Medicine Valley FFA Stays Busy Through the Fall Semester
Chapter officers at COLT Conference. Clockwise from top back: President Johanna Nutt, Secretary Raquel Taylor, Sentinel Tommy Schroeder, Student Advisor Brendan Johnsen, Reporter Tell Deatrich, Treasurer Chris Farr and Vice President Kelcey Garey.
By Tell Deatrich, Chapter Reporter
The 2009-10 school year started off busy for the Medicine Valley FFA. Led by officers elected in May, the chapter began the year preparing for various competitions and continued to work for excellence through the semester by participation in contests, community events and chapter development.
The year kicked off right with Brendan Johnsen excelling at State Fair. Brendan showed hogs, goats and sheep this year in the FFA division and earned top blue and purple ribbons each time. He also exhibited many vegetables from the garden, earning a total of 11 ribbons, a division champion and a grand champion. Members of the Floriculture class also exhibited floral arrangements of fresh boutonničres, corsages and designs. Chris Farr earned two blue ribbons and a red, Tommy Schroeder earned three blue ribbons, Adrienne LiaKos earned two blue ribbons and a red, Jessica Madron earned two blue ribbons and a purple and Kelcey Garey earned one blue, one purple and one red ribbon.
The first local competition of the year was the Area 3 Range Judging contest held in September. This was held in Alma and 19 MV FFA members participated. Range judging teaches students about Nebraska’s rangelands and good range management practices. Since over half the state is rangeland, the proper care of this natural resource is very important. The contest areas of plant ID, livestock forage values, range site conditions and many other factors make it a challenging competition. The NRCS and NRD coordinate to put on this large competition. In the junior division, there were 137 competitors, with MV’s Colleen Melvin placing highest in the chapter at 58th place. In the senior division, there were 103 competitors and Tell Deatrich was the chapter’s highest placer at 22nd place, earning a green ribbon.
Next, the chapter traveled to Holdrege to compete at Area Land Judging. It was a very chilly morning but the students were excited to compete. Land Judging focuses on reading the lay of the land and determining the best use for the land. Students must determine soil type, permeability, topsoil thickness, erosion and slope. The area NRCS and NRD employees worked hard to make the contest educational and challenging. MV students rose to the challenge, with 7 of the 18 competitors earning ribbons. Out of the 163 individuals competing, MV finished with Rulon Taylor in 23rd place, Tommy Schroeder at 26th, Colleen Melvin at 30th, Chris Farr at 49th, Brendan Johnsen at 58th, Jessica Madron at 71st and Riley Garey at 75th place.
Later in October, MV FFA members trekked over to NCTA in Curtis to compete in the District Livestock Judging contest and attend the IMPACT Workshop. The Livestock Judging competition is hosted by NCTA and included 8 classes of four animals each, along with classes of oral reasons and sets of questions. There were 195 junior division competitors and 79 senior division competitors. It was a long day of judging that resulted well for Medicine Valley. Individually, Johanna Nutt placed 9th and Raquel Taylor placed 12th in the senior division, while Brendan Johnsen placed 7th and Dallas Petersen placed 13th in the junior division. The senior team of Johanna, Raquel, Sarah Cooper and Haley Magee placed 4th and the junior team of Brendan, Dallas, Rulon Taylor and Colleen Melvin placed 3rd and both teams qualified for state competition in April.
Meanwhile, at IMPACT, the FFA state officer team led many students in leadership workshops and exercises during the morning and after lunch sessions. Students had the chance to meet people from around the district. The workshops focused on setting goals, time management and working individually and on a team. Junior Devon Fristche stated that IMPACT was “fun and educational but not boring” and looks forward to next year.
At the end of October, MV FFA members took the long trip to Indianapolis for National Convention. Students had the opportunity to see Mike Rowe from “Dirty Jobs” speak about the importance of hard work, and enjoyed other motivational speakers as well. One of the biggest highlights was seeing MV FFA member Ethan Jones perform with the National Chorus – a huge honor he shared with only 80 other FFA members from around the entire country. Also, Shane Farr received his American FFA Degree at the final session of convention. Students also attended the two Nebraska dances, along with a tour of natural caverns and the Indianapolis Art Center, where students made steel sculptures and fused-glass jewelry.
Throughout the fall, the MV FFA also worked all the football concessions and participated in the Curtis Fall Festival. The concessions stand was a popular place to be for many FFA members trying to keep warm during the cold games. Workers served Polish dogs, BBQ beef, super nachos, walking tacos, nachos, candy, pop and of course popcorn at each varsity game, and served a reduced menu at JH and JV games as well. Many fans appreciated the excellent service and the high-quality items available at a low price. Once the weather started to get cold, fans from Curtis and elsewhere swarmed the stand to get Sarah Cooper’s famous hot chocolate.
During Fall Festival in September, the FFA held their annual Hired Hand Auction. Thanks to local supporters, the auction brought in a nice amount to help cover activities for the coming events. Students showed off their muscles and skills during the auction, which was auctioneered by Regina Andrijeski, a local favorite. After the auction, students had time to enjoy the rest of the Fall Festival activities until the evening, when the Team Sorting began. This was the 7th year that the MV FFA has hosted the event. Members worked hard to prepare the arena for the event, which brought over 20 teams to compete this year. Thanks to the help of parents and community members, the Team Sorting went smoothly and all individuals involved really enjoyed the event. Students were needed to keep time and work concessions, along with clearing the arena and all the work of set-up and clean-up. Although it lasted into the early morning hours, FFA members had fun working and many participants enjoyed themselves as well.
By November, the focus of the FFA had turned to selling fruit, meat and cheese and cookie dough for the annual fundraiser. In between the switch to the new sports season along with preparing for the FFA Leadership Skills Events competition, students managed to sell items before the Thanksgiving break. Then, due to the big snow storm the first week of December, the LSE competition was postponed and fruit was delivered during the week of December 14. Many thanks go out to all the locals who supported the FFA through buying fruit and other items.
Also in November, MV FFA advisor Tonya Mortensen skipped school for almost a week to travel to Nashville. The National Association of Agricultural Educator’s Conference was held at the Opryland Hotel along with the Association for Career and Technical Educators. At this conference, Mrs. Mortensen received the “Teachers Turn the Key” award sponsored by Dodge. This award is given to teachers who have taught between 3 to 6 years and have worked to build an ag ed program and FFA chapter. Mrs. Mortensen attended many workshops and met new people from all over the nation. She enjoyed her time in Nashville but was glad to be back in Curtis and back in school.
Now the MV FFA looks ahead to next semester. The LSE competition will be held January 6th, followed by State Degree and Proficiency Review in February, CDE competition at the end of that month and the Aggie Day contest in late March. Students will then travel to State Convention in April and end the year with a celebration of success at the banquet in May, which will see the newly elected officers take their positions and begin to plan for next year.
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