Students attend FFA convention

Nevada Daily Mail

The FFA programs from NEVC and Sheldon went to the annual National FFA Convention in Louisville, Ky., to cement what they had learned in the classroom and to meet other FFA members from across the nation, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Nine students from NEVC went on the trip, and nine Sheldon students went. Going with the two Vernon County schools was Wheatland's FFA program, which brought eight students. The trip lasted from Oct. 28 through Oct. 31.

The convention -- the largest youth convention in the world -- allowed students to go on tours of Harvest Home Dairy, the Louisville Slugger Museum and the Kentucky Horse Park, where retired racehorses live.

At the Harvest Home Dairy, students learned about dairy farms, nutrition and how its operation works. Ryan Meeks, the FFA advisor and agriculture teacher at Sheldon R-8 said students were taught how the dairy's "Cutting edge technology helped them stay in business when others had to shut down." At the Louisville Slugger Museum, students went through the museum and learned the history of the baseball bat factory.

"They learned a little bit about history throughout all of it, but they also learned about the Ag industry and how it plays into more than just food and plants and clothing. They learned how it tied into everyday society," said Ashley Janes, the FFA advisor and agriculture teacher at NEVC R-1. "For example, at the Louisville slugger Museum, they learned about how specific woods of specific trees went through the entire process to be used by Babe Ruth or whoever. They learned that this is how it got there, and this is how it ties back to agriculture."

Students also attended an FFA Career Show and Expo where students could go through the vendors and booths and "check out colleges, scholarships, mingle with other chapters," She said.

Meeks said he thought the career show was important for the students to take part in because it is important for them to know what kind of options there are for their future.

"Most high school students don't know what they want to do, so it is important for them to look at what their options are. I try and push kids to look not at what they think of the school, but what is the best degree for them and where they can get the most financial aid."

Students who went on the FFA trip had to meet several requirements in order to attend the National Convention. Students had to be FFA members and pay their dues, they had to earn enough points through participation and fundraise to cover the trip's cost.

Students had time for fun and entertainment as well during the convention. Country musicians, Kip Moore and Clair Dunn, performed for the 65,000 FFA students and advisors at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, on the steamboat, Belle of Louisville, where the students were able to have dance and socialize with other FFA chapters' members, Janes said.

Both Meeks and Janes said the trip to Kentucky helped the students because many do not get out of state too often.

"A lot of the terrain is different from [Missouri]. From an academic standpoint, we can take what we're learning in the classroom and carry it over to wherever they are traveling or on tours," Janes said. "For example, in the freshman class we cover livestock nutrition. When we went to Harvest [Home] Dairy and things like that, it kind of reinforces that, and they can see it from the dairy perspective."

Towards the end of the convention, three former Vernon County students won the American Degree, Meeks said. Caitlyn Klaflin and Morgan Compton, graduates of Sheldon who now attend Oklahoma State University and Hutchinson Community College of Kansas respectively. Both of the students are studying ag-related majors, Meeks said. Erin Kitsmiller, an NEVC alumnus now attends Crowder College in Neosho, Janes said.

The American Degree is given to three percent of the national FFA membership, Meeks said, and since their freshman year, the three winners have had to keep a record of their hours worked, their enterprise had to earn and invest $7,500. Investments can be money spent on feed for animals or money spent on a calf or pony.

The competition for the award is fairly stiff, Meeks said. Each record in their record book earns them points, and Meeks said many students who reach the minimum amount of points can be overlooked and the degree is given to the ones with the most points.

Janes reiterated the prestige of the award. "It's the highest award an FFA member can receive," she said. "The degree looks great on a resume and can help earn scholarships for the winners."

Meeks and Janes said this experience was a positive one. Meeks said while most FFA chapters try and go about every two years, Sheldon FFA tries to attend each year because of the good experience it gives to the students.

"I think it's a very positive experience," Janes said. "They get to mingle with all the other chapters, build leadership skills, work on communication."