California FFA News Fall 2014 | Page 14

Fall 2014 Edition San Luis Obispo FFA Blindfolded Adventures Submitted by Brynn Robellar, Chapter Reporter During the San Luis Obispo FFA retreat, the officers were blindfolded along with their new student teacher and taken to Nipomo FFA, Santa Ynez FFA, and Carpentaria FFA. Once there, they met some of their students, learned what they do at chapter meetings, and shared fun and new ideas. They stayed the night in Carpentaria and the next morning were taken to docks where they sailed on a boat to the Channel Islands. At the island, they planned for the year ahead and learned a lot about each other and their goals for the year. Nipomo FFA Blue Ribbon Memories ChapterScoops Submitted by Ashley Rose Lauinger 14 Nipomo FFA made “Blue Ribbon Memories” at the 2014 Santa Barbara County Fair with 151 members exhibiting livestock, small stock, and agricultural mechanics projects. Students have worked diligently on their SAE projects, some for over a year, in preparation for this year’s fair. “I didn’t realize how much teamwork was involved in showing a lamb”, commented first year sheep exhibitor and soon-to-be junior Alondra Jimenez. “I spent more time this summer working at the school farm with the other sheep exhibitors than I did anywhere else.” “We all help each other when it comes to show day,” explained Chapter Secretary Sam Farao, who exhibited the Reserve Champion FFA Market Lamb. “There is always someone around to help fit your animal, find you a brush before you go in the ring, and obviously cheer you on in the stands. It’s like our own gigantic show family.” Along with generating enormous amounts of Titan pride and developing valuable life-long skills, students exhibited seven champions among the six livestock species, and over half of the agriculture mechanics projects earned first place in their respective categories. Students earned a combined total of $151,420 to help them towards their future educational goals, and to push them forward as they pursue State and American FFA Degrees. King City FFA Local Support for Volunteerism Submitted by Matt Umbarger, Chapter Reporter FFA Members at King City High School accepted a check for $11,000 from King City Young Farmers (KCYF) to help fund FFA leadership activities. The KCYF organization barbeques at local community events throughout the year and King City FFA is always there to volunteer at their events.  King City FFA has grown to over 500 students which includes two-thirds of the schools population, with these numbers we have seen a growing rate of students attending leadership conferences. We could not do many activities without the support of KCYF. But most of all, we thank KCYF for encouraging volunteerism! California FFANEWS • Fall 2014