FFA

Sheridan FFA’s Strawberry and Kettle Corn Sales are Back!

By Danielle Kellough, on Monday, Jan. 27       

Spring is almost here! You know what that means; Sheridan FFA is selling their famous strawberries and kettle corn! Ordering starts Monday, Jan. 27 and ends Wednesday, Feb. 26. 

The FFA is selling HUGE 8lb flats of strawberries for $25, and kettle corn for $10. Kettle corn flavors include Original kettle corn, Caramel Kettle corn, Cinnamon Toast Crunch kettle corn, Cinnamon Apple kettle corn, and Caramel Apple kettle corn. Not only do you get to purchase delicious treats, but you get to help our FFA chapter in many ways! I spoke with Haley Conn, one of the advisors of our chapter, to find out some of the things the money goes too.

“Money collected goes into our general FFA funds account. That money is used for a variety of FFA activities including paying for contest entries, FFA meeting supplies, tractor drive-in day, the parent-member banquet, kindergarten farm day supplies, All FFA week activities, state convention and national convention trip, conferences, hotels for overnight trips, etc. Basically anything we do in FFA, outside of class things, is funded through fundraisers,” Conn said.

But why does the FFA do these fundraisers and are there anymore coming up?. 

“We do fundraisers in order to do all the things that our chapter does (listed above). We are able to provide our members with a large variety of leadership opportunities and career skill development opportunities because of the funds raised through fundraisers. We also get to do a lot of fun things because of those funds. Students build everlasting memories of the time in our organization because of the experiences we are able to provide them,” Conn said. “This is tentatively the last fundraiser for the year, unless we decide to do a plant sale in the greenhouse class. It is at least our last major fundraiser for the year (we only do 2: fall fruit and spring strawberries).” 

Go get you piggy banks and one of our FFA members to start your order! Money is due by Feb. 26 so get your strawberries and kettle corn before it’s too late! 

FFA December Newsletter 

By Journey Reichley, on Friday Dec. 20

This month, the Sheridan FFA Chapter hosted their monthly meeting on December 10. It was our Christmas meeting so members were asked to wear christmas pajamas! Food was prepared ahead of time for all members to enjoy. There were about 30 members that attended this event. Opening ceremonies were the first order of business. All reports were made including committee reports, old business as well as new business. Once closing ceremonies were completed, groups were released to go get food. Students enjoyed spiral ham sandwiches, bags of chips, and a hot chocolate bar.

Old friends and new friends enjoyed company together. After noticing that everyone was finished eating an announcement was made that we were ready to begin the activity. Our advisor Hayley Conn and Secretary Julia White explained to anyone participating in the contest the rules. After explanation was completed, supplies were distributed and the contest began. 30 minutes were given to each group participating and 14 groups participated. Brenna Beaver and Grace McCafferty were the winners of the contest with their “Candyland” themed house. 

Special Interview: Novice and Advanced Parli Pro Teams

By Leah Emmert, on Tuesday Dec. 9 

Tap your gavels because it's Parli Pro season! Parli Pro Stands for Parliamentary Procedure which is an FFA, (Future Farmers of America), and a CDE, (Career Development Event), competition, where students are evaluated on their ability to present logical, realistic and convincing debates on motions using Robert's Rule of Order. I interviewed two people from the Advanced Parli Team to get their perspectives on Parli and what it's like to be on the team. 

Parli Pro kicks off in late October, with the first competition being two weeks into November, with districts following soon after that. These events usually take place at a school that participates in the competition. People join Parli Pro for the competition and the friends that they make. 

”I joined it because they needed more people and my friends did it, I continued to do it because I understood it, and because it was fun,) Aleah White, a member of the Advanced Parli Pro team said.

The people on the Advanced team include Aslynn Breagel, who is the chairman, Audrey Davis, who is the secretary, and Aleah White, Leah Emmert, Lilly Finck, Adee Flegle and Caiden Pettit. This team recently competed at sub districts which took place here at Sheridan High School. With districts fast approaching, Chairman Breagel was asked if she thought the team would be ready to compete at Shenandoah for districts. 

“I believe that the advanced team is ready for the district contest because we have been able to all be together for practice and we have been improving our discussions and abilities,” Breagel said. 

If you think Parli sounds interesting and want to know how to join, all you have to do is be a member of the FFA. We are always looking for more people to participate!

FFA National Convention At a Glance

By Journey Reichley, on Tuesday Oct. 28

Did you know that there are 1,027,273 young people in America that are a part of FFA? There are a total of 9,235 chapters across all 50 states. What would you say if I told you that all those chapters in the United States meet at one location once a year, mind blowing right? The 97th National FFA Convention took place on October 23 through the 26 at the Lucas Oil Stadium and Convention Center in Indianapolis. The goal of the National Convention is to encourage members of the FFA and inspire them to become leaders, as well as recognize students in a variety of contest and award areas. 

On October 24, the Sheridan FFA officer team and one of their advisors, Hayley Conn, left for Indianapolis. The first destination was Tuttle Orchard in Greenfield, Indiana. While there, they  toured the facility while a  tour guide explained the process of picking and preparing apples for processing. The tour guide, Jenny, explained how apple cider is made, and how they have the ability to make large batches at a time. Once the tour was over, the officer team  headed to Tuttle Grill, the orchard’s onsite restaurant, for  lunch. After their meal, they made their way to Indianapolis to check into the hotel and change into official dress for a student workshop. The workshop they attended was “Your words have worth”. The speakers explained how our words have meaning in the agricultural industry, and how we have the ability to better it. That evening for dinner they headed to Weber’s grill before Buckeye Bash. Buckeye Bash is an event held at Kelsay Farms for only members from Ohio. The FFA members stayed until around 10:30 pm and then headed back to their hotel.

On day 2, the officer team attended General Session 4 of the National FFA Convention, where they  watched proficiency finalists receive awards in their different project areas. The keynote speaker for the session was Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is a leader in the agricultural industry, and is a best-selling author as well as an animal behaviorist. Grandin’s best selling book is 'Animals in Translation'. In her book, she discusses how her autism opened her eyes on how animals think. During her speech, she detailed how different thinkers all have the ability to work together to create new ideas. Once the session was over, the students  headed to the expo center for lunch. At this time, they also had free time to walk around the FFA shopping mall and career/college fair. Later on in the evening, the officers ate dinner at Iozzo’s Garden of Italy in Indianapolis. As soon as everyone was finished eating, they were on their way to a rodeo! At the rodeo, they watched trick riders, bareback bronc riders, saddleback bronc riders, and bull riders. It was a fun and exhilarating experience. Their last stop for the night was Howdy Homemade Ice Cream.

Saturday was their third and final day in Indianapolis. Early in the morning, the officers headed to Sugar Creek Genetics in Trafalgar, Indiana, where they saw a demonstration on how semen is collected from a boar. Students spent about an hour touring the facility, gaining a better understanding on how boar semen is prepared and shipped out all across the United States, as well as gaining a better understanding of swine genetics in general. They wrapped up their trip with lunch at Qdoba. Overall, the FFA National Convention of 2024 was an amazing learning experience and incredible opportunity for those who attended.