Pair of area FFA chapters take top honors

Sweet Springs FFA chapter (Contributed photo) [Order this photo]

Two area FFA chapters earned top honors at the 81st Missouri State FFA convention held April 15-16 in Columbia. The Sweet Springs FFA chapter was once again named the number-one "Top Chapter" in the state of Missouri, while Marshall FFA was named the state's 13th top chapter, improving nine places from a year ago. Only 10 percent of the state's 317 chapters are honored each year.

"To get number one again is just excellent," said Brent Niemeyer, Sweet Springs FFA advisor. "You always hope for something like that, but at the same time with there being so many great chapters it's just something you don't expect -- especially getting that twice."

He said one of the things that helps their chapter is the large number of students who participate in FFA.

"This year we have 76 percent of the student body who are FFA members, so we have a ton of participation," he said. "Whether it's area contest or district contest, we have someone in every single category, every team."

"If there's an activity, we're going to try to do it," he said.

A new activity this year was the "Coat and Shoe drive," where FFA members collected 400 coats and 200 pairs of shoes that were distributed throughout Saline County.

They also brought back "Food for America," an activity they hadn't done for several years, according to Niemeyer. In that activity they invited third- and fourth-grade classes and had several different stations to teach the children about food. The stations included a greenhouse, live farm animals and agriculture trivia.

Some of the other Sweet Springs activities included sending members to the National FFA convention in Indianapolis, Ind., and skiing at Snow Creek Ski Resort in Weston.

Sweet Springs members also took part in "Produce for Profits," a program which allows students to gain valuable skills in business and marketing as they help earn funds for chapter activities.

Sweet Springs community development included Project Wildlife, where FFA members worked with junior high students to build squirrel feeders and birdhouses to be distributed throughout the community.

Marshall High School advisor Jason Price was also pleased with the 13th place Top Chapter award the Marshall FFA received on Friday, April 16. This year's award was an improvement over a year ago when they were the 22nd top chapter.

"Obviously we were really happy," he said. "We didn't know if we would improve that much from last year."

He said they improved their chapter activities and writing abilities from last year, and the "kids were rewarded for it."

Price said the chapter will now start to get ready for the National FFA convention, where they hope to again be named a "three-star chapter."

The Marshall FFA student development activities included a local speakingcontest held in March where members competed in FFA creed, public and extemporaneous speaking contests and were judged by a panel of community members.

Marshall members participated in a ski trip where they met other FFA members from area schools. Students also received a medal for maintaining an A in agricultural classes all four quarters of the school year.

Marshall chapter development activities are designed to promote excellence within the chapter. One hundred percent of all eighth-grade parents and students were invited to a high school orientation and hot dog supper. FFA members gave tours of the school and agriculture department and gave a Power Point presentation about the FFA program.

Marshall's community development activities included the chapter volunteering to host the District FFA Fair at the local fair grounds. This event brought in teachers, students, parents and other viewers from 54 schools.

For 20 years, the chapter has been responsible for collecting trash four times a year on U.S. Highway 65.

The other Marshall FFA advisors are Callie Dobbins and Randy Plattner.

The top chapters are submitted to the National FFA Organization where they compete for the National FFA Chapter Award during the National FFA convention in Indianapolis.

FCS Financial sponsors the state chapter activity awards.

Contact Marcia Gorrell at marshallag@socket.net