Are You Aware of Your Surroundings?

A couple weeks ago I was scrolling through Facebook when a photo caught my attention. It was a photo of a guy that was in my class up until 10^th grade. The photo was attached to a link with a police report. I opened the link and read the words that reported his crime. My heart began to sink the more I read. I thought to myself, “How can someone my age cause so much trouble with the law that a majority of his or her life is spent in jail?” I flashed back to the times I sat near him in a classroom or walked by him in the hallway.  Sure, I knew he was in my class but how many times did I hold a conversation with him? I could barely count the number of times on one hand.

            Last year at State Greenhand Leadership Conference I had the opportunity to make a connection with a member after reflections. It was a simple conversation but something that meant a lot to this member and me. Following SGLC, I followed up by maintaining various conversations with them and saw this member at a variety of events, including state fair, National FFA Convention and MN FFA State Convention.

            What is the difference between my relations with these two people? I maintained a friendship with the FFA member and not so much with my classmate. I was aware of my surroundings and the people that were involved at that FFA event compared to people in my own class.  I was aware of who I was with and what was going on.

            “What if…” questions began to flood my head about my classmate. “What if I would have helped him study for that biology test?”… "What if I would have been more involved in conversation him?” … “Could I have changed his life, just a little bit?” 

          Surely, I cannot go back to 9^th grade, but I can learn from the situation. I ask you to help me with this. We can become proactive about these situations and become aware of who we are encountering in our surroundings. Take the time to get to know others around you and show that you care about them. Maybe it's a kid in your class, a member in your 4-H Club, a chapter officer, or a friend that has been feeling a little bit down. Showing that you care is step #1. Be that person to make Step #1 happen. 

             Now ask yourself: What will it take for me to show appreciation to those I am around and help those that need me most?

Stationed by the Flag,

Supporting Supporters

This past week a handful of FFA members and I had the great opportunity to volunteer at the 11^th Annual Minnesota FFA Foundation golf tournament. At this event we got to interact with some great sponsors and supporters of the FFA organization! As the day went on I got to thinking about different supporters that we have, not only in FFA but also in our personal life. According to the dictionary supporter is someone who approves and encourages someone or something. To me a supporter is a lot more than that, they are a rock that keeps us grounded, someone who helps us be a better person, someone we can always fall back on when we need help, they provide resources to help us accomplish our goals, and most of all they are always there to SUPPORT us.

We all have an array of different supporters in our lives. They might be family members, mentors, friends, teachers, coaches, advisors, or a pastor. Throughout my FFA career I have got to know a great lady who has supported me a lot over the past few months. She had faith in me and told me last year at national convention that she thought I could run for state officer and if I did she would be glad to help. I was always intimidated by Leah so this meant a lot to me. When I was preparing for interviews I asked for her help. The day we got together we learned about each other and she was always there for me, pushing me to do better, and encouraging me through the whole process. Now I am honored to have Leah as a mentor through my year of service.  Leah has been a huge supporter in my life, as well as many others, and will continue to be for years to come.

In my home chapter of Morris we have wonderful support for the FFA program through our community and alumni chapter. The support we receive from our alumni is outstanding; they help us with a large amount of financials, such as our banquet, Ag in the Classroom project, conventions, our barn at the fair, and much more. There is something unique though about their support to our FFA chapter. They support us because we support them. Every year members from the chapter donate a few hours of work that gets auctioned off to local farmers. We then go work for the farmer who bought our hours and he pays the alumni. Every year our alumni have made over $12,000 at this auction and then our chapter and members receive money and support back from the alumni. This is one example of how a group supports us better because we support them.

Another great example of supporting a supporter in our personal lives is friends. Our true friends seem to always be there for us through anything. Why are the always there to lean on? Because we are always there for them, for a good long lasting friendship we are there for our friends when they need us then they return the favor.

Who are some supporters in our lives or chapters? How can we thank them? Take it to the next step, how can we support them? Who do we have in our lives or community that needs support? How can we be a supporter to someone else?

Stationed by the Emblem of Washington

Brady Wulf

The Real Reason

Happy 4^th of July! I’m sure most of us were yelling and screaming this to our friends and family just three short days ago. The 4^th of July is meant to commemorate the day when the American colonists declared independence from Great Britain. Let’s be real… how many of us actually celebrate the real meaning of the 4^th of July? Prior to this year, to me, the 4^th of July meant being on the lake, town parades, and fireworks. This year I began to realize the real reason why we celebrate the 4^th of July.

Quick Story: In 6^th grade I met my best friend in the entire world. Ever since then, Ryan and I have been inseparable. We went to movies and sporting events, helped each other with homework, and we were even chapter and region FFA officers together. High school and FFA would not have been the same without Ryan by my side. Just two short weeks ago Ryan left all his friends and family in Minnesota to begin basic training at the United States Air Force Academy. Ryan committed himself to serving our great country just as the brave men and women did 238 years ago. Having to celebrate the 4th of July without Ryan this year helped me understand what this great holiday was all about. 

This 4^th of July I went to my teammate Dalton’s grad party and ranch rodeo. Just like before the start of every sporting event, the National Anthem was played before the rodeo. All of the cowboys and cowgirls lined up in the center of the arena and an older gentlemen rode his horse around the arena with a giant American flag. As I was watching ol’ glory fly around the arena I instantly thought of Ryan. It made me think, how blessed and lucky am I to have the freedom to be here on this beautiful day. If those revolutionists would have decided to not fight the British I would not have had the freedom to be in that very place.

That same idea can be applied to FFA. If America did not declare their independence and not succeeded would we still have FFA? I am very thankful that since then American soldiers have continued to fight to protect the freedoms our country has and that has allowed our great organization to grow and prosper. Thanks to our soldiers FFA members are able to attend leadership conferences, show livestock, and participant in activities that they chose!

The old saying “freedom isn’t really free” rang true to me this 4^th of July. Next 4^th of July, as well as, in our everyday lives, do not forget to thank a veteran and today’s service men and women for all that they do. Without their bravery and sacrifices we would not be able to be members of The National FFA Organization. Remember the real reason for the celebration. Thank you servicemen and women! Happy Birthday America! 

Stationed by the Plow,

As the Green Fades Away

There comes a point in everyone’s life where we finally get past the struggles of being new and things finally start to click. It could be having the first successful run down the slopes on a new pair of skis or finally getting an A on a test in a new class. Everything seems to fall into place and we feel a lot more confident with each new attempt in that area. For 129 Minnesota FFA Members things started to click this last week while they attended the State Greenhand Leadership Conference (SGLC). Throughout the week they washed the green off their hands pretty quickly.

At the start things were a little rough, not going to lie. The first 24 hours of camp are by far the most awkward. For the most part people don’t know each other and you could almost smell the regret of coming to camp in the air. I was immediately reminded of my time at SGLC as a camper.  I was the only one from my chapter to go and couldn't believe that I let my advisor talk me into coming to this camp. I had no friends there and was not looking forward to wasting five days of my summer deep in the woods of northern Minnesota. Even though things were different for me this time at SGLC it wasn't much different for the campers. I heard from many different members later in the week that their first day of camp followed a similar theme.

As the week progressed, things took a turn for the better and everyone started to warm up to one another. Each day campers were more and more willing to open up, branch out and even ask other members to swing dance (a camp tradition). Naturally there was a big pick up in energy, even on the second day. Sitting in our officer meeting Tuesday night we couldn’t believe that this was the same group of campers that walked in Monday morning. It was fantastic to see the members become more comfortable with themselves and other people.

However, learning how to socialize was not the only thing that clicked this week for this group of members. During multiple sessions at SGLC there were breakout workshops that allowed members to explore possibilities within the FFA. Each member was able to go to multiple workshops on SAE, CDE, and career pathways topics that interested them. Christina Smith, the Region II President, and I facilitated the Agriculture Education career pathway and SAE workshop. It was such a great opportunity to introduce the idea of being an Ag teacher for the first time to many of these members. Mya Wadena, from the Mahnomen FFA Chapter, said the Ag Ed “SAE breakout helped me realize there is more to SAE’s than just farm work”. Many members along with Mya expressed an interest in doing Ag Ed as an SAE project.

Something that was even more rewarding than potentially creating a future advisor was the growth that happened Wednesday night, our third day at cap. That night was all about stereotypes and diversity. We discussed how toxic and hurtful stereotyping can be. For many members this was an eye opening experience, I know that it was for me when I attended SGLC as a camper. This workshop was so impactful I could tell you exactly where I sat during it. During this workshop we gave the members a chance to share a time they had been stereotyped or hurt by people judging them. It’s amazing to see so many members share and to know that they feel safe to share in a room with over 140 people, most in which they just met. After that night I saw a change in how the members interacted with each other. They talked and made friendships with ease (especially compared to the first day). 

Sadly, all good things come to an end. After the Banquet and dance on Thursday night, it only left a few short hours Friday morning. We held our final session that challenged every member to take what they learned at camp and bring back to their chapters. A few campers shared what they planned to bring back to their hometowns and it warmed my heart to know that these members were truly impacted by this week. The next part of camp is something I along with everyone else dreads, the goodbye circle. This is the last time we are going to be seeing some of these people until state convention so we want to savor every minute we have together.

Even though this week was possibly the fastest five days of my life I can walk away with confidence that the future of the MN FFA is in good hands. This group of members walked away with a deeper understanding of not only what the FFA is and represents, but a deeper understanding of themselves. They understand the importance of friendship and valuing others as well as themselves. I wish I had time to have a real conversation with every single one of the members that attended but with the ones that I did I can say for certainty that this week changed their lives as it did mine. I can't wait to see everything these members accomplish as their green fades away and they start working towards their full potential as FFA members and individuals!

Stationed by the Rising Sun,

Jack Roessler

National FFA Week - Public Relations Tools

Are you excited for National FFA Week? Are you excited to celebrate this great organization that you are a supporter of? Share your love for the FFA and let your community know that it is National FFA Week. These public relations tools will help your chapter get the word out about FFA and build community support for your program.

Share this press release for National FFA Week with your local newspapers and publications. 

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – The Minnesota FFA Association will celebrate National FFA Week from February 15-22. With over 10,000 members in Minnesota and nearly 600,000 across the country, FFA is the largest student organization in the United States.

Based around agriculture and previously an acronym for the Future Farmers of America, FFA changed its name to the National FFA Organization in 1988 to reflect the growing diversity of careers in agriculture. Students are now able to learn about research, technology, business, management, communications, the economy, and a variety of other careers in agriculture.

Middle school and high school students have the opportunity to prepare for career success in any field through events that develop future career skills such as public speaking, communication, leadership, and hands-on job experience. Agricultural education provides a unique opportunity for students to learn about a field that is relevant to their everyday lives.

Local agricultural education programs around the state of Minnesota will participate in various activities throughout the week. Through meetings with government representatives, appreciation meals for the community, high school dress-up days, agriculture awareness events, and many more fun activities, local FFA chapters will celebrate the motto of our organization.

“Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”

FFA is just one component of 190 agricultural education programs in Minnesota, working towards premier leadership, personal growth, and career success for all students. National FFA Week will precede the Minnesota FFA Convention, which will be held April 27-29 at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities campus for nearly 4,000 members, guests, parents, alumni, faculty, and supporters of agricultural education.

This year’s Minnesota FFA theme is, “Fuel Your Fire.” Students at state convention will learn how to develop their own skills so that they can contribute to the success of others whether it is through a career objective, personal encounter, or friendly experience.

Interested in celebrating National FFA Week with your community? Contact your local FFA chapter and visit www.mnffa.org for more information.

Share these 30 second and 60 second public service announcements for your local radio broadcast stations or create your own!

Public Service Announcement #1 (60 seconds)

With over 10,000 members in Minnesota and nearly 600,000 across the country, the National FFA Organization is the largest student organization in the United States. The Minnesota FFA Association would like to extend a warm welcome to everybody in Minnesota to participate in National FFA Week from February 15th to the 22nd.

Local agricultural education programs around the state of Minnesota will participate in various activities throughout the week. Through meetings with government representatives, appreciation meals for the community, dress-up days, agriculture awareness events, and many more fun activities, local FFA chapters will celebrate the mission of our organization.

Contact your local FFA chapter to learn how you can celebrate National FFA Week!

FFA is just one component of 190 agricultural education programs in Minnesota, working towards premier leadership, personal growth, and career success for all students.

Public Service Announcement #2 (30 seconds)

With over 10,000 members in Minnesota and nearly 600,000 across the country, the National FFA Organization is the largest student organization in the United States. The Minnesota FFA Association would like to extend a warm welcome to everybody in Minnesota to participate in National FFA Week from February 15th to the 22nd.

Local FFA chapters in Minnesota will participate in various activities throughout the week and celebrate the mission of our organization -- developing student potential for premier leadership personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.

Contact your local FFA chapter to learn how you celebrate National FFA Week!

Be sure to share the message of National FFA Week with your community. Doing something specific in your own FFA chapter that you want to add in? No problem, just make a couple of changes to the sentences and put your own personal twist into these public relations materials.

It's important that we share our key message as FFA members who have been impacted by agricultural education.

How do the activities that you participate in during National FFA Week continue to "Fuel Your Fire"? How do they fuel the fire of others? How do you fuel the fire of your community and give back? Keep these questions in mind as you think about National FFA Week and share the story of agricultural education with others.

Fuel Your Fire--

Stationed by the Flag,

Brandon

10 Steps to Kick the National Chapter Award in the Butt!

There is no doubt that there are a lot of applications a good agriculture instructor has to complete. Between helping students complete a state degree application to filling out the agricultural literacy challenge to making a Supervised Agricultural Experience project look like gold – the agriculture instructors in Minnesota rarely get a break.

Only about 30 of the 183 FFA chapters in Minnesota complete the application for the National Chapter Award, and it is about time we increase that number! The only thing is, agriculture instructors don’t have the time to fill out the application, and it is supposed to be done by FFA members. So, where do we start?

The National Chapter Award can be a gruesome application if you wait until the last minute, but if you are on top of it, the application can be relatively easy and rewarding with recognition. The application measures the magnitude of chapter FFA activities within one year and is due on March 1 in Minnesota. Here are ten steps that you can take to start filling out the National Chapter Award application.

Most of the steps will be best accomplished during a couple of the meetings between the committee members. If the committee consists of all chapter officers, then a chapter officer retreat or meeting will be the best source of completion for the first several steps.

Step 1: Form a committee of FFA members dedicated to formulating the National Chapter Award application. Many FFA chapters have their chapter officers as the only members of their National Chapter Award committee, but the individuals could literally be anybody--high school students or college students--as long as they are members of your FFA chapter.

Step 2: Assign two people to be in charge of the entire application; this doesn’t necessarily mean they will end up writing the entire application, but they will oversee the completion and correctness of the application. These individuals will serve as the co-chairpersons of the National Chapter Award committee.

Step 3: Nine activities within student development, community development, and chapter development are required to be recorded in the National Chapter Award application – determine the nine activities that your chapter will use.

Step 4: Assign one person in charge of writing each activity’s National Chapter Award page; the activity’s chairperson will probably be the most effective person to utilize if they are on the committee. (It is recommended that all used activities in the application have their activity chairpersons in the National Chapter Award application committee.) Since there are several activities to be filled out, one person may be in charge of a couple of application pages if not a lot of people are involved in the application committee.

Step 5: For every activity, the chairpersons should draft four goals and an overview of what their activity will look like. Remember that goals should be SMART.

Example:

Activity Description: To have students achieve personal success through their SAE projects.

Goal 1: To have members keep yearly records on SAE projects in order to be able to understand how much effort they are putting in, what they are learning, and how much money they are making with their projects. It is important that members understand the connection of their SAEs to the ag. program and community.

Goal 2: For the advisor to work with the members throughout the year, taking pictures of them with their projects and monitoring their achievements.

Goal 3: To have at least 10 of the River Valley FFA members complete the proficiency award application for their particular SAE areas by the deadline on February 1st.

Goal 4: To have at least 10 qualified members complete their state degree applications by February 1st. These members will be able to show the growth in their SAE projects and their involvement in FFA.

Step 6: For every activity, the chairpersons should draft a plan of action of what their activity will look like. The plan of action should include several specific steps and a timeline as to how the activity will be accomplished.

Example:

1: (August 15) All summer project visits will be complete by this date. Summer project visits will be at FFA members' SAE project sites and recorded by pictures from the advisor.

2: (September 1) Summer project visit posters will be made to be displayed in the ag room by Crystal.

3: (December 10) Mrs. Smith will give a brief overview of the state degree and proficiency application process. She will set up work nights to be held for those who are planning on completing the applications.

4: (December, January) Mrs. Smith will work every Tuesday night after school with FFA members on their proficiency and state degree applications. She will also work almost every night for the last two weeks before the deadline to ensure that every member qualified is able to complete their applications.

5: (January 7) At the monthly meeting, John will again discuss proficiencies and state degrees to make sure FFA members are on target for completing their applications by the deadline of February 1st.

6: (February 1) All members applications are to be complete. Chapter officers, led by Adam, Faith, and Alan, will help print off the applications and record books, organizing them to be ready for the day of interviews and verification.

7: (February 19) During advisory, state degree and proficiency applicants will be informed by Mrs. Smith about what will be asked during their interviews and verification of records on February 20th.

Step 7: During the actual activity or immediately following, make note of what is happening during the activity. Keep track of numbers, unique events, and any special progress.

Step 8: Once the activity is complete, the activity chairpersons should record the results and evaluations of their events in the National Chapter Award application, including some of the items mentioned in the previous step. After recording them, the activity chairpersons should report their results, evaluations, and picture(s) to the National Chapter Award application committee for approval.

Example:

Goal 1 Results: (MET) Through their SAE projects, members were able to show their own personal growth. Many members kept records for their SAE's and 46 project visits were conducted by the advisor.

Goal 2 Results: (MET) The advisor worked with members throughout the year. She visited members, checked on progress, and took pictures of the members with projects. These pictures were used for the proficiency award applications and posted on the Ag. room wall. Members worked very hard with projects.

Goal 3 Results: (EXCEEDED) 13 members completed 14 Proficiency applications.

Goal 4 Results: (EXCEEDED) 16 members completed their state degree applications. All were accepted by the region and are currently at state, one was the region star winner, and another was the runner-up.

Evaluation: All members now have a better understanding of what to keep records on for their SAE projects and the areas of a complete ag. program. Members learned a lot about the terms used for the applications and how to keep records. 8 of the applications received first place at the region level after interviews, 4 received second, and 2 got third. 13 applications were rated gold!  The chapter had 1 national proficiency finalist and 7 applications placed in the top 3 at state in 2012. It is great to see so many hard working members achieve personal success with their state degrees and proficiencies!

Step 9: After the chairpersons of the award application committee have all of the material due from committee members, then they can start piecing together the application to make it look great! There are a couple of additional pages to complete at this point, but these pages are not too challenging. They might require some additional information from your FFA advisor, though.

Step 10: Well, at this point, you’ve almost made it - congratulations! The last thing to do for both of the chairpersons is to proofread the application several times and give it to other individuals to proofread several times as well. Good suggestions to proofread the entire application might include your ag instructor, english teacher, a parent, and/or an administrator.

If you are one of the people that is a chairperson of the entire award application committee, set firm dates! Give dates on when application material is due to the committee and hold everybody in the committee accountable to those dates. Giving yourself plenty of lean time for those dates is essential, so that there is even enough time for that person that is always late!

This process will indeed help you fill out the National Chapter Award application, but this is also an ideal process to planning for FFA activities and reflecting on how the events can be made better. This is NOT the process that has to be used, this is just a suggested outline of how the National Chapter Award application could play out the most effectively.

The National Chapter Award is a prestigious award that recognizes outstanding FFA chapters across the country, based on their Program of Activities. Every FFA chapter is supposed to submit a Program of Activities to Minnesota FFA, and often times activities are overlooked, despite their excellence. The National Chapter Award application is a perfect way to recognize those activities for the excellence that they deserve.

Don’t have your application process started for this year? No problem, get a head start on the application soon!

Stationed by the Flag,

Brandon