Southern FFA observes National FFA Week

RACINE – Southern FFA has been celebrating National FFA Week Feb. 27-March 3 with activities involving the whole school.

On Monday the theme was “Dress-Merica Monday” and included a lunch game of sawing a board the fastest. There was also the Ag Olympics where seventh graders through seniors competed in different games such as: the plunger race; pie eating contest; nail driving contest; and milking a cow. The Senior Class of 2017 won and their name will be engraved on a traveling trophy for the 2017 Ag Olympics Champion trophy. At the conclusion of Ag Olympics was Kiss the Pig. The winner was Southern High School Principal Daniel Otto with the most money in his jar. Students have donated money into all the FFA officers jars which are: Michaela Holter, president; Colton Hamm, vice president; Raven Reedy, secretary; Austin Rose, treasurer; Valerie Hamm, reporter; Dominique Wehrung, historian; and Jenna Meeks, FFA Advisor.

Tuesday was dress like a Farmer Day and the lunch game was the Farmer Relay Race.

Wednesday is dress in Camo Day and the lunch game will be the Fence Post Toss.

Thursday’s dress theme is Redneck Day. The FFA Officers and Racine Southern FFA Alumni (Ohio River Producers) members will be serving lunch to the staff from 12-1 p.m. as a thank you for their support. FFA Officers will be hosting an eighth grade recruitment, where all Southern eighth graders will get the chance to see what agriculture classes and FFA entails as they are encouraged to take an agriculture class next school year.

Friday’s dress theme is Official FFA Dress/National Blue/Corn Gold/FFA Day. Southern FFA members will be going to visit Southern’s third graders to teach Ag in the classroom. Lessons are scheduled to include topics such as The Dairy Industry in which the third graders get to make homemade ice cream. Another topic will be An Apple as An Earth representing how much land is available to grow crops on and where their food comes from.

The motto of FFA is “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”

During FFA Week more than 649,000 FFA members will celebrate the role agriculture plays in daily lives while sharing the message of agricultural education as part of National FFA Week. National FFA Week is a time for FFA members to host a variety of activities to raise awareness about the role the National FFA Organization plays in the development of agriculture’s future leaders and the importance of agricultural education.

National FFA Week always runs Saturday to Saturday and encompasses Feb. 22, George Washington’s birthday. This year, the week kicks off on Feb. 18 and culminates on Feb. 25. The National FFA Board of Directors designated the weeklong tradition, which began in 1948, in recognition of Washington’s legacy as an agriculturist and farmer. A group of young farmers founded FFA in 1928, influencing generations that agriculture is more than planting and harvesting — it involves science, business and more. The organization’s mission is to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population.

Today, FFA continues to help the next generation rise up to meet new agricultural challenges by helping members develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of career pathways. Members progress to enjoy careers as biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers and entrepreneurs.

FFA chapters use National FFA Week to share agriculture with their fellow students as well as their communities. Chapters also give back to their communities through service projects and recruit students to become FFA members. National FFA Week is also a time for alumni and sponsors to advocate for agricultural education and FFA.

The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 649,355 student members as part of 7,859 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization is supported by 225,891 alumni members in 1,934 local FFA Alumni chapters throughout the U.S. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org and on Facebook, Twitter and the official National FFA Organization blog.

The National FFA Foundation builds partnerships with industry, education, government, other foundations and individuals to secure financial resources that recognize FFA member achievements, develop student leaders and support the future of agricultural education. Governed by a 19-member board of trustees composed of educators, business leaders, individual donors and FFA Alumni, the foundation is a separately registered nonprofit organization. About 82 percent of every dollar received by the foundation supports FFA members and agricultural education opportunities.

Dominique Wehrung, Racine Southern FFA Historian contributed to this story.