SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 THE SHERIDAN …...4 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 THE SHERIDAN PRESS FFA...

2 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 THE SHERIDAN PRESS FFA

FROM FFA NEW HORIZONS

INDIANAPOLIS — Students from

Montana, Virginia, Puerto Rico, New

Mexico, Oregon and Ohio have been

elected by delegates throughout the

United States to serve on the 2019-

20 National FFA Officer team.

Kolesen McCoy, an agribusiness

and applied economics major at

Ohio State, was elected national

president.

Kourtney Lehman, an agricultural

business management major at Or-

egon State University, was elected

national secretary.

Lyle Logemann, an agricultural ed-

ucation major at Eastern New Mex-

ico University, was elected western

region vice president.

Tess Seibel, a nursing major at

James Madison University, was

elected eastern region vice presi-

dent.

Mamie Hertel, a financial engineer-

ing major at Montana State Univer-

sity, was elected central region vice

president.

Yomar Roman, an animal science

major at Universidad de Puerto Rico,

was elected southern region vice

president.

Each year at the National FFA

Convention & Expo, six students are

elected by delegates to represent

the organization as national officers.

Delegates elect a president, secre-

tary, and vice presidents represent-

ing the central, southern, eastern,

and western regions of the country.

National officers commit to a year

of service to the National FFA Orga-

nization. Each officer travels more

than 100,000 national and interna-

tional miles to interact with business

and industry leaders; thousands of

FFA members and teachers; corpo-

rate sponsors; government and ed-

ucation officials; state FFA leaders;

the general public; and more. The

team will lead personal growth and

leadership training conferences for

FFA members throughout the coun-

try and help set policies that will

guide the future of FFA and promote

agricultural literacy.

2019-2020 National FFA officer team elected

COURTESY PHOTO | FFA NEW HORIZONS

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FFA SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 THE SHERIDAN PRESS 3

BY ASHLYNN FENNEMA

CLEAR CREEK FFA

CLEARMONT — The Clear Creek FFA chap-

ter associated with Arvada-Clearmont High

School put together a community benefit in

honor of Jerry Hampshire Jan. 25.

Hampshire was diagnosed with stage four

pancreatic cancer late in the year of 2019.

Jerry has always been a consistent sup-

porter of the Arvada-Clearmont school and

community, and we wanted to find a way to

give back to him.

The club started planning the event in

November and soon started in on the small

details. The chapter decided to host a silent

and live auction during one of the home high

school basketball games to help financially

support their suffering community member.

At the beginning of January, members

began collecting auction items. Community

members were also generous, donating a vari-

ety of items. The fourth hour agriculture class

spent a few weeks before the event creating

bid sheets, advertising and personally inviting

people to the event.

The event took place during the high school

basketball games against Hulett. It was

amazing how many people showed up to

the event. There were community members

in attendance that usually don’t show up to

games.

There were also people there from sur-

rounding areas that knew Hampshire.

“The generosity of the community mem-

bers donating and supporting the cause was

astounding,” ACHS student Madison Troll

said.

When the event was over and all the money

was counted, the FFA chapter raised a total

of $14,002. This was a crazy amount and way

more than the chapter thought we would

raise.

All of this money went straight to Hamp-

shire’s medical and treatment bills.

The support shown by all of the people

was astonishing, and the chapter is glad the

fundraiser was able to make a large impact

on the family.

COURTESY PHOTO | ASHLYNN FENNEMA


BY JOEL MOLINE

[email protected]

SHERIDAN — Public speaking is a task few

people look forward to, yet it is a necessary

skill in a person’s life. Public speaking skills

are needed during job interviews, classes in

college and in FFA chapter officer positions.

“It teaches you to be a lot more confident

in front of other people,” said Katelyn Ka-

lasinsky, a sophomore at Tongue River High

School.

Kalasinsky, secretary of the Tongue River

Valley FFA chapter, said participating in

public speaking helps release a new side of

a person that might not have been preva-

lent before. She saw the change in her older

brother, Theron Kalasinsky.

He started as a quiet child before he started

public speaking. In his high school career,

Theron Kalasinsky spoke in front of the stu-

dent body and became more confident.

Katelyn Kalasinsky has seen herself go from

being a shy person to someone who is not

afraid of presenting in front of her class. She

began her public speaking experience as a

freshman when she performed the FFA Creed

in front of the chapter.

Jake Massar, a sophomore and chapter

president, said every freshman in the Tongue

River Valley FFA chapter performs the Creed

at the chapter speaking contest held every

spring semester.

Massar advanced to the state competition

for the Creed Speaking Leadership Develop-

ment Event. There are three public speaking

events in FFA: Creed, Prepared and Extempo-

raneous.

“You are going to need public speaking

skills throughout your life, and I think that is

why we have public speaking in FFA,” Massar

said.

The competitions provide opportunities for

FFA members to practice those skills before

entering college or the workforce.

Sophomore and chapter Vice President

Hailey Pepin said she does not like speaking in

front of large groups. She is participating in a

public speaking contest to help her learn and

practice the skills she will need for the rest of

her life.

Massar, Pepin and Kalasinsky are preparing

for the Prepared Public Speaking Leadership

Development Event and are enrolled in the

Livestock Production class taught by Tongue

River Valley FFA Advisor John Masters. The

college-level class meets three times a week

with one of those days dedicated to research

and preparation for the contests held at the

Wyoming FFA Convention in Cheyenne April

13-15.

The students researched topics related to

problems and controversies in agriculture. Ka-

lasinsky said the research papers were written

last semester and the students are in the

process of memorizing their speeches. Kala-

sinsky’s topic is on the Dairy Margin Coverage

Program and how recent flooding and climate

change have affected farms, market prices

and the increase in feed costs.

FFA public speaking provides opportunity to develop life skills

JOEL MOLINE | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

SEE SKILLS, PAGE 10


BY KAHLEY SIPE

JOHN B. KENDRICK FFA

SHERIDAN — The John B. Ken-

drick FFA Chapter’s agriculture

program has been at Sheridan High

School for more than 100 years.

The FFA organization is known for

advancing students in premiere

leadership, personal growth and

career success.

Each year, the FFA chapter’s

officers and advisors work together

to develop a program of activities,

which is a required document that

serves as a roadmap for the chap-

ter’s annual projects. One of the

goals of this “roadmap” is finding

ways to give back to our commu-

nity.

The officers brainstormed many

ideas for the year. At the chapter’s

monthly meeting in October, the

chapter discussed these various

ideas. It was voted on and passed

by all members that the chapter

would send care packages and var-

ious items to the troops overseas in

December 2019.

To accomplish this, chapter ad-

visors Clay Christensen and Kassi

Renner spoke with veterans and

looked online to find a list of items

that troops need or want. After

this, members of the chapter were

provided a list of approved items

that they could bring for the care

packages.

Each year, the chapter holds a

Christmas party for members to

attend and there usually is a white

elephant gift exchange that takes

place. For the 2019 Christmas party,

the members decided to gather

these gifts for the troops rather

than giving gifts to one another to

give back to others.

The turnout of this event resulted

in two large boxes of assorted ob-

jects, including sports balls, hard

candies, and personal hygiene

articles.

Another form of community ser-

vice the John B. Kendrick FFA chap-

ter partakes in is a highway cleanup

twice a year. The chapter has a

section of the highway on the north

end of Sheridan, headed toward

Decker, Montana. The goal is to

have more than 30 members gather

to help in this chapter activity.

Many chapter members think this

is the best activity that the chapter

does all year. Having community

service such as these are also neces-

sary for members to be eligible for

various degrees within the organi-

zation.

Community service is an import-

ant aspect to FFA and is part of why

certain community service hours are

a requirement for all members.

Some other activities the chapter

volunteers help with each year in-

clude serving dinner at the Shriners

Banquet dinner and assisting the

Sheridan County Cattle Women’s

Agriculture Expo. At these events,

chapter members and officers are

able to help out in the community

and also share awareness for agri-

culture.

For example, at the agriculture

expo, fourth graders from around

Sheridan County come to learn

more about the role agriculture

plays in our community. Chapter of-

ficers assist by leading the students

through the various booths, and

some even run certain booths to

teach the students. Events such as

these allow chapter members and

officers to become more involved

in the community as well as bring

awareness to the National FFA Or-

ganization.

Sheridan FFA club chooses giving over receiving

MATTHEW GASTON | THE SHERIDAN PRESS


SOURCE: WWW.FFA.ORG

Future Farmers of America established in Kansas City, Mis-souri. First National FFA Convention held in Kansas City: 33 delegates from 18 states in attendance.

Leslie Applegate of New Jersey selected as the first national FFA president.

First sectional gathering of New Farmers of America members held.

1928

National blue and corn gold adopted as official colors. Thirty-five state associations with approximately 1,500 chapters and 30,000 members affiliated with the national organiza-tion.

1929

Official FFA Creed, written by E.M. Tiffany, adopted.

1930

28.5 acres of land purchased near Alexandria, Virginia, for the first FFA-owned national headquarters; the land was part of George Washing-ton’s estate.

1939

National FFA Cen-ter in Indianapolis, Indiana, dedicated July 20.

1998

The Smith-Hughes National Vocational Education Act (both Smith and Hughes were Georgia Congressmen) es-tablished vocational agriculture courses.

1917

Virginia Tech agri-cultural education teacher educators Henry Groseclose, Harry Sanders, Walter S. Newman and Edmund C. Magill organized the Future Farmers of Virginia for boys in agriculture class-es. The FFV served as the model for the Future Farmers of America.

1925

Future Farmers of America Foun-dation formed to raise money from business, industry, government, individ-uals and sponsors for FFA programs and activities.

1944

Record jump in membership from 238,269 in 1947 to 260,300 in 1948; so many members attended the 20th National FFA Convention that a folding-cot hotel was set up in the basement of the Mu-nicipal Auditorium in Kansas City. First FFA Week celebrat-ed during the week of George Wash-ington’s birthday.

1948

A bill was passed by the 81st Con-gress of the United States that granted FFA a federal char-ter and specified that a U.S. Depart-ment of Education staff member be the national FFA advisor. On Aug. 30, President Harry S. Truman signed the bill.

1950

FFA opened mem-bership to girls, making it possible for them to hold office and partici-pate in competitive events.

1969

Future Farmers of America changed its name to the Na-tional FFA Organi-zation to reflect the growing diversity in the industry of agriculture.

1988

Ram Truck’s “So God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl commercial exceeds 18 million views on YouTube; company donates $1 million to FFA.

2013

A record 65,173 FFA members, advisors and guests attend the 88th National FFA Con-vention & Expo in Louisville, Kentucky.

2015

Membership hits all-time high with 649,355 members in 7,859 chapters.

2016

A brief history of the FFA


FROM FFA NEW HORIZONS

Q: Career and leadership de-velopment events help members develop valuable skills for col-lege and their careers. How has a CDE/LDE impacted your career interests?

“One of my favorite CDEs was

extemporaneous public speaking. It

was one of the first times I stepped

beyond my comfort zone. I had a

great mentor and agriculture ed-

ucator who said I should go for it. I

did it, and since then, I’ve been on

this incredible journey of personal

growth, acquiring new social skills

and interacting with the people

around me. Now, I’m able to rep-

resent our industry on the national

level.”

– Kolesen McCoy, National FFA

president

“I was lucky to have two amazing

agriculture advisors who did their

best, like ag advisors do, to encour-

age me to do things I didn’t want to

do. I was terrified of public speaking,

so they threw me into Creed speak-

ing, and that’s where my passion

started. I can imagine both my ad-

visors knew that the more I did, the

more experiences I would have, and

that’s why I’m here today.”

– Kourtney Lehman, National FFA

secretary

“Competing in a CDE and LDE

has allowed me to grow not only

as a leader but also as a person. I

am able to articulate my love for

agriculture to others, and I continue

to be an advocate. Also, it taught

me how to work harder and more

diligently in anything I do.”

– Yomar Roman, southern region

vice president

“I competed in the agriscience

fair starting in middle school, then

I competed all the way through

high school. Asking questions

and looking to improve efficiency

helped me grow as an individual

and make a unique impact. So,

my decision to go into nursing was

sparked by that unique path within

FFA, competing in the agriscience

fair. I realized if I just ask questions,

science can lead to the answers a

lot of times.”

– Tess Seibel, eastern region vice

president

“I started out doing Creed speak-

ing in seventh grade, and that

kick-started my journey. I fell in love

with it and knew I wanted to keep

going, so I got into extemporaneous

public speaking. That’s taken me

to where I am today being able to

interview, think on my feet and

adapt to whatever situation I’m in.

I’m also incredibly grateful for the

employment skills LDE. It’s one of

my favorite competitions.”

– Mamie Hertel, central region

vice president

“In our preferred fields, we have

to be able to communicate. What

the prepared public speaking LDE

did for me was give me the ability

to formulate an opinion and deliver

it in a convincing manner. I was very

much a prepared public speaker,

and because of that, I wanted to

develop messages where I made

every sentence count. It meant a

lot to me, and it made all the differ-

ence.”

–Lyle Logemann, western region

vice president

Leadership teams share how development events impact careers

COURTESY PHOTO | FFA NEW HORIZONS

-


BY JAKE MASSAR

TONGUE RIVER VALLEY FFA

DAYTON — This year, the Tongue River

Valley FFA chapter has 18 members, four of

which are on the officer team. One experience

that makes our chapter unique is the oppor-

tunity for our officers to attend the National

FFA convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

While most chapters take only members

who have placed high enough in their re-

spective career development events and/or

leadership development events to compete

at the national level, our officers fundraise

and accumulate donations from our sponsors

throughout the summer and fall to gather

funding needed to attend the convention.

One fundraising opportunity the officers

participated in was selling raffle tickets and

raffling off a pig during homecoming. There

were around 70,000 FFA members at the

national convention last year, and our officers

were proud to be counted as part of that

number.

At the convention, our officers attended

opening ceremonies and had the opportunity

to listen to keynote speaker Bob Goff, who is

a motivational speaker and author of “Love

Does.”

Goff teaches everyone he meets to dream

big and unlock their full potential.

They also attended a tour at MRC Wood,

where they learned how CNC routers, laser en-

gravers, and painters increase efficiency and

speed up the manufacturing process. MRC is

a small business that specializes in custom

handcrafted signs, cutting boards and home

decor items.

Then they visited Case New Holland Inter-

national’s indoor parts distribution hub, which

is a building 22 acres in size. While there, they

learned the process of nationwide parts distri-

bution. CNHi’s parts distribution hub is a large

warehouse where they store parts for every

piece of farming equipment imaginable, from

engines weighing several thousand pounds

to the smallest washers and bolts, all under

one roof.

They also attended several workshops.

The first related to turning knowledge gained

through FFA into a real career. The next was

about how we can apply native farming tech-

niques in modern agriculture. The last was

about solar and other forms of alternative

energy.

The officers also attended the career fair,

where companies from around the world

come to show off the latest and greatest

developments in farming technology. It was

a great opportunity to see where agriculture

is headed.

They also toured downtown Indianapolis,

including the Indiana State Capitol and sev-

eral other historic buildings, to learn more

about the history of the city and agriculture in

the Midwest.

The purpose of the trip is to educate our

officers on the world of agriculture, so they

can better serve our school and community

as officers, and also serves as a reward to the

officers for their hard work and dedication to

our chapter and the FFA in general.

We would like to thank our gold and plati-

num level sponsors once again. Our platinum

sponsors include the Padlock Ranch, Valley

Meat, C+K Equipment and the IXL Ranch, and

our gold bracket sponsor is the Dayton Rotary

Club. Without their continued support, this

trip would not have been possible.

Tongue River officer team experiences Indianapolis

COURTESY PHOTO | JAKE MASSAR

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-

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The students have learned the importance

of finding sources based on facts, not opin-

ions. Pepin is discussing how global warming

affects agriculture. Her research includes

the effects floods and wildfires have on the

different aspects of agriculture, from crops to

livestock.

Pepin said there are a lot of opinions on

her topic but finding solid facts was one of

the hardest parts of writing the paper. She

looked to university researchers to base her

arguments on instead of the many opinions

related to the topic.

Participants need to have speeches be-

tween 6-8 minutes long that are completely

memorized. They may not have notes with

them when they are speaking.

The speech is based on the research paper

but does not have to follow it word for word.

Massar said it is more important to have a

good flow to the speech. Massar will be dis-

cussing the positives and negatives of alter-

native meats, such as the Beyond Burger, sold

in grocery stores, and the Impossible Burger,

sold by Burger King franchises as an alterna-

tive to the Whopper and many other places.

A challenging aspect of speech memori-

zation is keeping all the numbers, prices and

percentages in order, Kalasinsky said.

Judges will have a copy of the student’s

paper while they give their speeches, to know

if numbers are wrong or switched around.

As the speeches are memorized, hand ges-

tures, eye contact and movements are added

to give more layers to the speech and help

keep the crowd interested.

Outside of class, the students try to prac-

tice their speech every day. Massar said

prepared speaking is like anything else: Repe-

tition is key.

Once the students are done with their

speeches, there are five minutes of questions.

Pepin said this is an area where a chunk of

points can be gained or lost. Questions are

related to the speech and paper. The judges

will test participants to see if they truly

understand their material or if they simply

memorized a speech.

There are three areas of scoring for the

contest. Participants are scored out of 1,000

points, with 200 points coming for the paper;

500 points coming from the presentation;

and 300 points from the question portion.

To reach the state competition, partici-

pants go through three levels of preliminaries.

Only the top two contests from each chapter

move on to the district competition.

Tongue River Valley hosts its chapter

contest Feb. 20. The district contest that

includes chapters from Sheridan, Buffalo,

Arvada-Clearmont and Thunder Basin high

schools is March 3, and the regional contest is

March 9.

There are five regions in the state, so 10

contestants will compete at state conven-

tion.

SKILLS : Will not have notes with them when they are speakingFROM 4

JOEL MOLINE | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

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