With the start of the new year, the Elmwood FFA chapter found it necessary to cancel its annual toy show
due to inclement weather. In the 20 years of the show, this was only the second time the show was
canceled.
Seven of the chapter’s officers are working diligently to prepare the officer book of their respective
position for the fast approaching Regional FFA evaluation. Taylor Barndt and Makayla Mohre have been
putting in many hours to prep the chapter’s secretary book. Taking on the job of preparing the chapter’s
treasurer book is Morgan Huff and Marisa Ayala. The final officer book to be submitted will be the
chapter’s scrapbook and heading up that task is Meagan Wise, Ashley Veryser and Angelique Franks.
In addition to the officer books being evaluated, several chapter members will have their State and
American FFA degree applications evaluated.
Those submitting the state applications include: Dylan Benschoter, Ashley Veryser, Megan Hathaway, Meagan
Wise, Angelique Franks, Treg Snowden and Katie Peters. Elmwood’s American Degree applicants include:
Brittany George, Jon Shinew, Isaiah Lundquest, Madison Reinhard, Cassandra Shaffer, Tyler Morlock and
Dimitri Davidson. After the regional evaluation, the state degrees will go through a final approval in
Columbus in late February while American Degrees will not receive final approval until July.
On Monday the chapter was scheduled to travel to Penta Career Center to compete in the Wood County FFA
Job Interview career development event and public speaking contest. Contestants from five county schools
participated in one of five divisions requiring them to submit a resume, fill out a job application,
write a follow-up letter, and participate in an interview. Four public speaking events will also take
place including Creed, Beginning Prepared, Advanced Prepared, and Extemporaneous. Results were not
available as of press time.
Still another event that will soon take place is the annual Fruit Reward meal. Members of the chapter
that have sold $500 or more in sales earned the opportunity to dine at the Whistle Stop Inn. These
students enjoy a full meal of their choice as a token of appreciation for their extra sales efforts.
more than two dozen of the chapter’s members will be involved with this activity.
Soon the chapter will pay a visit to the 8th grade classes to conduct recruitment for next year’s
classes. The chapter uses this activity to show the upcoming freshmen what the Elmwood FFA is all about
and possibly convince some of them to take an Ag Ed class.
The chapter’s Greenhands will soon be receiving their Greenhand Degree. This degree is the first of four
degrees one can receive in the FFA. To receive the degree recipients must meet all of 13 requirements
and attend a short ceremony conducted by the chapter’s officers. There are 46 first-year members are
eligible to receive this degree. The event will feature a special presentation by an Ohio FFA officer
and recipients will receive a pin and certificate.
Speaking of Ohio FFA Officers, Ohio FFA President Maddy Buschur paid a visit to the chapter on Jan. 31.
She spoke to each class and emphasized ways the chapter can address the issue of hunger, advocate for
agriculture, and take advantage of FFA opportunities. Buschur heads up more than 20,000 FFA members and
will travel thousands of miles this year visiting chapters throughout the state.
The chapter learned recently it will be a recipient of an "American Farmers Grow Communities"
award. Through this program sponsored by Monsanto, a community farmer may select a charitable
organization to receive a $2,500 award to make an impact on their community. A presentation ceremony
will occur in the future involving this program and more information will be shared at that time.