The Summer Leading to New Beginnings

By: Madyson Wilhelm, Merced FFA Chapter Reporter

On July 19th-21th, 2023 three of our incoming seniors attended the California FFA Change Makers Summit in Fresno, CA at the California State University, Fresno. This was an exciting time for our seniors as they joined the first inperson summit catering to incoming seniors. At this summit, they learned valuable information about different agriculturally based jobs in order to plan for their life after high school and information to share with the newest members of our chapter. They were also inspired by speeches from FFA alumni about their time in FFA and what it’s like working in an agricultural field and college life. Our members also spent time engaging with FFA members from chapters across the state, building bonds and friendships. The questions they were asked to ponder the whole conference were “Why FFA? Why Ag? (or not Ag) and Why you?” Our members were privileged to tour a local food bank where they learned how agriculture supports even the most vulnerable throughout our communities.

Natalie Tubbs shared, “I enjoyed my experience at the Change Makers Summit. I learned leadership skills and how to be open and branch out of my shell. I really do recommend that next year's seniors take this opportunity and have some fun while learning new things. As a Senior, I now have more leadership skills, and I feel more open to answering questions and guiding incoming first-year students to strive in our chapter along with our sophomores and juniors! This experience was one of a kind, and meeting with other seniors from different chapters was incredible. The seven sessions taught us much about the agriculture pathways and why they are so important to the future.”

In other exciting news, our 20232024 Officer team had an exciting end of the month as they came together for the annual Officer retreat at Lake McSwain. This retreat is beneficial to our officers and advisors as new and old officers come together to bond and grow as a team and get to brainstorm about the upcoming year. During the retreat, we not only got to plan our year and work, but we also got to bond as a team. One of the best parts of retreat is always the team-building activities which included decorating cakes blindfolded to work on communication, playing the fishbowl game which got a little competitive but also teaches us to be a team player.

During our structured activities, we discussed what leadership and personal growth means to us, set our goals as a leader and goals for personal growth. We also brainstormed ideas for this year's theme and meeting.

Preslee Hunter, returning officer and our current Chapter Treasurer, shared, “I had a great time at the retreat this year! It was great to get to know all my fellow officers better while making unforgettable memories. We all have great ideas for the year to come. We can’t wait to get more members involved and excited about FFA. I know that this year is already off to a great start, and our officer team will greatly impact our chapter and its members”. Our Chapter Sentinel, abd first time officer Ethan Vega, said, “ When I arrived, I was welcomed, and my team and I formed an instant bond. We got the opportunity to get to know each other and get used to working together. My team and I benefited greatly from this experience, and it was a great way to kick off this upcoming school year.”

On behalf of the Officer team and advisors, we would like to give a big thank you to the McGarry family for the use of their houseboat. We genuinely appreciate your support not just this year but through the years and the opportunity to have our retreat at such a fun place. For more information about Merced FFA, visit our website: www. mercedffa.org