Article by: Lacie Weber
Many FFA members will agree that through experience, you will start to believe the impact of an FFA jacket. They might not realize it immediately, but looking back at their time and adventures, they will see how much their skills grew because of FFA. “This is not just a jacket. This jacket has helped me reach my fullest potential. It is rich in traditions and memories, from your first time zipping up the blue corduroy jacket to the time you won as a team wearing your jacket.”- unknown.
On January 24, District 2 Greenhand Interviews and applications were turned in. Only one student filled out an application and was interviewed from ORR. Lacie Weber used her SAEs of Swine and Sheep Production Entrepreneurship and Ag Education to teach and mentor Lake County Shooting competitors to apply for Star Greenhand. Before the interview, Lacie filled out an application and a record book to showcase her SAEs and hours. This year, only two students from District 2 applied for Star Greenhand. Lacie felt the interview went well as she was asked questions about her SAEs and future goals she wanted to accomplish throughout her FFA career. We will determine the results during the FFA State Convention on Friday, April 19, Session 3.
February 9 FFA Proficiencies were due at 11:59 pm. Proficiencies highlight an FFA member’s SAE; there are 42 distinct categories. The ORR FFA chapter submitted three proficiencies. To submit a proficiency, you must complete a brief write-up about your SAE, some challenges and accomplishments, and have a record of inventory and expenses throughout the year. Lacie Weber had Swine Entrepreneurship, Ag Education, and Outdoor Recreation. The top 3 finalists came out on Monday, March 4; Lacie’s proficiencies made the top 3 for the state. She will find out exactly what place she earned on April Friday, April 19, Session 3, during the FFA State Convention.
February 17 through the 24th, the ORR FFA chapter celebrated FFA Week by producing fun dress-up days that all students could participate in throughout the week. FFA Secretary, Junior Brock Eppe, believes that “FFA has had a great impact on my life, teaching me to study, pay attention to detail, and double check my work. Although the benefits of participating in FFA can vary widely from person to person, I believe FFA provides all its members with a better understanding of the true value of hard work.” Tuesday’s dress-up day was Ag Hat Day, where a student could wear a hat from an agriculture company; the most popular hats were Case, John Deer, Ariat, or Mustang Seeds hats throughout both schools. Wednesday’s dress-up day was Drive Your Tractor to School day - John Deer VS. Case and wear green or red. Three tractors were parked out front of the Rutland location by three active FFA members, including Juniors Brock Eppe, Dillion Renaas, and Garett Wicks. Thursday was flannel day. There were many colored flannels throughout both schools. It took a while for everyone to remember to dress up as there was no school on Monday due to Presidents Day. For FFA Week, they rounded out the week blue, the traditional colors of Blue and Gold. This was the day where there was the most participation as it was the easiest to dress up for by wearing blue jeans with an SDSU sweatshirt; a few had an FFA shirt or Sweatshirt on, but not everyone owned one.
On March 18, ORR FFA members traveled to TriValley to compete in their first CDE of the year. This year, each district devised a way to qualify to compete at the state convention to reduce numbers at state. District 2 used an average using the Tri-Valley and Lennox as the qualifiers, with a total of 4 teams going and an additional ten individuals. Twenty-three members competed in their CDE, from competing in Ag, Mech, Natural Resources, or Livestock Judging; each tried their best and learned what they needed to improve on before Lennox on April 8. Sophomore Cooper Merager says that “the Tri-Valley CDE in my opinion was well run, all the events being at the same time we were in and out. Now we are preparing for the Lennox CDE.” The Livestock Team placed 10th of 49 teams, with Clayton Weber, Lacie Weber, and Garet Wicks each receiving a Bronze Award. The Ag Mechanics Team placed 19th of 41 teams, with Dylan Sievers receiving a Silver Award, Dillon Renaas receiving a Bronze Award, and Brayden Hanson also competing in the event. Horse Team placed 15th of 25 teams, with Rori Hartman receiving a Bronze Award; Rili Hartman, Abby Eppe, and Kaelie Lindholm competed in this event. The Natural Resources Team placed 11th of 44 teams, with Brock Eppe and Cooper Merager receiving Silver Awards and Zayd Anderson receiving a Bronze Award with Wyatt Trygstad and Talya Kerkhove. Other FFA members competed in the Floriculture such as Jaylynn High Bear, Marah Doyle-Maxwell, Alisha Graham, Lilly Serfling, Leah Dewolf or Agronomy Brooks Leighton, Hyde Hanson, Kylie Bothern.
Good luck to all those headed to Lennox on April 8, and keep up the hard work and studying so you can all do your best to qualify for the state convention held on April 18 through the 20th.
