PANA FFA CHAPTER
Advisors: Brian Wood and Holly Bauman
Pana FFA: Very Busy in December
This month, the Pana FFA Chapter has been very busy with Career Development Events. On December 1st, the Agronomy Team (Aaron Vandenbergh, Brett Smith, Allison Litton, Daniel Litton, Hannah Miller, Kelsey Ewing, and Nicole Gleespen) travelled to Lake Land College where they placed 5th out of 12 schools. On December 3rd, members of the Agronomy Team and the Dairy Foods Team travelled to Lincoln Land College for contests. The Dairy Foods Team (Breanna Getz, Kelsey Ewing, Hannah Miller, Loretta Beck, and Brad Tilton) travelled to Hillsboro High School on December 9th where they placed 5th out of 12 schools. Congratulations to both teams on their successes!
CDE Marathon
On November 16th, the Pana FFA Chapter hosted three separate contests at Pana Junior High School...Greenhand Quizbowl, Job Interview and the Grain Fair. Pana had 9 students representing the FFA Chapter for Greenhand Quizbowl (Kelsey Ewing, Brent Christian, Derek Porter, Lucy Weddle, Ashley Kay, Breanna Getz, Aaron Vandenbergh, and Luke Waddington). This group of freshman received 4th place out of 12 schools.
In the Job Interview CDE, Travis Carlock and Nicole Gleespen competed by writing a cover letter and resume, filling out a job application, having an interview, and writing a follow-up letter after the interview. Nicole placed 5th and Travis received 6th place overall. Congratulations to all of the participants!!
82nd National FFA Convention
Pana FFA members and over 56,000 other FFA members attended the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 21-24, 2009. Josh Sundquist, a Paralymic ski racer nationally known inspirational speaker gave the keynote address. Pana students also attended the Career Show where they visited hundreds of booths about various agricultural careers, colleges and businesses.
FFA Competes in Soil Judging
During the months of September and October, members of the Pana FFA Chapter competed in both the Shelby County Soil Judging Contest and the Section 19 Contest. The Shelby County Contest was held on September 29th and was attended by 12 students. On October 13th, Pana FFA and Taylorville FFA teamed up to host the Section Soil Judging Contest, bringing 24 schools together. Members of the 9th place team included Kelsey Ewing, Aaron Vandenbergh, Andrew Deere, and Nate Owens. Congratulations to the team!!!
Students Attend Reporter's Workshop
Travis Carlock, Nicole Gleespen and Kelsey Ewing of the Pana FFA Chpater attended the District IV Reporter's Workshop on September 10, 2009. The event was held at Lake Land College. Several reporters, as well as a variety of other officers from District IV attended the event.
Ellen Reeder, Illinois FFA State Reporter, assisted with the event. The workshop focused on teaching the students how to contact the media, report news and take pictures. In addition to this, reporters learned about their responsibilities for the upcoming school year. Students not only learned how to improve their reporting abilities, but also improved their leadership and communication skills through a fun mixer.
Pana FFA at the Farm Progress Show
On September 1, 2009, the Pana FFA went to the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. They left the high school at 8 a.m. and got back to school around 6 p.m. Pana FFA members supported the Monsanto Genuity food drive by bringing bags of canned food to the show and receiving a free pass into the Farm Progress Show. There were many exhibits that the members went to see, such as Monsanto, Asgrow, DEKALB, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Toyota, Pioneer, Kubota, John Deere, Case IH and LG. Students were able to learn about new technology with equipment, seed and chemicals. The freebies were also an added bonus for the students who attended the farm progress show.
FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth,and career success through agricultural education.
