2014 has certainly been a busy year for the members of the Freehold FFA Chapter (not to mention all of the Freehold Township High School students)! Over the past few months our members have had several opportunities to sharpen their agricultural and leadership skills.
On January 25th, five of our members attended State Officer Candidacy School to learn about the duties of a state officer. State office is the next step in a member's FFA career after chapter office, and the responsibility and work is as demanding as it is rewarding. The Freehold FFA is proud to currently have two state officers currently in office: State Treasurer Kristianne Dowd and State Vice President Delaney Gray.
Soon after some of our members were considering taking the next step in their FFA careers, many of our young members took their first step. Our annual Greenhand Conference was held on February 8th at the Monmouth County Agriculture Building. This conference gave the freshman of the chapter the opportunity to earn their Greenhand FFA Degrees: the first degree they can earn as high school FFA members. The conference was facilitated entirely by our chapter officers, who had put months of work in to putting the conference together. The freshmen learned all of the basics of FFA, from the FFA creed, mission, and motto to parliamentary procedure. Those who attended the conference were extremely respectful and fun to work with. The future of the Freehold FFA chapter will definitely be going in to the hands of some wonderful young men and ladies!
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February 15th to the 22nd was National FFA Week. Our chapter celebrated by painting the school windows, holding an agriculture career dress-up day, an FFA t-shirt day, flannel Friday, and a grade-vs.-grade week long scavenger hunt (which ended in a tie between the seniors and the freshmen)! It was a great week to show FFA pride and celebrate our chapter!
The Freehold FFA junior class attended Advocacy and Legislative Leadership Day event, or ALLD, on February 20th at the College of New Jersey. Students had the chance to network with adults who have careers or leadership roles in agriculture, listen to the speeches of some state officials, and go to sessions run by the state officers on how students can impact perspectives, impact America, and impact the world. It was a great experience for a group of students who are about to make some major career choices!
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The Horticulture Exposition was held on March 14th to the 16th. Several of our members submitted floral arrangements to a category of a holiday or event of their choice, such as Mardi Gras, Winter Solstice, and Welcome. Freehold is proud to have many first place arrangements this year!
Coming up in the next few months are spring CDEs and state convention! Let's just hope this weather gets warmer!
Sydney Gavinelli
Freehold FFA Reporter
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