Carolyn Laporte
Fifteen Future Farmers of America (FFA) members attended the Annual Region IV Leadership Conference on November 15. The event took place at Carroll Community College from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. The students left Hereford High at 7:15 A.M. and did not return until 3:15 P.M. that day.
“Students [actively participated] in team building and leadership activities,” FFA adviser Mrs. Heather Schaefer stated. She also stated that these activities were led by the 2012-2013 State Officer team and “[focused] on student development.”
President Ashley Blum (12) has been in the FFA since her freshman year and said she joined because her “mom was the President of her FFA chapter when she was in FFA” and also because Agriculture is such a big part of her life. Her favorite thing that the FFA does is “making the public aware of the importance of Agriculture in our community.”
Ag Exploration Chair Kirstin Lory (12) joined the FFA because her Uncle was in the FFA and also because she wanted to learn more about Agriculture. She said that the FFA is “a good way to meet new people” and it is a lot of fun as well.
Sentinel Paige Martin (11) joined two years ago because it’s a career developer. “You can join different Career Development Events and something you thought you’d never like or be good at… you might find out that it is what you want to be when you get out of high school,” Paige stated. She also stated that there are plenty of ways to get scholarships through the FFA. Ashley, Paige, and Kirstin all agreed that the FFA is not just farming and Paige stated, “Everything we do involves agriculture in some way. Without it we’d be nowhere.”
The FFA meets during both halves of Enrichment on Wednesdays in room 7. Mrs. Schaefer runs the club along with ten student officers. The officers, along with Ashley, Kirstin, and Paige are Vice President Taylor Winehold (12), Secretary Justin McCain (12), Treasurer Kyle Graff (11), Advisor Hailey Wilson (11), Historian Ashley Treadwell (10) and Reporter Kelsey Treuin (10).
The biggest event that the FFA will participate in this year is Ag Day. It will be held in the spring when the FFA invites the community to join them so that they can educate the community about agriculture. The FFA also participates in various field trips and other activities all year long.
