FFA Week in Ronan, Q and A with adviser Ben Meyer

RONAN — On Feb. 18, the Mission Valley FFA Chapter hosted the Western FFA District Leadership Competition welcoming the Beaverhead, Stevensville, Deer Lodge, Flathead and Missoula FFA chapters to our school in Ronan.

Fourteen of our members competed in creed speaking, greenhand knowledge tests and quizbowl, prepared speaking, star greenhand and parliamentary procedure.

Creed speaking is the memorization and presentation of the FFA Creed. Members must be able to recite from memory the five paragraphs of the FFA Creed and then be able to answer questions about the values and beliefs of the FFA Creed. Michaela Blevins took fourth place in this very difficult event.

The greenhand knowledge test evaluated Greenhands (first year FFA members) on their knowledge of FFA and agriculture. Blevins took first place followed by Thane Tobol in third, Lindsay Clairmont in 16th, Amber Metzger in 19th, Amber Taber in 26th and Hunter Shima in 32nd place.

The Mission Valley FFA Chapter had two teams participate in the Greenhand Quizbowl. Out of the two teams, Mission Valley 1 took first place and Mission Valley 2 took fourth place.

In the quizbowl, Greenhand FFA members had to answer questions in a Jeopardy-style event going head-to-head versus another FFA chapter.

In the prepared speaking event, Jassica Sure Chief wrote and memorized an eight minute speech on the benefits of biomass. Sure Chief took second in the Prepared Speaking Competition and qualified for the state level competition in March where she will represent the Western FFA District in Great Falls versus the rest of the state.

Representing the chapter as our Star Greenhand was Lindsay Clairmont. Clairmont was selected due to her knowledge of FFA and agriculture and in-depth supervised agricultural experience or SAE. Clairmont’s SAE consists of her ownership of several beef cows, two sows, several laying hens and leasing 10 acres of grain.

The Star Greenhand contest required Clairmont to complete a series of interviews about her SAE, answer questions about agricultural issues and FFA, and recite the FFA Creed. Lindsay Clairmont took second in this district event.

Parliamentary procedure is the rules set down to govern an assembly. At the contest, we were to show our knowledge of parliamentary procedure through a mock meeting. We finished third overall in the contest bringing home a plaque for the first time in decades for this difficult and technical event.

John Romero led the chapter in the knowledge portion of the event placing 12th. Romero was closely followed by Bridger Wayman in 17th, Bridgett Lake in 20th, Jassica Sure Chief in 21st, Jennae Welker in 25th and Amber Taber 29th place rounding out the team in the knowledge portion of the event.

The final contest of the day was the extemporaneous public speaking contest. This event required students to draw an agricultural topic out of a hat and prepare a 30-minute speech about the subject. Members were limited to just five written resources to prepare the four to six minute speech. Alex Greenfield represented the Mission Valley FFA Chapter in this event where he placed fifth in the district.

This weekend the Mission Valley FFA Chapter is off to Billings for the State FFA Equine Evaluation Contest. For more information about FFA or to see if your student is eligible for enrollment in the chapter, contact chapter FFA adviser Ben Meyer at 676-3390, ext. 3517.

Q and A:

RONAN — The Mission Valley FFA Chapter is celebrating National FFA Week 2009 (Feb. 21-28). In light of this, I thought we would ask a few questions of Mission Valley FFA Chapter Adviser Ben Meyer, who has recently revitalized the local program.

Q: How did the district competition go?

A: I was very pleased with the competition and the skills demonstrated by the students from Ronan and the surrounding area. The Western FFA District (Kalispell, Missoula, Stevensville, Deer Lodge, Ronan and Dillon) always has top quality FFA members that rank very high at the State level.

Q: What’s next for your FFA team? Did any of your kids qualify for state in Great Falls?

A: Yes, we did qualify several students for the State FFA Convention in Great Falls next month. Jassica Sure Chief earned a spot at the state contest with her prepared public speech entitled, “The Benefits of Biomass – America’s Hidden Energy Potential.”

Other students qualifying for state included Kelsey Clairmont, who won the District FFA Livestock Evaluation Contest.

Q: I’ve heard that FFA has grown from when you became adviser?

A: Yes, the Mission Valley FFA Chapter has seen a positive resurgence in the past couple years. I arrived in Ronan in the fall of 2007 and started with six returning FFA members. Since then, we have around 35 active FFA members in the chapter and we participate in over 35 events each year and all throughout the summer.

Q: What is the best thing about FFA?

A: The best thing about the FFA is the students. FFA is the largest in-school youth organization in America and its students never fail to surprise and amaze me with their interests, talents, and abilities.

Today, the Mission Valley FFA Chapter based at Ronan High School is the only FFA chapter and agricultural education program in the area. FFA in Ronan is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2009.

For more information about FFA in the Mission Valley contact chapter adviser Ben Meyer at 676-3390, ext. 3517.