FFA Events Update

Mansfield FFA participates in many events throughout the year, this one being no exception to the rule. Although the school year is almost over, the chapter is revving up for even more events for the summer.

Officer elections for the 2008-2009 year marks the beginning for these events. There are 7 officer and 6 assistant officer positions available to FFA members. Applications can be obtained from your AST, but are due back this Friday, May 2. All officer candidates will have an FFA test on Thursday, May 8 after school.(Greenhand and Chapter degrees will also be awarded at the May meeting, so be sure your application is in and your test taken.)

The Senior FFA member dinner will be held May 12 at 4 pm at the Ag Center. Dinner will be served and legacies left by those members who have completed their Senior year and are graduating in June.

Saturday, May 17 will see the Area V Convention held in Frisco. There are a limited number of seats available, but make sure your name is on the list. This is a convention where all the districts within Area V get together to hold events, host guest speakers, and have Area officer elections, just to name a few.

June will host the annual officer camp, this year held on June 11-12 at Texas Star Ranch, and the State Degree check in Stephenville, July will see the chanpter head to Lubbock for the State Convention. Applications to attend the convention, which is full of exciting events, workshops, and tours, are available. However, be sure to bring your $50 deposit so you don't lose your spot! The application and deposit is due no later than Monday, June 9, with the remaining balance due prior to departure.(National Convention applications and deposits are due July 14.)

This is just a few events to keep in mind that we do as an FFA chapter. See the NEWS & NOTES section for more details!

Cullum Elected to Office

Officers wear many hats and serve many people during their term. This is no exception for officers in the FFA. Each spring District II elects new officers to lead them for the next school year. They attend training camps, hold meetings, and play a major role in the events held at the District level for Agricultural Science and the FFA.

Each officer candidate must face the "gauntlet" - a test over FFA related material, an interview, and popular vote. The students with the highest scores make up the new officer team.

This year's officer election was held at the last District II meeting in Azle. Officer candidates began the meeting by taking the test portion followed by the meeting itself where they gave a brief speech on why they would make a good leader for the District.

Leilani Cullum, a Junior at Mansfield High, was elected at the chapter banquet to serve as Mansfield's officer candidate. The current Mansfield FFA Secretary has been active in FFA throughout her high school career including participation on judging teams, livestock showing, and attending volunteer activities such as Little Hands.

We are proud to call her one of our own and to announce that she will be serving as District II Sentinel for the 2008-2009 school year. Congratulations!!!

 Awards Advancement

The FFA provides not only activities and leadership opportunities, but also presents awards to those who have outstanding Supervised Agriculture Experience Programs as well as awarding scholarships to Seniors.

Students apply for over 50 awards in the spring of every year. These include proficiency awards, Star awards, and the H.O. Sargent award, just to name a few. Those that win at the chapter level may advance their applications to District. Applications are then reviewed at this level and a "winner" is chosen to represent the district at the area level.

This year's Area V FFA Convention will also be the sight of the degree check and speaking events. (Scholarship and Star award interviews will be held the week prior.) Applications will once again be judged and chosen to advance to the State level to compete and be ranked according to their SAE.

Mansfield FFA proudly took Cody Markwood's Star Greenhand award, Matthew Markwood's Star Chapter award, Foluke Okolo-Ebube's H.O. Sargent award, four proficiency awards - Ryan Gilbert in Landscape Placement, Tyler Brown in Beef Cattle Production, Matthew Markwood in Beef Cattle Placement, and Leilani Cullum in Food Science Placement - as well as Matthew Markwood's scholarship application and Leilani Cullum's Lone Star Degree application to the District meeting on April 22. Trysten Taylor also competed in the Jr. Prepared Public Speaking event and placed second. All students advanced to the Area level and will be compete on May 17. Congratulations and good luck to all!

Note: see the AWARDS page for a complete list at the chapter level