Prepared Speaking and Kade Tegtmeier in the Extemporaneous Speaking contests. In the Beginning Prepared speaking contest, contestants must write and deliver a six to eight minute speech about a topic in agriculture and present it in front of a board of judges where they are judged on their presentation skills. In the Extemporaneous Speaking contest, contestants must  showcase their agricultural knowledge and ability to think on their feet by giving a speech and answering questions with limited prep time. The two students placed first in the district contest on February 10th, and qualified to represent Northwestern FFA at the state level on March 6th. 

On March 6th, Kirsten and Kade competed in the state competition.… Continue reading

The Virtual State FFA Evaluations were recently held with several members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter competing in various competitions. Members became eligible for State Evaluations by placing at Regional Evaluations in February.

State FFA Degrees – Seniors Erin Baker, Sarah Blocher, Carter Gilbert, Jimmy Sutherly, Seth Wells submitted applications to receive the State FFA Degree.  Their applications were approved, and they will receive their Degrees in April at the Virtual State FFA Convention.

American FFA Degrees – Graduates Elizabeth Bair, Michael Bair, Ethin Bendickson, Luke Gilliland, Savannah Holzen, and Kearsten Kirby applied to receive the American FFA Degree. Their applications were reviewed and will now be submitted to the National FFA Organization. If approved by the National FFA they will receive their degree at the National FFA Convention in October.

Proficiency Awards – Members applied for a district and state proficiency award. They were recognized for having an outstanding Supervised Agricultural Experience program in one of 47 areas.… Continue reading

By Brianne Priest, 2021-2022 Utica FFA Reporter

On February 17^th, 2021, 5 members of the Utica FFA chapter participated in the District Ag Sales and Public Speaking Contests.  The Ag sales team consisted of Kenneth Davenport, Jordan Heald, Emily Hill and Abby Paxton.  The team completed a pre sale call plan together via zoom and then each individually sold gates and accessories in an individual sales presentation.  They placed 7^th in the contest. 

Olivia Dickson recited the FFA creed and answered questions about it. She placed 7^th overall with a bronze rating. Abby Paxton also participated, but in the Beginning Prepared Public speaking contest. She wrote her own speech about Implications of the disease Tibial Hemimelia in cattle. She placed 3^rd overall with a silver rating. 

Congratulations to all of our competitors!… Continue reading

By Brianne Priest,2021-2022 Utica FFA Reporter

Utica FFA members can apply for various FFA awards based on their time and involvement in FFA as well as their SAE or Supervised Agricultural Experiences. The award season starts in the fall when students start completing their applications, followed by two rounds of subdistrict evaluations in January and then regional evaluations in February. We had the following students who went above and beyond to apply for several awards and degrees. 

Abby Kellett will be receiving her State FFA Degree at the Virtual State FFA at the end of April.  For a student to apply for a State FFA Degree, they must have invested at least $2000 and earned $2,500 or have a combination of money earned/unpaid hours worked to reach an equivalent.  They must have been an active FFA member, given a 6-minute speech, demonstrated 10 abilities of parliamentary procedures, been involved as an Officer or committee member/chair, participated in 1 other school or other professional organization, participated in 25 hours of community service for 2 different activities, and have at least a 2.0 GPA. … Continue reading

By Brianne Priest, 2021-2022 Utica FFA Reporter

National FFA Week was held February 22^nd-the 27^th and during that time, the Utica FFA Chapter held several activities to celebrate.  All teachers in the high school and middle school were given a small treat to thank them for their support of the FFA chapter.  FFA members had the opportunity to participate in Minute to Win It games during lunch. The high school and middle school were invited to participate in our dress up spirt week days, which included Merica’ Monday, Utica Spirit Wear, Hat Day for $1.00, Blue & Gold Day, and Flannel Friday.  All hat day money was donated to the Walking Wild Rescue. All high school and middle schools were invited to participate in the FFA emblem scavenger hunt, where students looked for an FFA emblem that was hidden in different parts of the schools. Students were given a prize when they found the FFA emblem. … Continue reading

By Jadeyn Berry, chapter reporter

The Northwestern FFA Chapter just finished up their annual strawberry sale fundraiser. The delicious flavorful Florida fresh strawberries were delivered March 3rd and dispersed by the members. Members sold a grand total of 555 flats of strawberries this year. We are very thankful for our supporters of the chapter who bought strawberries this year. Be sure to check with a local Northwestern FFA members this time next year to purchase.

Don’t forget to keep eye out for our upcoming annual greenhouse flower fundraiser this May! We will be posting updates on our social media as well as our website!Facebook: Northwestern-Wayne FFA Chapter Instagram: northwestern_ffa_1951… Continue reading

By Jadeyn Berry, chapter reporter

National FFA week is busy for every FFA chapter around the country. It is meant to be a week of celebrating the great and national organization that is the FFA. Northwestern FFA took time to celebrate the hard working members in several ways. To kick off the week, the school had spirit days, Tuesday Camo day, Thursday Pajama day, and Friday Blue and Gold or Farmer day. Each day has a different meaning that relates to our chapter. Tuesday’s camo day related to the community service project Camo, the Camo organization reached out to Northwestern FFA looking for help with their recent project that is meant to help the people in need from Honduras. Camo’s goal is to send ‘Buckets of Care’ with towels, reusable dishware, frying pans, metal spatulas, sheets, and combs. All items could be gently used but the combs were brand new. The FFA also hosted a coloring contest in order to involve the elementary school in the FFA Week celebrations.… Continue reading

By Libby Carpenter, Chapter Reporter

Recently, five members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter competed in the State FFA Agricultural Power Diagnostics (formerly known as Tractor Trouble Shooting) Career Development Event. Those members competing were Luke Brunke, Ethan Fine, Matthew Osting, Dustin Winner, and Braden Zekas.

The 2021 State Competition was held virtually. During the competition the team took an online test over tractor maintenance and repair consisting of knowledge on tractors through multiple choice scenarios.

The team placed 64th in the state. The highest placing individual from Miami East was Matthew Osting. 

… Continue reading

The Northwestern FFA Agriculture Sales team competed in the district competition on February, 23 2021. The career development event was held virtually this year through zoom. The members that competed were Ava Stoller, Desi Smith, Jadeyn Berry, and Dugan Mclaughlin. The members had to conduct a formal sales call selling this year’s product of livestock gates used in cattle production. Members also compete in a team activity where they work together to develop the pre-call plan where they identify potential questions the customer may have. The team placed 1st in the district and will move on to state that will be held virtually on March 13th. Congratulations to the team and to the best of luck at the state competition.… Continue reading

With over 150 members in the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter, seven are elected each year to represent the chapter as officers. This year 30 members were eligible to run for office, and 11 members completed the application process, which included a virtual interview by the nominating committee. To become an officer of the A-C FFA chapter, you must have earned the Chapter FFA Degree and you must also plan on enrolling in an agriculture education course at A-C next year.  The election took place February 22, 2021 in the High School Cafetorium.

This year, two juniors and five sophomores were elected to serve. The 2021-2022 officer team as elected are: Sara Sharp (junior) as President, Hannah Saum (sophomore) as Vice President, Karlee Parry (sophomore) as Secretary, Emily Buckly (sophomore) as Treasurer, A.J. Dossman (junior) as Reporter, Alex Williams (sophomore) as Sentinel, and Josie Speakman (sophomore) as Student Advisor.

As President, Sharp runs each monthly meeting, and represents the chapter in a number of functions, including school board meetings.… Continue reading

By Kyla Stockdale, chapter co-reporter

Over this past week the River Valley FFA Chapter had lots of fun celebrating National FFA Week. For our celebrations we had many different games and trivia questions planned. Our chapter members can earn points throughout the week which can give them the chance to win some super cool FFA gear like sweatshirts, water bottles, and shirts. Some of the games we played included minute to win it balloon games, turkey bowling, butter carving, and gaga ball. Our chapter members had a blast this week and we couldn’t have asked for a better FFA week. We are already looking forward to next year because we know it’ll be even more exciting than this year.

By Kyla Stockdale, chapter co-reporter

Last week we had the 8th graders at River Valley Middle School come over to the high school so that they could get a taste of what all we do in the ag department. When they came over, it was during FFA week so they actually got to participate in turkey bowling as well. While visiting our advisor went through everything our classes do and even showed them some things that we’ve been working on. The 8th graders right now have been doing some pretty cool things in the middle school this year, including incubating and hatching their own chicks. We are so excited to hopefully be seeing them this upcoming school year because we know they will make some great addition to our chapter. … Continue reading

The Norwayne FFA celebrated National FFA Week February 22-26 this year with lots of fun events. Monday the chapter started building food pantry boxes (a project sponsored by the Romich Foundation) that will be placed around the Creston community. Throughout the week, members painted and assembled the boxes. On Wednesday, the chapter held its annual Degree Ceremonies during the school day. This year, 29 members received their Discovery Degree, 17 members received their Greenhand Degrees, and 10 members received their Chapter Degrees. Following the ceremonies, members celebrated with pizza and ice cream in the ag room. FFA members also celebrated their advisor, Ms. VanTyne, who was announced as a top 10 finalist for the Golden Owl Award. Thursday, the chapter hosted its annual luncheon for Norwayne staff. This year’s Tractor Day will be held Friday, March 5.

Norwayne FFA held its annual Feed-a-Farmer lunch on Monday, February 15. The lunch was held at the former Creston Middle School, now known as the Creston Community Building. Many of the people invited to participate in the lunch were farmers and their families local to the community and Norwayne school district. Norwayne FFA members assembled take-out meals consisting of burgers, hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, and desserts before the event and handed them out to farmers from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. that day. Norwayne kindergarteners also created “thank you” pictures to pass out to the farmers with their meals. This is a well-known event to the farmers of the community, and the FFA chapter loves supporting them and giving thanks for their hard work. … Continue reading

On Tuesday, February 23rd, 5 West Holmes FFA members participated in the District Ag Sales contest. The contest consists of a team activity and an individual sale. Members of the team gather before the individual sale to formulate a plan to sell the product and discuss connections they could make with the customer. The team was charged with selling metal livestock gates this year.  The team placed 2nd in the district, individually Ashley Tate was 2nd in the district with a score of 164. Cora Crilow was 5th in the district with a score of 153. Jayme Pennell was 7th in the district with a score of 147.5. Alysa Pringle scored a 126 and Garrett Houin scored an 89. In a normal year the team would have qualified to compete in the state competition, but due to COVID restrictions only the first place teams in each district advanced to state. … Continue reading

 In recent weeks, the Milton-Union MVCTC FFA chapter officers have been working hard to submit their officer books. Each officer book takes lots of time and dedication to achieve the high standings and ratings our officers received this year. The Treasurer, Tyler Kress, must receive, record and deposit FFA funds and issue receipts as well as maintain neat and accurate treasurer records. The Reporter, Kelsie Tomlinson, must plan public information programs with newspapers and other service clubs to help tell the story of FFA. She also serves as the chapter photographer to help maintain a chapter scrapbook. The Secretary, Taylor Falb, must prepare and post the agenda for each meeting, be responsible for chapter correspondence, and maintain member attendance. Congratulations to all three officers for all receiving gold ratings on their officer books. These three worked incredibly hard to keep records and submit record books for the Treasurer’s, Reporter’s, and Secretary’s books this year!… Continue reading

The Mach 2021 Miami East-MVCTC FFA Member of the Month is Fletcher Harris. He is the son of Jeffrey and Susie Harris. He is a freshman and first year member of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter.

Fletcher recently participated in the County and District FFA Creed Speaking Career Development Events. He placed second in the county event and fifth overall in the district. Fletcher is the co-chair and an active member of the Agricultural Advocacy Program of Activities Committee. Fletcher’s Supervised Agricultural Experience consists of a raising and showing market hogs at the county fair.

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