Ms. Poet- District AdvisorI am thankful to serve as the Southwest District Advisor and the opportunity to work with the FFA members in our district. I am also thankful for the many advisors here in the Southwest District who have helped me with being the district advisor and welcoming me to the district as a new Ag Teacher. I am thankful for my students at Greeley .County High School and the support of the community members and teachers. Noah Ochsner- PresidentI am so thankful for the amazing people I have met over the past year and the changes that are happening in my life. As I prepare to leave for college next year I am discovering more and more each day who I am and who I want to be. I am also forever thankful for the simply awesome people I have met in this organization and the INCREDIBLE work we are all doing here in FFA. Also during this time I like to reflect on the amazing family and friends I am so blessed to have in my life. Thank you to everyone who has helped me over this time as my life changes and also thank you to all of you that make our work here in promoting premier leadership and career success possible! Also I am forever thankful-blessed with the best District Officer team I could ever ask for! Thanks for being "eggslant" and putting up with me! Emily Glenn- Vice PresidentReflecting on my life I realize I have so many people, items, events, and opportunities to be thankful for. Not only am I thankful for my family, friends, and all the necessities I have, but also for the opportunity I had to become involved in FFA and later on become a district officer. FFA has developed me into a leader, influenced my future career, and made a positive impact in my life. I am thankful for my FFA advisors, FFA friends, and FFA supporters. Elizabeth Unruh- SecretaryLately in the spirit of thanksgivings I’ve been thinking on what I’m thankful for. There a lot of things I️ could list FFA , my family, my Advisors, the school I’ve gone to and the opportunities it brought. I️ think what I’m most thankful for is my faith in Jesus my personal relationship I️ have with him it shapes every facet of my life and how I️ interact on a daily basis I’m so blessed to have been raised to learn about him. Grace Roth- TreasurerI️ am thankful for the 3 F’s- Family Friends FFA Kailie Martin- ReporterThere so so many things to be thankful for. One thing I am so thankful is my family. I couldn't do anything without them. Another huge thing I am thankful for is God and my faith. Am I also very thankful for friends and the people in my community. Now finally I am thankful for food. Any type of food for that matter, as long as I can get seconds! Megan Newlon- SentinelDuring this season of thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting among the very things I am so thankful for. I am sincerely thankful to live in a country where freedoms encompass us and for each one of those freedoms in their own. I am also thankful for my family, friends and education even though they might get under my skin every now and then. In addition to education, I am so thankful to be a part of such an incredible organization through agricultural education—FFA and work alongside five other amazing district officers and have an advisor that can handle us, as well!
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“If someone offers you an opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes—then learn how to do it later,” asserted Richard Branson. Throughout each and every aspect of the National FFA Organization opportunities are utterly endless and effortlessly present themselves to us as members. With only two full years of FFA membership, I, personally, have experienced many of these knocking at my door through Career Development Events(CDEs) and my own Supervised Agricultural Experience(SAE), Diversified Livestock Production. When I enrolled in Agriscience my freshman year, I had no idea what truly existed in FFA. Sooner or later, I learned that the organization offers plenty of opportunities, but I had to be willing to put in the effort and open that door to those possibilities in order to be benefited by them. Within a few months, I attended my first CDE, which happened to be dairy cattle judging. Even though I was raised on a farm, I knew next to absolutely nothing about these creatures. Despite this, that day I learned agricultural classes are not just an elective course, and the FFA organization’s purpose is not just to teach me how to judge a dairy cow. Instead, together, they consist of phenomenal programs, which serve as opportunities for myself, as well as other members to learn and grow the countless skills needed for career success. I may not be a dairy cattle judge for the remainder of my life, but the skills I’ve gained through it definitely will accompany me just because I said ‘yes’ to an opportunity and learned the ‘how to’ later. Not only have the opportunities through CDEs impacted me on a large scale, but my own SAE has as well. My Diversified Livestock Production SAE is composed of beef, sheep, and swine production, as well as equine science. Horses have been a part of my life since I can remember, so naturally when I was choosing an SAE, I knew they were going to play a role. Little did I know, after actively competing in mostly western and english performance all-around for the previous eight years, my horse would end up being put down. As horse shopping began, I tried a couple performance horses, but nothing truly stood out to me. Time passed and I then rode a ranch horse versatility all-around horse or two and ‘click’ there it was; his name is Willy. Though I didn’t 100% know what all that entailed I decided to go for it. So, I spent the winter learning to ride again and then competed in plenty of new events throughout the season. Now that I reflect back on this past year, I have experienced an agglomeration just from saying ‘yes’ to an opportunity and learning the how to do it later. As the older I have become, I’ve realized there are plenty of forks in the road, but many of them stand between opportunity/growth, and settling for your comfort zone. This could be: “to go or not to go to a CDE,” “to attend this event or not to,” “to try something new or not,” along with a million others. Don’t allow the words “different, new, or change” intimidate you as these are just the seeds of new growth through an opportunity planted in our lives. So, I encourage you, no matter if it’s in school, FFA, work, extracurricular activities, 4-H, sports, or whatever your heart desires, when you find yourself in a plight situation or a fork in the road, say ‘yes’ to opportunity and then learn the ‘how to’ later. Stationed by the door, Megan Newlon Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be involved in something agriculture related. I have been involved in 4-h since I was 8 years old. I started out by showing a bucket calf named Shivers. She alone taught me so much. First of all she taught me that cattle will virtually eat anything you want them to (including hot dogs and grapes.) She also taught me that cattle are a lot smarter than they look (or a lot less smart I haven't quite figured it out). For instance they will find any way they can to get out of their pen, even if this results in them getting stuck between two panels for a couple hours. But most of all I learned responsibility. By starting this at such a young age it really gave me some good stepping stones for the future. I pursued my livestock career and continued to get better cattle each year. The older I got the more shows we went to around the state, and the more competitive I got. My twin sister also got very involved into this program as well. As we grew in age are responsibilities grew as well. We were in the barn from sun up to sun down working with our animals to make them the best we could. Showing cattle from a young age taught me to take charge and how to be a leader (literally lead.) This backstory is not to persuade you to show animals or even to be in 4-H, it’s about the opportunities and life lessons you learn throughout these programs. When I heard South Central had a FFA program I was absolutely ecstatic. I could hardly wait. I had heard so many amazing things about this program, and basically how it was 4-H on steroids. When I actually got the chance to experience what FFA was, it was different than I expected. Coming from a 4-H background I figured it would just be mainly about cows, sows, and plows. Fortunately, I was severely wrong. I has no idea what doors it would open for me. My sophomore year I had the privilege of serving as South Central’s chapter Sentinel. I can’t even explain the amount of excitement I felt when I was chosen to serve my chapter. I was going to get the chance to put those responsibility and leadership skills to the test. Going into this I thought there was no way I could learn anything else, become a better leader, or even inspire others. Yet again however, I was wrong. We went to different workshops, competitions, and activities. With each of these events my skills and love for the program grew and grew even more. I never expected for myself to be where I am today, with the amount of knowledge and skill I have developed in this organization. If I had to give one piece of advice to younger members it would be to get involved in FFA as much as you can, because you have no idea the opportunities it will give, the people you will meet, and the lessons you will learn. FFA has made a huge impact in my life, and I hope it does the same for yours. Living to serve, Kailie Martin Copyright 2017 Southwest Kansas FFA District and its affiliates. One of my absolute favorite parts about FFA is being able to do what I love and what I am passionate about every single day. Whether I'm making plans for my SAE, attending CDEs, traveling for meetings, or attending other activities for the southwest district, you will catch me with a smile on my face and passion in my heart. This past year my life has been unfolding before me. I have learned so much, met many new friends, and all in all grew as an individual. Something that I believe has had one of the biggest impacts on my life is my SAE. My SAE is water advocacy for the state of Kansas. About three years ago my dad implemented soil moisture sensors in his farm which was one of his ways of conserving water for the next generation. My dad would come home everyday with a new water story and I became more and more interested. While attending the 2016 Governor's Water Conference and hearing Secretary of Ag , Jackie McClaskey, talk about the potential of a water conservation SAE my dad had just the person to launch this type of SAE. In order to learn more about what I would be doing for my SAE my dad and I traveled to Manhattan Kansas at the Kansas Department of Agriculture and we met with Susan Metzger and Russell Plaschka. Here we talked about different ideas to grow the idea and make it successful. After our meeting in Manhattan we traveled to Lawrence Kansas to the Kansas Geological Survey and we met with Jim Butler and Brownie Wilson. The two of them showed us the statistics behind the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer and information on water sources in the eastern portion of Kansas. After these two meeting we had a better understanding on where we wanted to take the project and how we really wanted to kick it off. Something that I really wanted to do to spread the word and get other FFA members involved is put together a series of workshops or a conference. A couple weeks later Susan and Russell had emailed my dad and I asking if I would be willing to speak at the Ag Ed Symposium about my SAE and recruiting other FFA members around the state. On January 27, 2017 I gave a presentations to the Ag educators of Kansas and after my presentation Dr. Gaea Hock from Kansas State University approached me saying she would love to help me with my water advocacy SAE. Leaving the Ag Ed Symposium I had realized that my passion was truly growing into something bigger than I could have ever imagined. For a few days after the conference, my dad and I were thinking specifically what we wanted to do to educate other FFA members. Eventually, we came up with a proposal for a water advocacy conference that would educate FFA members on water resources, advocacy, and leadership skills. With the help of Dr. Hock, K-State, and Kansas Department of Agriculture, the 2017 Youth Water Advocate Conference was held July 12-14 in Manhattan Kansas. After attending the conference I was way more open minded and inspired than I ever thought I would be. I learned so much and I truly do believe I grew as an individual. Knowing that there are so many FFA members that share the same passion as me makes what I do even more special. As FFA members, we have the potential to make a huge impact. I know for a fact that this group of FFA members will make an impact because they are some of the most passionate, driven, and hard working people I have been able to work with. This past year I have had the privilege of meeting and seeing so many passionate and driven FFA members. I am always so impressed seeing the amount of love and dedication high school students have for FFA. I am so excited for this coming year for southwest district and seeing the hard work the members will put in. The passion in these members will take them far and that is something to be extremely proud about. Living to Serve, Grace Roth 2017-2018 Southwest District Treasurer [email protected] Copyright 2017 Southwest Kansas FFA District and its affiliates. You know that sound something makes as it hits the ground? That big crash or boom? That’s the sound of me dropping my cheese on the ground at my very first FFA contest. When I signed up for plant science my junior year of high school, I had no idea of the impact that class would soon have in my life. I can still remember the first day of class. It started with Hensley announcing that she was a part of something called FFA. My immediate thought was “future flight attendants of America” and I thought why not, sign me up. Flash forward to Tuesday night, and my first ever FFA practice. I was ready. Decked in my leggings and hot pink crocs I thought this can’t be hard, bring it on. I walked in and found out that we were tasting cheese. Heck ya, I love cheese. So I embraced it to the extreme and ultimately won first place in dairy foods. I was hooked. I’ve been in almost every activity at the high school and my teachers can tell you I have a blast being in them, but it wasn’t until FFA that I realized I was destined for impact. WE are destined for impact. When I first started writing this post, I was trying to isolate that pivotal moment that everything changed, the moment that FFA began affecting me. I had trouble. Was it the moment I first tasted rancid milk? I mean that left a big impact on my taste buds and stomach. Was it the moment I started singing GO BANANAS in my prepared speech? The more I thought about this, the more I realized it was just one of those Tuesday night practices. We were all sitting down and talking about serving the community through helping with the annual Pioneer dinner. It was then that it hit me, FFA matters to the community. They have, you have, the ability to impact the world around you. As Venjohn would say, “it’s up to you whether it’s good or bad.” Especially in agriculture, we have the unique ability to influence people in almost every facet and walk of life. That’s why I love it. I think it’s easy to lose perspective on that some times. I first heard about running for district officer from our, now district, President Noah Ochsner. He didn’t know it at the time when he announced and asked people to run for district officer, but he was about to influence my life in a substantial way. Everyone has a sway of influence or weight in someone’s life. That may be large or small but you have it whether it was given to you or you gave it to yourself. I talked earlier about how FFA taught me that I was destined for impact for something bigger outside of little world and myself. My impact could be global. YOU too are destined for impact! You have the potential to be a part of something bigger than yourself. If you are reading this, chances you are part of FFA. Unless you somehow were on the Internet searching “impact of cheese” and somehow Google brought you here. If so, welcome you too are en route to impact! As I slowly picked up that piece of Swiss cheese, I realized that the entire table was looking at me as if I’d lost my mind. I thought what’s wrong? I dropped the cheese, not the mic, but then I realized it wasn’t the cheese plopping to the ground. It was me talking to myself, as if I had lost my mind, because I let the cheese slip. Me talking to myself about dropping the cheese led to me impacting those around me, and their effectiveness to judge the cheese. I quickly realized my error and proceeded to apologize for another 5min. After that, I collected myself and resumed my third round around the cheese table. Now I didn’t just go through that entire story so you could conclude that I love cheese and went back to the table more than once. I told it to show you that your impact though sometimes big can also be a bad one. As we go on this yearlong journey together, let us be working towards a positive impact through growing in our skills and character, and build a better FFA. Remember YOU are destined for impact, not just in FFA but also in your school, home, community and world. What you do is an influence on someone and reflects who you are, the good, the bad and the ugly. So, think about how you are impacting what’s around you. And don’t forget if you drop the cheese to lessen the impact of awkwardness just make a grate pun and move on. This is your Southwest district secretary, Elizabeth Unruh, I’m here to help you move towards your “boom crash thud” moment. Elizabeth Unruh 2017-2018 Southwest District Secretary Copyright 2017 Southwest Kansas FFA District and its affiliates. Imagine a teenage girl, about five feet four inches tall. She can be seen in jeans and a button up, athletic shorts and a t-shirt, a tennis uniform, business attire, or official FFA dress. Yeah, you guessed it, that's me. Hello, my name is Emily Glenn and I am the Southwest District FFA Vice President. As you have probably already assumed, I am a very diversely involved student. I compete in tennis and track and field. Also, I am involved in National Honors Society (NHS), 4-H, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Science Club, Band, and Student Council. My favorite organization and most influential on my life is FFA, because it has shaped my character, built my leadership skills, and defined me. Being a farmer's daughter it was only typical of me to go ahead and join FFA when I reached that high school level. As a result of my brother being an active member of FFA when I was in middle school, FFA was something I looked forward to as a middle school student. I couldn't wait to get one of those blue corduroy jackets that I would commonly see my brother in. Towards the end of my eighth grade year, when pre-enrollment for high school came along, you bet, agriscience was the first class on my list so that I could join the Scott City FFA Chapter. I have never regretted my decision of joining FFA and being the extremely active member that I am. FFA has effectively made me the individual I am today. Everyday, as soon as you wake up, you have a decision to make, your attitude. Are you going to be grumpy? Happy? Overwhelmed? Stressed out? Positive? It's your decision. Unfortunately we, as high school students, often times easily let ourselves be that overwhelmed, stressed out, grumpy person. Having a positive attitude is key to improving your life. I know it is not always easy to manage your attitude, and it takes hard work. Therefore, below are four key strategies to controlling your attitude. 1. Understand your attitude is up to you. You are responsible for your attitude. It does not come from a circumstance but instead from how you react to a circumstance. Others may be able to influence your attitude, but ultimately you are the only one in control of your attitude. Start taking full responsibility of your attitude today. 2. Take a step back. I am sure you have had a moment in life where something just makes you mad in the matter of seconds. Maybe you are driving down the highway and someone cuts you off, or maybe you showed up to English class and someone had taken the seat you always sit in. In the moment you instantly become angry. However, before allowing yourself to become mad, take a step back. Ask yourself, is this going to effect me long term? Is the situation really something that deserves my effort? Humans often times put more effort in to being mad than a situation is worth. 3. Look for the lesson. There is always something that can be learned from a difficult situation. Just recently I competed in a tennis tournament, and my partner and I did not have the greatest day on the courts. Our shots were frequently long, serves weren't going in, and we kept making simple mistakes at the net. However, we were able to take this day as a learning experience. What can you learn from a difficult situation? How can you use the situation to help you become a better person? Always remember life is a journey full of growing and learning. 4. Find something positive in every situation. You are driving home after an awful day. It has been the worst day ever. You woke up late, did not do your calculus homework, you totally forgot about the speech you had to give 4th hour, lunch was beyond awful, and worst of all everyone seemed to be mad at you. In this situation, it is common and very easy to look at every aspect of your day negatively. There is no reason to dwell on the bad. Instead of having a negative view on the day, look for one good part of it. Even if it is as simple as someone asked you how your day went or that you are alive and breathing. "Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day." Throughout this school year, always remember you are the one in control of your attitude. "A positive attitude will lead to positive outcomes." Living to Serve, Emily Glenn 2017-18 Southwest District Vice President [email protected] “FFA is just a club for farm kids and I don’t want to be around all of those kids.” This is something you might have heard me say back in 2014 when I first started high school here at Greeley County. I had no idea what FFA was actually about and it was actually extremely hypocritical of me to label anyone considering I grew up around and currently work in the agriculture industry, more specifically, farming. My freshman year I came in with the mentality “I am only in high school to wrestle in the winter and run track in the spring.” Not only was this a terrible mentality to have considering my family was paying a good chunk of change for me to go to high school here and as time went on my grades thoroughly began to reflect this mentality. My sophomore year rolled around and my school district brought on a new Ag teacher, Mrs. Reiss. As I enrolled in the fall of 2016, I selected Ag Comprehensive I S1 and II S2 because I wanted something “easy”. Well my searching for easy turned into finding out that I had just joined possibly the best class available at GCHS. Within the first week Mrs. Reiss began showing me and everyone in the class what FFA was actually about, she also mentioned these things called “CDE’s” that happen about every week. I immediately turned to my friend Logan and said “Hey, let’s join this to get out of class!” We went to CDEs and as I learned more about the organization. Through these events, I found out that this is something I truly love and that I am truly passionate about. That following April after thoroughly resetting my priorities I decided to run for a district office. With only 9 months of experience, I was elected the 2016-2017 Southwest District Vice President. Over my time in FFA, I have learned that the people in FFA are simply amazing and to this day, many of my best friends are in FFA. I learned that this is an organization that is about sooo much more than “cows, plows and sows.” There is nothing I love more than driving across my district and state, meeting members, talking to them, and promoting premier leadership whenever possible. Today, I am forever thankful for what Mrs. Reiss taught me about FFA. I also now have many friends who are now nearly my family members in this organization from around the great state of Kansas. If it wasn’t for FFA I would not be the person I am today. So I encourage you, if you are looking to “just get out of class” to look around and see if maybe this organization is more than you think. You may find out that you are in an organization that can take you further than you ever imagined. You may meet some people who later will become your best and closest friends who make your life better and might even save you when times are rough. You might learn that ag teachers may need to take a special driving education course and possibly question your safety on the road at times. So I encourage you, do not join FFA just to “get out of class” join FFA to change this industry. Join FFA to promote and grow premiere leadership. Join FFA to change your life. Forever thankful and beneath the rising sun- Noah A. Ochsner Southwest Kansas District FFA President 2017-18 [email protected] Shout out to all of these amazing people that make my life a whole 100% better! Copyright 2017 Southwest Kansas FFA District. In April, six individuals were elected to become the 2017-2018 Southwest District FFA Officers. In May, I accepted a job out of college to become Greeley County Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor. Little did I know that I would also become the District FFA Advisor and get to take on the task of advising a team to lead 23 chapters amounting to about 500 Kansas FFA members. August 11th, I and six individuals set out on a Road Trip Retreat on our way to District Officer Conference. As we began our trip we started to learn about the six major characteristics of an effective team. Along the way we gained the building blocks we would need to become the SWD Officer Team. Our first stop was at LaCrosse Ag Program with Ms. Smith. One of the key characteristics of an effective team is knowing how to be a leader and being able to support one another. Through several ice breakers, the individuals were better able to get to know each other and also came away with activities to use later on in the year as district officers. The SWD members traveled to see one of the eight wonders of Kansas in Wilson, KS. There is a balance needed between extroverts and introverts to make a great team. The team took on the challenge of creating a balance between themselves in a workshop of “The Shuffle”. With the challenge, they found a different type of balance as a team. While they may not have physical balance, they found their balance as a team. Plus it was an “egg”xcellent time for a photo opt! The group took the time at Dwight D. Eisenhower Monument to use their emotional intelligence with a side of social sensitivity to grow as an effective team. Dwight D. Eisenhower was mostly known for keeping America at peace, but on the agricultural side, he became a strong advocate using his intelligence and social sensitivity. The six officers were challenged by showing these same strengths when they are faced with controversial topics about an industry that they all love. Half way on our quest to become a team, I challenged the team to figure out what a team really was. The discussed that a team is a group that comes together to achieve a common goal. In order to do this, they need to communicate proactively. Communicating proactively can be difficult but the team has found many ways to keep the each other, the chapters and Kansas FFA involved in all that is happening in SWD. Look for the calendar coming out soon! The six FFA officers were able to build more as a team thanks to the Kansas State Officer team. Through their numerous workshops and gatherings, the students were able to gain so much more than most officers can get. But little did the team know, that they would also gain more as their District Officer Conference ended. After leaving DOC, the team had one more stop to make on their road trip retreat. The “Best Ag Teacher Driver” caravan stopped in Victoria, KS at the Historical Landmark of the early pioneers. The pioneers who first came to the Midwest had endurance and a drive to stay because they had a goal. The officers were challenged with the fifth characteristic of an effective team being, sharing and understanding goals. After creating their own ideas of goals for the team, they came together to create 6 goals for the Southwest District. After an intense 45 minute session of creating and committing to goals, the officers were able to properly present their goals for the coming year. · Goal 1- Communicate effectively with chapter officer and advisors · Goal 2- Have more engagement at Greenhand Conference with hands on activities · Goal 3-Increase Social Media presence using blogs, twitter, facebook, etc. · Goal 4- Create a district wide event to increase leadership participation · Goal 5-Impact chapter members by enforcing chapter buddies · Goal 6- Visit a minimum of 5 chapters throughout the year as an officer team. I am looking forward to working with this team for the next year as they hold each other to complete these goals to help with the success of the Southwest District. Now this is not the end of the Road trip Retreat. We still had one more characteristic to complete to become an effective team. Little did the team know, they had used this characteristic since they got in the vehicle at the beginning of the trip. Make time for humor. The team shared many laughs that even got some crying because it was so funny. Through the endless laughs on the trip, we got to know each other well. Through leadership, balance, emotional intelligence, proactive communication, creating goals and having fun with it all, these six individuals became a team. The 2017-2018 Southwest District Officer Team. Here by the Owl
-Ms. Poet |
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