Living to Serve: Environmental Grant webinars

It pays to go green!

Learn more about how your chapter can secure a $2,000 grant for tackling an environmental issue in your community through one of our free webinars.

During each one-hour session, we’ll discuss project ideas and tips for filling out the online application.

Webinars will offered every Thursday starting this week (May 2) through the first week of June.

The webinars will last approximately one hour. Participation is not mandatory for those applying for the Living to Serve Environmental Grant, but is encouraged.

Register today!

 

 

 

 

 

Need help finding volunteers?

CSX can help!

CSX, a leading transportation company and platinum level FFA sponsor, is encouraging their employees to get involved with the local chapters in the communities where they work and live. As part of this effort, chapters now have the option to post volunteer opportunities via the Beyond Our Rails website.

This is open to any of the 23 states that CSX operates in. CSX employees can volunteer their time to help with career talks, CDEs, and service activities.

Visit https://www.easymatch.com/csxgive/applications/agency to login and up-load your activity. Click on the Yes, I have an ID and password, and then use the following information to login:

Account Number: 7128,
User ID: csxvolunteers
Password: Volunteer1

Finally, click on the new volunteer form.

Be sure to include your time zone and post at least two weeks in advance of the activity’s date.

Note: You cannot apply for anything else on the home page, only the volunteer query.  Posted opportunities are only accessible to CSX employees.

Thank you for  helping CSX get involved!

Have questions? Contact Rheba Howard with the National FFA Foundation, rhoward@ffa.org, 317-802-4268.

Introducing… National FFA Update with CEO Dwight Armstrong

We’re excited to share with you the premiere episode of  National FFA CEO Dwight Armstrong’s monthly video update!

In each episode Dwight will share the latest and greatest news from the National FFA Organization, National FFA Foundation, and National FFA Alumni Association.

In this episode, Dwight talks about FFA Week, Ram Trucks “So God Made a Farmer” ad, and the Agricultural Career Network.

Finally, help Dwight win his Twitter battle against National FFA Advisor Steve Brown! Follow him @FFADwight. And feel free to tweet him your questions and comments. (If Twitter isn’t your thing, email him at darmstrong@ffa.org.)

Mark your calendars for the National FFA Alumni Webinar Series

The National FFA Alumni Association and Dr. Jeff Magee are offering a great series of webinars for 2013.

Dr. Magee is an acclaimed leadership coach who has numerous prestigious clients and success in motivating companies and individuals to grow their potential. We are thrilled to offer an evening with Dr. Magee once a month on the first Tuesday of every month.

These webinars are a great resource for you to learn as an individual or grow your FFA Alumni affiliate and/or FFA chapter.

March 11, 7:00 p.m. EST
Register Now
Topic: Agricultural Career Network Training for Local FFA Alumni Administrators
This webinar will walk through each of the menu items for a local FFA Alumni administrator. Since membership season is in full swing, we’ll focus on renewing members, adding new members and submitting membership and dues to state and/or national. If you are the contact for your local FFA Alumni responsible for managing affiliate and member information, this training is for you!

FFA chapters keep the momentum going…

Last week was abuzz with all kinds of special FFA activities in honor of National FFA Week. Students across the country had a blast participating in Ag Olympics, dress-up days, community service activities and more.

But, FFA members don’t stop there–they continue plan and participate in activities 365 days a year!

Learn about some of the things FFA chapters do on an “average” day by watching our FFA Chapter Tribute videos on iHigh.com.

The latest videos feature…

Nevada FFA, Iowa;

Hillsboro FFA, Ohio;

Eldon FFA, Missouri;

and, Central Hardin FFA, Kentucky.

Special thanks goes out to our friends at This Week in Agribusiness for producing those videos for their weekly show!

 

 

The perfect partnership

 

This post was written by special guest bloggers Samantha Stotland, senior and FFA member at Wamago Agricultural Science and Technology Center in Connecticut, and Jamie Fischer, culinary instructor at Wamago.

Do you have a great story to share about your FFA chapter? Please submit it, along with a photo to media@ffa.org. We can’t promise we’ll post all of the stories, but we will post as many as we can!

Have you ever gone to McDonald’s and ordered french fries just as they came out of the fryer hot, golden brown, salted just right?  Then you open the ketchup packet, squeezing just the right amount onto the fried potato bliss.  That my friend is a perfect partnership!

As the union between a french fry and ketchup is the perfect partnership, so does the combining of Agriculture and Culinary based classes.  This marriage is the cornerstone of how the world’s food supply is brought to the dinner table.  Here at Wamogo, this union is showcased by the students who participate in these programs.

“Working in close connections with the Agriculture Department creates opportunities for Wamogo’s Culinary Arts program that normal schools that have Culinary Arts without an Agriculture Department would never realize.  Opportunities for my Culinary kids to work with the Tilapia farms, working with livestock, having the greenhouse, and maple sugar house will offer opportunities for students to collaborate and to work for a similar goal,” says Wamogo Culinary Arts instructor, Jamie Fischer.

FFA Chapter Tribute – Sioux Central FFA, Iowa

This week, “This Week in Agribusiness” salutes the Sioux Central FFA Chapter in in Iowa.

The Sioux Central FFA chapter in Sioux Rapids, Iowa was chartered in 2001 and has 102 members – 1/3 of the school’s student population. Their favorite community service project is handing out sack lunches to more than 600 farmers during the harvest season.

 

Telling Our Story

The rental van is parked in front of the FFA center. We just finished a morning of convention planning, and hurry out to hop in the van. Hitting the highway, we’re headed for a Rotary Club meeting in Carmel, Indiana. The building is beautiful, and the folks inside greet us with welcoming smiles.

The message we bring today describes the pillars FFA is centered around, personal growth, premier leadership, and career success. Alicia, Ken, and I each take our turns sharing stories with the audience and answering a few questions. Hopefully, the community leaders in the room will volunteer at national convention, or even rally support for an agricultural education program in Carmel. Afterwards, we’re presented a children’s book and asked to sign it. The book will be donated to the local library. We remain at the building for goodbyes and are the last to leave.  

Back in the van, we have a conversation about the importance of sharing our story. In order to Grow our influence and create opportunities for more students, the story of FFA needs to reach wider and further. What can you do to share the story of FFA in your area? How about your own story of the difference FFA has made in your life? In today’s world of information sharing and instant communication, we can share our story in a new and more effective way. Consider using Facebook, Twitter, or internet blogs to tell your story. FFA officers are in a great position to share their story. State officers should visit www.ffa.org/tellingyourstory, to learn about the State Officer Challenge.

Tomorrow our officer team hits the road again to Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas, and South Carolina. We’ll be alongside local and state FFA members sharing the story of FFA with community members, students, and agricultural leaders. Share your FFA story with your community. Every single person in America relies on agriculture daily. They will listen, use your voice.

 

By Seth Pratt

@sethbpratt

Case IH Continues Long-Standing Support of FFA

We’re excited to present this special guest post from Curtis Goettel who designed Case IH’s amazing “Red Power” skid steer!

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My name is Curtis Goettel, and I’m the lead designer of Case IH’s “Red Power” skid steer. This is a one-of-a-kind, tricked-out skid steer that is being auctioned off on Purple Wave’s online auction block , with proceeds to benefit FFA specifically, 89 percent of the proceeds going to the National FFA Foundation, 10 percent going to the winning bidder’s state association and 1 percent going to a local chapter of the winner’s choice. The “Red Power” online auction goes through September 30.

“Red Power” has been in the making for quite some time. When Case IH first came to me with the idea more than a year ago, I was excited to help design such an amazing piece of machinery. Our idea for the skid steer was to take everything over the top, creating a unit that would wow the crowd with a Case IH theme.

Wow factors for the “Red Power” skid steer include:

FFA Chapter Tribute – Ridgewood FFA, Ohio

This week, Ridgewood FFA of West Layfayette, Ohio was featured on “This Week in Agribusiness” during the chapter salute segment.

Over the past nine years, the chapter’s member have received 33 American FFA Degrees and 58 state FFA degrees. The chapter also has a chicken co-op. Their biggest fundraiser is their FFA fruit sale.

Would you like to see your FFA chapter featured on the show? Send this FFA Chapter Tribute form, along with 4-5 photos of your chapter’s activities to Tracy Steffen at tracyjoe@sbcglobal.net.