Wawasee High FFA chapter develops close bond

The Wawasee FFA chapter continues to grow.

“We started the year trying to grow our membership, especially freshman and sophomores, and also push them to get their degrees this year. There are different degrees for each year of membership,” said junior FFA chapter president Reagan Scott.

“First-year members will get their greenhand degrees. Second-year members will work on getting their chapter degree, which requires a certain amount of hours. Third-year members will get their state degree/Hoosier degree. They need to fill out an application online at the state level to get approval.

“Supervised Agriculture Education-required hours can range from working at a job, working on your farm, having your own business or working with your animals.

“We started doing ‘Team Building Tuesdays.’ We take a group of students and do team-building exercises so they can build friendships. They have the ability to learn from each other and learn as a group. We have been pushing career development events like horse judging, soil judging, horticulture judging, livestock judging and dairy judging,” added Scott.

Sophomore FFA Vice President Lucas Wilkinson chimed in, “Leadership development events can include a variety of things like demonstrations, sales pitches, speeches and interviews. That’s held at Triton this year.

“Right now, we’re preparing for FFA Week, which takes place Feb. 18-25. On Monday, we’re doing our LDE practice. Wednesday we do a teacher and staff appreciation breakfast. Friday will be tractor day where first graders come to learn about tractor safety and students will drive their tractors, dirt bikes and four-wheelers to school.”

“March 9 at Triton, every FFA chapter from our district will be in front of a judge and do a demo or speech. It’s a contest against other chapters in the district,” said Scott.

Sophomore FFA chapter reporter Keira Sharp added, “We want to recognize staff, bus drivers, office staff, etc. Our member auction will be held around our officer interview times sometime in April. I take over all social media. I make invitations, write thank you cards, and design stuff for our social media. I’m in charge of the monthly chapter newsletter. I also started an FFA calendar and schedules for people who work, so we can schedule everything in advance.”

Junior FFA chapter secretary Kaden Weimer added, “I mainly get news out to our members. We have 60 members, which is the most we’ve had in a long time. I’m in charge of emailing students and getting the FFA lunch set up during FFA Week. I joined FFA for the opportunities and education because I want an agriculture job.”

“It’s a family tradition,” said Wilkinson. “My grandpa, my dad and my brother were in FFA. I know I can be a leader here and take charge if something needs to be done. I enjoy helping people. I wouldn’t even call it a club; it’s a family. You can always count on someone.”

The events Warsaw FFA students host or participate in are monumental for their growth as individuals, and they are also beneficial to the community. The program is dedicated to giving their students the opportunity to become successful members of the workforce who value and are dedicated to the betterment of their community.

The FFA team has taken part in many events in the community this year to fulfill the school’s mission to make the 2022-2023 school year a “Year of Kindness.”

For example, they participated in Kosciusko County Combined Community Service Adopt-a-Family program, hosted a community appreciation supper and assisted with Pioneer Hybrids Day and many more events.

The team has made notable achievements in their competitions so far this year, some of them being:

• 27th place as a team in the senior FFA division of the Crops Judging Career Development Event.

• 20th place as a team in the senior FFA division of the Forestry Judging CDE.

• 28th place as a team in the senior FFA division of the Entomology Judging CDE.

• Senior Chapter Meeting team placed first in the District 2 Chapter Meeting Leadership Development Event.

The team is now preparing to finish Supervised Agricultural Experience proficiencies, compete in livestock judging, attend leadership development and veterinarian science events, attend the Ag Day banquet and a few other occasions.

FFA Advisor Jacob Riley said, “It gets to be a cycle as an advisor. You know what’s coming around every year, but it is always exciting to see the kids recognize what their next step is and rise to the occasion.”

It has been a year to celebrate for Riley as well. He was recently nominated for the 2023 Indiana FFA Golden Owl award, which recognizes agricultural educators for their significant contributions and investment in the next generations of agricultural leaders.

The team plans to celebrate how far they’ve come and looks forward to the rest of the school year with a bowling night, pizza party, fun after school activities such as karaoke and by doing some community service.