Just like the weather can affect planting and harvest, weather related school cancellations this week have put a damper on traditional FFA Week at Carmi-White County. The organization’s 170+ member contingent is pushing festivities to next week when a much more favorable forecast should allow them to maximize spirit. School being called off didn’t stop this year’s officers from showing up along with club co-advisor John Lamp Thursday at the Carmi Kiwanis Club. This year’s officers include Camden Crow (President), Tyson Spicer (Vice President), Brooke Rahmoeller (Treasurer), Kami James (Secretary), Addy Lamont (Reporter), and Drew Lingafelter (Historian). Crow has been a 3 year officer and Spicer is in his second year in a leadership position. There will be changes next year as Lamp’s uncle and the FFA Club’s co-advisor Bobby Lamp is retiring after about 30 years at the conclusion of the school year. The school board just this week hired a new ag teacher in Grace Glaser for next school year. She hails from North Posey and is graduating from Murray State.
Lamp says it’s been a good year so far and the theme for next week includes Red (Case IH) vs Green (John Deere) Day on Monday, America Day on Tuesday, Camo Day on Wednesday, FFA Shirt Day on Thursday, and it all culminates with Drive your Tractor to School Day on Friday. That’s not all.
Friday is also the FFA Pork Chop Feed. That’s always the most popular event that we put on for the kids. They’ll bring in some sides and drinks and the FFA will cook up some pork chops for all of them.
There’s been plenty keeping FFA students busy and more on the horizon as well.
Barnyard is coming up eventually. We have public speaking coming up. Some of you saw last week we took kids to the farm show and some of the officers also went to the NWTF Convention down in Nashville. It was first time they did that and I think they had a pretty good time. And the farm show, I think we took about 30 kids to that so had a pretty good week of out of school enrichment.
FFA members will also get to go visit with Illinois House members at the Capitol for Ag Legislative Day in March. Last year, Crow says they got to visit with Representatives Patrick Windhorst and Dave Severin before enjoying a memorable meal at Longhorn Steakhouse. As good as those spicy chicken bites were, Crow says his favorite memory so far has been the Feed the Farmers event the Carmi FFA in conjunction with the NCOE FFA club hosted in October.
I think the Farmer Feed was a favorite across the whole chapter. Everybody kinda got to go out…our committee consisted of 30 members and we made over 400 pork chops for farmers in the community. Through FFA, you get to meet a lot of people and I got to know Mattie McArthy from Norris City’s FFA. We contacted Jc at the radio station and got an ad out there and my phone was ringing off the hook people wanting pork chops delivered to the field. That’ll be my most favorite event we ever got to do in FFA throughout my 4 years.
Lamp hopes to be able to continue that event in the future. Crow also says the FFA field was solid this past year producing 48 bushels of beans and thanked companies and individuals including Becks donating the seeds, Nutrien who donated chemicals, and Tyler Wooten who also helped ensure there were no input costs for the FFA and helped make that fundraiser fruitful. Lamp echoed that praise especially on Wooten.
He takes care of us. He’s definitely good to our FFA Chapter and the community’s good to us. The clubs are allowed one fundraiser a year and that’s really the only fundraiser that us as an FFA Chapter does is we plant and harvest the field and that’s how we’re able to stand in pretty good financial standings with the school. It’s a good thing.
Coming up next week at Kiwanis, Omaha native, now Evansville resident Jason Miner will be on hand to talk about his experience playing and winning almost $78,000 in cash and prizes on Wheel of Fortune.
