FFA News

The Preble Shawnee FFA Chapter recently held a chapter job interview contest.

Rod Shockey, Charlie Biggs and Tom McQuiston served as the judges for the event. Top students from the chapter contest competed in the district job interview contest.

Our Division I candidate was Savannah Lynch, Division II was Kaitlyn McGarvey, Division III was Abbey Hill, Division IV Tyler Roell, and Division V Brian Ketring.

At the contest, students had to prepare a cover letter and resume, complete an application, go through an interview and write a follow-up letter.

Ketring advanced to the state contest where he placed eighth in the Division V state contest.… Continue reading

Tractor Supply Company and the National FFA Foundation recently announced the results of their second annual Growing Scholars program. From February 14-23, Tractor Supply customers across the country donated $447,671, an increase of more than 20 percent from 2013 donations. This year’s donations will result in 334 scholarships awarded to FFA members in their pursuit of a college degree.

The Growing Scholars program was supported nationally by each of the more than 1,245 Tractor Supply stores as part of National FFA Week. Tractor Supply customers supported local FFA chapters and their members by purchasing an FFA emblem for $1 at store registers during the checkout process. Ninety percent of funds raised are being utilized to fund scholarships for FFA members, with the remaining 10 percent benefitting state FFA organizations.

“We have very loyal and giving customers, and to see an increase in support for our Growing Scholars program is a tribute to the kind of customers that shop at our stores,” Tractor Supply President and CEO Greg Sandfort.… Continue reading

Recently several members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter competed in the District 5 FFA Job Interview and Ag Sales Contests held at Saint Henry High School.

The Job Interview Contest consists of designing a resume and cover letter, completing a job application, performing an interview, and composing a typed follow-up thank you note.

Lindsey Roeth competed in the Division 4 (senior year) interview competition. She placed 4th in the district out of 13 contestants.

Haley Etherington competed in the Division 3 (junior year) interview competition. She placed 2nd out of 12 contestants in the district. She earned a plaque donated by the District 5 FFA Chapters.

Emily Beal competed in the Division 2 (sophomore year) contest, placed 3rd in the district out of 13 contestants. She earned a plaque donated by the District 5 FFA Chapters.

Kyle Webb competed in the Division 1 (freshman year) contest and placed 11th out of 14 contestants.… Continue reading

Mr. Jeff Knoop of Fletcher, Ohio presented $2,500 to the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter through the Monsanto America’s Farmers Grow America program through the Monsanto Fund. Mr. Bill Bower, representing Monsanto, presented the funds at an all-school assembly at Miami East High School.

Monsanto America’s Farmers Grow America program allowed farmers in 1300 counties in 39 states to nominate a non-profit organization in their community. Mr. Bower stated that, “Monsanto is able to support agriculture and youth through programs like America’s Farmers Grow America and the Monsanto Fund.”

Mr. Jeff Knoop selected the Miami East FFA Chapter because he was a former student of the Agricultural Education program and hopes the funds will encourage youth to become active in production agriculture. Mr. Jeff Knoop and his family are dairy and grain farmers.

The Miami East FFA Chapter plans to use the funds to support an education trip to Fair Oaks Dairy and Swine Farm in Fair Oaks, Indiana.… Continue reading

Jessica Schoultheis was the winner for the Monsanto American Farmers Grow Rural Communities Fund. The donation is for community growth and recognizes and celebrates the important contributions farmers make to rural America. It is also to help expand their communities by supporting local organizations that are important to them.

The Monsanto Fund is eligible to farmers in 1,289 counties across 39 states. There were more than 82,000 farmers across the country that participated in the program this year and Jessica Schoultheis was the winner of the $2,500 donation. Mrs. Schoultheis selected the Mowrystown FFA as the organization to donate the $2,500 to. The Chapter is very excited about the donation and has big plans to use the donation in ways that benefit the members!

The Mowrystown FFA Chapter would like to say a big thank you to the Monsanto Corporation and Jessica Schoultheis!… Continue reading

Members of the Mount Vernon FFA recently raised money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital during FFA week by holding a kiss the pig contest. Students at Mt Vernon High school voted on the teacher they most wanted to kiss the pig.

FFA members from around the state and country took part in the 2014 FFA week. Many schools held events to generate funds for donations to various charities.… Continue reading

Ohio’s FFA Leadership Nights are giving over 2,000 FFA members the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills for the future of agriculture. From November 2013 to March 2014, FFA chapters across Ohio had the opportunity to host leadership nights. Attendees participated in workshops, listened to keynote speakers, and networked with other FFA members from across the state.  Conducted by the Ohio FFA Association, the event focuses on leadership, communication and teamwork. Students develop skills that reinforce concepts they are learning in school, which helps prepare them for real life situations beyond the classroom.

“These leadership nights bring together FFA members who have the interest and ability to excel as leaders within the organization,” said Diane Zyski, Monsanto District Sales Manager for Northwest Ohio. “Members are able to build leadership skills needed at the chapter, district, and state levels, as well as in their future careers. “

Monsanto Company demonstrated its commitment to future agricultural leaders by sponsoring the 29 events with a donation of $5,000.… Continue reading

The Mowrystown FFA Chapter and Alumni worked together successfully once again.

In early February, the Alumni and the Mowrystown FFA Chapter held a chicken noodle dinner fundraiser. The fundraiser was to assist with sending members to the Washington Leadership Conference at a reduced price. The dinner consisted of homemade noodles, chicken, green beans, rolls, an assortment of desserts, lemonade, and tea.

The dinner raised over $1,500. The Mowrystown FFA Chapter would like to say a big thank you to the Alumni and everyone who helped out with the dinner, whether it was a donation of groceries, time, or money, it was all appreciated.… Continue reading

The Benjamin Logan FFA Chapter in Bellefontaine celebrated National FFA Week, Feb. 15-22. This year’s theme was Ignite and it embraced more than 80 years of FFA traditions while looking forward to the organization’s future. More than half a million members participate in National FFA Week activities at local, state and national levels. These members have a passion for agriculture.

Designated as National FFA Week in 1947, the week of George Washington’s birthday is FFA Week, and runs from Saturday to Saturday. FFA Week gives FFA members an opportunity to educate the public about agriculture.

During the week, chapters conduct a variety of activities to help others in their school and community learn about FFA and agricultural education. The Benjamin Logan FFA Chapter celebrated National FFA Week by participating in the following activities: Dress up days: Tuesday- Camouflage/Duck Dynasty, Wednesday- Favorite Truck/Tractor, Thursday- Agricultural Career Day, and Friday- Flannel. The activities during lunch: Tuesday- Milk Mustache Contest, Wednesday- Straw Bale Throwing, Thursday- Pedal Tractor Races, and Friday- Corn Hole Tournament.… Continue reading

The West Holmes FFA recently participated in multiple Career Development Events.

In the Ag Sales Competition at FFA Camp Muskingham, the team placed first in the district, qualifying them for state in which they will participate on March 1^st. Individually, Jillian Gurley was 2^nd, Chris VanSickle was 4^th, Clay Armstrong was 5^th, and Tory Eggers was 11^th. In Ag Sales the team has to complete a mock sale, handle a telephone order, and take a test over skills in customer relations, advertising and promotion and merchandise displays. The team would like to thank Wilsons Country Creations for their assistance with the products sold.

The chapter also sent members to the Job Interview Competition at FFA Camp. Mandy Taylor qualified for state in division 4(Seniors) and Shyann Kick qualified for state in division 3(Juniors). Marris Hoffee was 2^nd in division 1(Freshman) and Jillian Gurley was 3^rd in division 2(Sophomores).… Continue reading

On Thursday, February 13, 7 members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter competed in the Sub-district Public Speaking Contest at Anna High School. Schools competing in the contest included: Covington, Botkins, Anna, Fort Loramie, Miami East, Jackson Center, and Fairlawn. 

Haleigh Maggert completed in the Beginning Prepared Public Speaking Contest with her speech entitled, “Herding Dogs: Have You Herd The News?” Her speech included information on the use of herding dogs in agriculture. She placed 4^th in the contest.

Hannah Davis also participated in the Beginning Prepared Public Speaking Contest with her speech entitled, “How To Start A Beef Herd.” She shared information on the tips and keys to starting a breeding beef herd. She earned a silver rating.

Halie Lavendar, Kasey Starrett, Isabelle Trevino, and Kayla Zirkle competed in the Advanced Creed Contest. This contest is open to all first year members of the FFA who are sophomores, juniors, or seniors.… Continue reading

Zane Trace’s FFA Sausage Breakfast was held on February 7, right after a terrible snowstorm.  The cold and snow did not stop the FFA members from preparing and cooking the sausage for the breakfast, however.  On the Tuesday and Wednesday before the sausage breakfast, FFA members made the sausage that would be served.  They started out by cutting the meat into small pieces, seasoning it, and grinding up the meat on Tuesday after school.  On Wednesday Zane Trace had a snow day, but the sausage breakfast still had to go on.  The students came in and spent their entire afternoon stuffing 2000 sausage links using two stuffers.

On Thursday morning, February 6th, six students braved the snow and ice to appear on the WBEX morning show with Dan Ramey, a local radio personality.  They answered questions about the breakfast and explained how the tradition of preparing sausage for the Zane Trace community began in 1978.… Continue reading

The National FFA Foundation recently announced the following appointments to its current board of trustees:

•    Lexington, Ky., resident Russ Green has been named chairman of the board. He is national account sales manager with AGCO Corp. based in Atlanta, Ga.

•    Oregon resident Elin Miller has been named chairwoman-elect of the board. She is principal of Elin Miller Consulting and serves as chairwoman of Marrone Bio Innovations;  chairwoman of the Umpqua Community College’s board of trustees, vice chairwoman of Vestaron Board; chairwoman of NeighborWorks Umpqua and a regional board member serving Umpqua Bank.

•    Washington resident Jodi Monroe has been named secretary of the board. As executive director of the Washington FFA Association since 2008, she oversees day-to-day operations of FFA throughout the state and manages the annual state FFA convention and the state FFA officer team.

•    Wisconsin resident Cheryl Zimmerman has been named National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education representative on the board.… Continue reading

In February, the Anthony Wayne FFA officers will be hosting a Greenhand Day in all of the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource (AFNR) classes. Officers will be teaching the AFNR students about the different pathways that each individual can take through their FFA career. In order to this, the officers will assist the students in planning and improving their SAE, agricultural courses, and FFA involvement throughout the remainder of their high school careers. By the end of Greenhand Day, students will have a better understanding of how to prepare for their future involvement in the Anthony Wayne FFA.… Continue reading

The Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter recently competed in the District 5 Evaluations of the Ohio FFA Association at the Greene County Career Center in Xenia.  Several members of the chapter worked extra hard on their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) record books to prepare their applications for awards and degrees.

Three 2013-14 Chapter Officers that submitted books for review. Lauren Williams submitted the Secretary’s Book and earned a gold rating (100 out of 100). Madeline Davis submitted the Treasurer’s Book and earned a gold rating (100 out of 100). Rebekah Eidemiller submitted the Reporter’s Book and earned a gold rating (100 out of 100). Lauren, Madeline and Rebekah will be recognized at the State FFA Convention in May.

Seniors Tanner Church, Andrew Kowalak, Austin Rush, Lauren Williams and Juniors Madeline Davis, Colin Gump, Grant Hodge, and Cody Reid applied for the State FFA Degree. All applications were reviewed and submitted to the state evaluation for further review.… Continue reading

Every year the Anthony Wayne FFA Alumni hosts a Pork Loin Dinner in the Anthony Wayne High school cafeteria. The event took place on January 31st and it allowed people who had purchased a ticket sold by the FFA members to come and enjoy a nice hot dinner. The dinner consisted of pork loin, green beans, potatoes, roll and dessert. The children’s dinner was mac and cheese with green beans, potatoes, roll and dessert. The Alumni members and FFA chapter members all pitched in to help serve drinks, clean tables, clean trays, serve food, and cleanup after the dinner was done with. This dinner helped the Alumni by raising money to support FFA activities throughout the year. Customers also had the option to take the meal to go if they couldn’t stay to eat. During the dinner, there was also a silent auction where people bid on items such as hand made gift baskets donated by community members, tool kits, and spa gift cards.… Continue reading

The Felicity Franklin FFA Chapter recently held their annual Job Interview Contest. This contest is part of many Career Development Events (CDEs) that FFA members across the country participate in every year.

The purpose of CDEs is to prepare FFA members for future jobs, and careers. The Felicity Franklin FFA Chapter brings in local community members to serve as interviewers and judge the contestants on their performance.

The Felicity FFA chapter had 5, 1^st place members, out of a total of 40 that participated. Jodi Seale (senior), Caitlin Obermeyer (junior), Gabie Cook (junior), Collin Dunaway (sophomore) and Devon Christenson (freshman). All first place members moved on to the District Job Interview Contest at Lynchburg-Clay High School on January 23, 2014. The farthest a Felicity FFA member has ever made it is all the way to the State Job Interview Contest which is held every year.… Continue reading

At a recent FFA meeting, the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter held its first ever Chili Cook-Off Competition. Members were given the challenge of working in teams to create a chili to submit to the judges for evaluation. They had to submit their recipe and be evaluated. 10 teams competed in the event.

Winners of the competition included two categories. Judges Choice Winner with their White Chicken Corn Chili were senior FFA members Kelly Rindler and Lindsey Roeth. The People’s Choice Winner was a Dessert Chili by Rebekah Eidemiller and Olivia Edgell.

All winning teams received an FFA hooded sweatshirt. Judges for the event were the Miami East High School custodial staff of Les Kinder, Matt Shultz, and Richard Hague.

Contest participants included Weston Hodge, Kyle Martin, Colton Kowalak, Andrew Kowalak, Allyson Supinger, Allie Patton, Lindsey Roeth, Haley Etherington, Shane Richardson, Trent Church, Hannah Davis, Austin Etherington, Alyssa Westgerdes, Kelly Rindler, Rebekah Eidemiller, and Olivia Edgell.… Continue reading

The London FFA recently held a fundraiser for human trafficking. The fundraiser took place amongst the agriculture classes.

Money was raised through donations given by the FFA members in a “battle of the classes” through a penny wars. Students were to put pennies in their classes’ jars and put silver coins and cash in the other classes to give them a negative score. The class with the highest amount, or lowest negative amount, won the penny wars. The class that won was the 8^th period welding class. Amongst the five classes, the FFA raised $165 to help victims of slavery. During the weeks of the penny wars, students also watched videos of victims’ stories and learned about the harsh realities that go unseen every day. Human trafficking is currently the second largest industry in the world.

The foundation for this fundraiser was Loose Change to Loosen Chains, a student-led campaign that combats modern-day slavery while learning about the reality of injustices today.… Continue reading

The Cooperation Committee of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter recently recognized members that earned the highest points in the FFA Points System. They earned points because of their participation in various FFA activities taking place in the first semester of the 2013-14 school year.

Each top winner was recognized at the January FFA meeting and given an FFA hooded sweatshirt.

The top placing individuals according to agricultural education classes were:

Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (first period) – Eli Gillum with 390 points

Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (fifth period) – Kayla Zirkle with 215 points

Animal Science (third period) – Emily Beal with 280 points

Animal Science (fourth period) – Haleigh Maggert with 215 points

Communications and Leadership (sixth period) – Riann Kingrey with 210 points

Communications and Leadership (eighth period) – Cody Reid with 205 points

FFA Leadership (chapter officers only) – Rebekah Eidemiller with 350 points… Continue reading