On August 11th, the CAM FFA officers attended the Southwest District FFA Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT). The officers attended different workshops throughout the training. The FFA Officers were asked to group together according to what office they hold. They split into sections for the remainder of the Conference, and learned how to better fulfill the responsibilities of their office.

On Friday, December 20th, the high school FFA members sponsored the annual Brain Bowl at both the middle school and high school. Members put together a fun day of physical activities such as a 3 on 3 basketball, Tug-of-War, and pedal tractor races. There were also several knowledge quizzes and “minute to win it” contests such as doughnut on a string and cup stacking. Mr. Hunt’s homeroom was the winner in the middle school division and Mr. Arp’s seminar won the high school division. Pictured are Mallory Behnken and Brady Burg helping the middle schoolers with the Tug-of-War contest.

On Saturday, January 4th, a small group of FFA members traveled to the Iowa FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny for the “Ignite, Amplify and Transform” Conference. Pictured are (left to right) Paige Jensen, Kylie Gossman, Mallory Behnken, Maddie Holtz, Natalie Behnken, Karsen Croghan, Emily Plagman, Reese Oglesbee, Sydney Becker, CeCe Hensley, and Grace Hensley. The three sessions were led by state FFA officers and the students ate a delicious meal provided by the FFA. The group learned about finding and pursuing their purpose and being a better leader in society.

On Sunday, November 17th, Mr. Miller and five students set off for Chicago, Illinois. They spent the night in the hotel to get a good night's sleep to be ready for Monday’s adventures. Monday the 18th, the five students, Allison, Haley, Mercedes, Darcy, and Lane, visited the Chicago Board of Trade. Tommy Spella gave them a tour of both the new and old buildings and took them down onto the floor where all of the transactions are made. At the Field Museum there were all sorts of interesting activities and rooms full of information on bugs, creatures, and wildlife. After they ventured through the museum, the students traveled to the Navy Pier overlooking Lake Michigan, where they saw many shops, restaurants, and entertainment. They posed for a picture with an anchor, at the end of the pier, that was used on a warship. Next on the agenda, they went to the Museum of Science and Industry and walked along Michigan Avenue. On Michigan Avenue, they attempted to go into the new Starbucks that is five stories tall, however the line was much longer than they were expecting. Michigan Avenue was the students’ chance to explore and go into a few stores. On Wednesday the 20th, Mr. Miller took the students to Shedd's aquarium and planetarium. They wrapped up the day with ice skating, visiting the Bean, and finally, seeing Willis Tower, which was 103 stories high. They overlooked the city of Chicago one last time before leaving Thursday morning. Thank you to Timber Erickson for chaperoning our trip.

On Wednesday, October 30th, five members of the CAM FFA left at 4:30am to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. On the way there they made a pit stop at the Indianapolis Speedway, which is the home of the Indy 500. Thursday, the group left at 6:30am for 1st session, which contained over 65,000 FFA members and guests. The keynote speaker for this session was Bob Goff, a lawyer who helps develop schools in third world countries, using a Christian approach. Bob Goff is the New York Times Best-Selling Author of Love Does and Everybody, Always. He Honorary Consul to the Republic of Uganda, an attorney, and the founder of Love Does—a nonprofit human rights organization operating in Uganda, India, Nepal, Iraq, and Somalia. He’s a lover of balloons, cake pops, and helping people pursue their big dreams. The students had the opportunity to listen to the national President, Luke O’Leary as he gave his retiring address. He spoke about characters and how it’s okay to be yourself and that you don’t need to fit in all the time. The students attended two workshops, one on leadership and the other on transparency in social media. They listened to hypnotist Dr. Jim Wand on Thursday evening. On Friday, the group went to Louisville to tour Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. The group also toured Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is the oldest operating distillery in the United States. One of the things that the group found most interesting was during the prohibition, this distillery was still able to run because it was one of the six who made “medicinal” whiskey. Saturday, the group went back to the National Convention to attend the American FFA Degree session, which contained over 67,000 people, 4,353 of those received their American Degrees. Two former members of the CAM FFA, Mariah Murphy and Emma Dorsey received their American FFA Degree. A special thank you to Timber Erickson for chaperoning and Toni Hagen for making the room reservations.

On October 14, seven students from Mr. Miller’s Agronomy class went to Grimes, Iowa to the Stine Seeds research facility. The people at Stine set up a whole day’s agenda for our students. The students toured the Stine Bio-Tech Lab where they got a chance to do a gene ID test on soybean plants. The students saw how their gene testing was conducted and how important it is to make sure the traits are what they should be for the producer. Who is Stine Seed Company one may ask? Their presentation explained their company to the kids. There were guest speakers; Myron Stine, President of Stine Seed Company and Harry Stine, the company’s founder. This was an opportunity for the students to hear about the company from the people in charge. The day’s events were made possible by Jessica Drake, Marketing Coordinator, and Jeff Anderson, Regional Director. The students ended the day by touring the Stine Seed Farm in Adel, Iowa.

Each year the Southwest district and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate the Greenhand Fire-Up Conferences for FFA members in the Southwest District. The Atlantic FFA welcomed FFA chapters from all over the Southwest District on Wednesday, October 9th. The CAM FFA sent four members that include Natalye Scholl, CeCe Hensley, Sydney Becker, and Carson Cary, to this year’s camp. At Greenhand Fire-Up camp, district and state officers lead four interactive workshops; authenticity, balancing priorities, communication, and FFA opportunities – in order to provide the first-year FFA members with skills, they would use both within and outside of FFA. Iowa FFA President, Chandler Jahner, stated, “Greenhand Fire-Up provides a chance for first-year high school members to get a sneak peek of the opportunities that FFA holds, and is a conference for members to meet and interact with state and district officers.” The goal was to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of, through high school and beyond. Greenhand Fire-Up is made possible with support from Hoegemeyer Hybrids through the Iowa FFA Foundation.

On October 3rd, Mr. Miller took 29 students to Northwest Missouri State University. These students participated in livestock judging, horse judging, landscape testing, nursery landscape plant testing, and FFA novice knowledge testing. Mr. Miller said, “I feel that overall the day went well, based on the fact that not many of these students have ever participated in any of these competitions.” The FFA knowledge and nursery landscape plant testing are new and none of the CAM students have ever tried it out. The students who participated in the FFA knowledge testing got 9th out of 31 teams! Sydney Becker placed 27th and Carson Cary placed 28th out of 95 competitors. The students who competed in nursery landscaping took 4th out of 10. Paige Jensen placed 17th, Grace Kauffman place 26th, while Joe Kauffman placed 27th. The team that judged horses received 8th place out of 18 teams! Molly Venteicher placed 21st out of 89. The livestock judging team ranked 20th out of 50 teams. Natalye Scholl was the highest placing of the group of students with a score of 50th out of 210 competitors.

Saturday, September 14th, Mr. Miller took six FFA members to Spencer, Iowa to livestock judge at the Clay county fair. The students were Paige Jensen, Natalye Scholl, Mallory Behnken, Natalie Behnken, Emily Plagman, and Kaylee Hardin. There were 216 people who attended overall and 54 teams. CAM competed with two teams. The first team placed 9th, while the second team finished 38th. Natalye Scholl and Paige Jensen ranked in the top 20. Great job ladies!

On Monday, September 9th FFA Advisor and Ag Teacher, Mr. Miller, took two livestock judging teams to the National Barrow Show in Austin, Minnesota. The two teams included Mallory Behnken, Walker Gettler, Kaylee Hardin, Paige Jensen, Carson Cary, Natalye Scholl, and Cavan Murphy. This group had a very successful day as Team A placed fifth and Team B placed 25th out of the 76 total teams in attendance. There were teams from all over the country, including Georgia and Texas! There were 7 classes of pigs and a question class at the end. The end results included Paige Jensen placing fourth, Walker Gettler 32nd place, Natalye Scholl got 39th, Kaylee Hardin received 66th, Cavan Murphy got 77th, Mallory Behnken placed 98th, and Carson Cary received 125th. After the group finished at the National Barrow Show, they went over to the SPAM Museum and spent time learning about the history of SPAM and got to try some free samples.

On April 3 rd , 27 of CAM’s 7 th , 8th and 9th grade FFA members attended an agriculture awareness conference put on by the ISU extension service on the campus of Southwest Iowa Community College in Creston. The conference commenced with Christy Vilsack, former first lady of Iowa, giving a motivational speech on the importance of rural communities in Iowa and how young FFA members can make an impact. The extension members had six different workshops and tours available for the members to attend. Our students participated in the animal reproduction, horse production, hydroponics, and the farm tour. This was the first time this type of program was introduced to 7-9 th graders to different career pathways in agriculture. This was a good collaboration between the extension and SWICC to present agriculture to area students in southwest Iowa. The CAM FFA appreciates the hard work that goes into putting on a program like this and will be back next year if the program continues.

Another successful year of the CAM FFA has come to a close. On Saturday, March 16th the annual FFA banquet was held and many awards were given to each member. Senior Cords were awarded to the 13 senior members to wear during their graduation ceremony. The Senior Cords showcase the strong presence FFA has in our school and honors those senior members who have dedicated their time to our chapter and continuing the strong tradition of the CAM FFA. Natalye Scholl was this year’s Rising Star recipient. This award is given to an 8th grader who has shown high levels of involvement and who are developing the skills necessary to lead in the future. Darcy Denney was this year’s Top Fruit Sale participant. Walker Gettler and Emily Plagman were this year's Star Greenhand recipient. The Star Greenhand award is given to members who have obtained their greenhand degree and are dedicated to improving the FFA chapter. Ethan Steffensen and Sal Digilio are this year recipients of the Star Chapter Farmer. This is given to chapter members who have been active in FFA activities and have been a positive influence on the community and FFA members alike. For the freshman or any new members, there was the Greenhand Degree, which was awarded to 14 recipients from the CAM FFA chapter. For any sophomores, there was the Chapter Farmer Degree, and there were also 14 recipients. A huge accomplishment for any FFA member is to earn their Iowa Degree. The recipients are RoAnn Perry, Sidney Aupperle, Blaire Wendt, Teaguen Sothman, Ethan Steffensen, Sidney Schmidt, and Haley Luke. Walker McDermott as this year’s recipient of the DeKalb Award. Is given to the outstanding Senior who has an academic record that shows his commitment to his studies and has shown leadership and has been highly involved in their whole FFA career. Madison Mills and Eric Plagman as this year’s Full Throttle recipient. It is given to the seniors that go above and beyond what is required of them as chapter members. The CAM FFA Officers for the 2019/20 school year are Emily Plagman (President), Eyon Steffensen (Vice President), Kaylee Hardin (Secretary), Mallory Behnken (Treasurer), Paige Jensen and Wyatt Gettler (Reporters), and Haley Luke (Sentinel).

Saturday, March 2 nd , several FFA members served a fundraiser at the Atlantic Community Center for one of their own alumni, Tyler Steele’s mother, Lynette Steele, to help defray the cost incurred while being treated for cancer this past year. The Chapter members brought desserts and helped serve drinks during the event. Members also bussed tables and cleaned up after the event. FFA members were asked to display and deliver auction items later in the evening. The CAM FFA members are happy to help out with one of their own, when it is needed. This is one of the most important things a chapter can do to give back to the community.

The 34th Annual Legislative Symposium & FFA Day at the Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. FFA members from across Iowa converged in the Iowa State Capitol to build character and promote citizenship, volunteerism, and patriotism. Approximately 300 high school students wearing blue corduroy, from 51 schools, flooded the Capitol Building on February 14. The students visited with legislators, exhibited skills learned in the agriculture classroom and learned the importance of citizenship. This was all part of the 34th Annual Iowa FFA Legislative Symposium and FFA Day at the Capitol. During the morning, FFA members heard from Mike Naig, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, about the importance of agriculture in Iowa and abroad. Kelsey Tyrrell, of the World Food Prize, addressed students about the future of Iowa agriculture and the importance of being involved with statewide issues. Later that day, FFA members also heard remarks from Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President, Craig Hill; about how the importance young agriculturalists can play in the agriculture industry. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg presented the FFA Week Proclamation, declaring February 16-23, the week of President George Washington's Birthday, FFA Week in Iowa. The proclamation signing took place during a special ceremony at the Embassy Suites downtown, following legislative visits at the Capitol Building. This was a great opportunity for the CAM FFA members to meet with our representative Tom Moore, who gave us a personal tour of the capital chambers and the capitol dome. The FFA members who were in attendance were, Walker McDermott, Sal Digilio, Ethan Steffensen, Haley Luke, Emily Plagman, Eyon Steffensen, Cavan Murphy, Mallory Behnken, and Paige Jensen. This was a great experience to learn and understand how important our government is.

On October 24th, members of the CAM high school and middle school FFA, along with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, helped serve meals to area farmers as they hauled grain into the 21st Century Coop in Massena, Iowa. The meals were served in appreciation of the hard work and dedication of area farmers who contribute to our schools and community with the sale of crops they grow and market. The jobs that are associated with agriculture and the money from sales of commodities they raise help make our community strong. The FFA members helping were Sal Digilio, Ethan Steffensen, Logan Lank, Sid Schmidt, Jace Thomsen, Natalye Scholl, Natalie Behnken, along with Rana Thomsen who made this possible.

That is the question asked of the 68,000+ attendees of the 91 st National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana last week. FFA Advisor, Mr. Miller, and chaperone, Mrs. Miller, took six CAM FFA members to this event from October 24th through October 27 th. Those who attended were senior, Madison Mills, junior, Haley Luke, sophomore, Emily Plagman, and freshmen, Mallory Behnken, Eyon Steffensen, and Cavan Murphy. With a school suburban loaded down with luggage, kids, and a lot of delicious snacks, the group set off at 5:00am on the 24 th for Indianapolis. The kids attended the rodeo at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, attended the opening session of the convention, attended leadership workshops, toured Church Hill Downs, watched a nationally known hypnotist, and watched our very own Grace Hansen walk across the stage to receive her American Degree. The top one-half of one percent of all FFA members are granted this prestigious honor. These were just some of the highlights of the trip. Sam Allen, CEO of John Deere, gave his keynote address at the second session. His message tied in well with this year’s theme of “Just one”. He asked the attendees how they plan to prepare for their future. He reminded them they will face mountains, but will surpass them with help, but it starts with you. Be responsible for your own actions and leave a good legacy. His motto is: “We believe John Deere’s best days are yet to come.” He commented, “The same sentiment goes to the FFA, American Agriculture, and you!” The National FFA granted him an honorary American FFA Degree and presented him with a refurbished 1943, model B John Deere tractor in appreciation of his support of the FFA. It was a wonderful few days of learning more about the FFA and the opportunities it offers to its members, if they choose to take hold of them. The trip also had many memorable moments within the group that we all will forever laugh about and remember fondly! This was a great group of six FFA members who represented CAM well!

The CAM FFA took 12 members to the Greenhand Camp that was held in Atlantic on October 10th. The students participated in eight different workshops presented by past and present district and state officers. The students were split into eight different groups where they worked with other kids from different chapters in southwest Iowa. They learned about the purpose and structure of the FFA and what it takes to be a productive FFA member. One of our CAM FFA members, Walker McDermott, helped facilitate the members of the southwest district at this year’s Greenhand Fire Up Camp. The camp is for first year members and all freshmen. The purpose of the camp is to show the new members all of the opportunities within FFA and help guide them in the right direction through their FFA journey. The members are ultimately there to be able to take home knowledge of FFA to share with their own school’s chapter to spread that new knowledge. There were four stations: True Blue Communication, This or That, We Are FFA, and Keep It Real. There were 317 members from 26 schools present. The people that participated in this event were Maddie Holtz, Marissa Spieker, Kylie Gossman, Mallory Behnken, Madison Daugherty, Paige Vais, Paige Jensen, Kristin Templeman, Eyon Steffensen, Nolan Hensley, Grace Hensley, and Alaina Abild.

This year the CAM FFA had 11 members show livestock at the Iowa State Fair and one member participated as a Grandstand Usher. Three members showed lambs, with our members always being in the top half of the classes receiving many blue ribbons. The swine show had six members showing market and breeding pigs at this year’s fair. The show had several member’s animals selected for top ten awards in multiple classes. The beef, rabbit, and market goat shows each had one member showing their animals this year. The highlight for the CAM FFA came in the rabbit and goats shows. In the rabbit show, Paige Jensen had champion rabbits in many classes. This is a huge achievement for Paige, as it was her first year showing rabbits in the FFA division at the Iowa State Fair. The final highlight was at the goat show with Natayle Scholl showing the intermediate doe at this year’s fair. Lane Thompson was Grandstand Usher at the fair this year. He spent all 11 days of the fair helping hand out programs at the front gate and ushering grandstand entertainment at night. Overall, it was a great year for the CAM FFA.

On Wednesday, December 12th, the CAM FFA Chapter traveled to Guthrie Center for the Southwest Sub-District Contest. Mallory Behnken, Eyon Steffensen, Madison Holtz, Nolan Hensley, Cavan Murphy, Marissa Spieker, and Kylie Gossman participated in Conduct of Meeting which placed fifth. Grace Hensley received a silver in Ag Broadcasting. Program of Activities presenters included Madison Mills, Emily Plagman, and Haley Luke will move onto Districts as alternates. Sidney Schmidt received a bronze in Oxy Acetylene Welding and Ethan Steffensen is an alternate at Districts for Arc Welding. Walker McDermott accepted first place, a gold, and will be advancing to Districts in Job Interview. Also collecting a gold and will be advancing to Districts was Walker Gettler in Ag Sales and Paige Jensen in Creed Speech. Kaylee Hardin also grabbed a gold, but will not be advancing. Lastly, JoAnn Brahms held a bronze in Extemporaneous Speaking. Congratulations to everyone who participated and good luck at Districts in March at Glenwood High School!

On Saturday, January 5, 2019, 14 members of the CAM FFA went to Ankeny, Iowa to the FFA Enrichment Center. The leadership conference had three different groups. “Ignite” for eighth and ninth grade FFA members. “Amplify” for FFA members who were in tenth and eleventh grades. “Transform” was the topic for our senior members. Another conference being held at the center was for State officer candidates, in which Walker McDermott was attending. Past and present state officers were on hand to help members refine their leadership skills. The leadership activities were designed to be age-appropriate to meet the needs of the members in each age group. CAM sent the following members to the conference: Alaina Abild, Paige Vais, Mallory Behnken, Marissa Spieker, Sal Digilio, Ethan Steffensen, Haley Luke, Wyatt Gettler, Walker Gettler, Savanna Valeika, Shelby Stephenson and Walker McDermott.

The CAM High School and Middle School FFA, along with the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th-grade classes, worked with the “Meals For The Heartland” organization to package 30,436 meals. Meals for the Heartland is a non-profit organization that works to provide food to educational institutions in underprivileged areas around the world. The organization provides meals for 180,000 people a day. The FFA has been helping package meals for five years at the State FFA convention. The chapter was contacted about working with them to package meals. The chapter raised $3,200.00 to sponsor the event with the help of Farm Credit Services in Harlan, Iowa and the Anita Lions Club, two local groups that were instrumental in securing the funds. The students were placed into two groups, each group put together about 15,000 packages and it took four hours to complete the job. The FFA kept 1200 units, which were placed in the backpack program and the 3 area food pantries for the surrounding areas. The FFA wishes to continue the event. Mr. Miller stated, "In the end, the students and staff did a great job helping.”