Outstanding
Chapter
Hemet
FFA
Hemet High School, home of the bulldogs, is
located in Southern California in an area rich with
potato production, dry land farming, and dairies.
The Agriculture program started in 1931 and
offers a variety of courses including Floral Design,
Agriculture Science, Agriculture Mechanics,
Veterinary Science, Plant and Soil Science, and
Agriculture Biology. The Agriculture Science
classes are part of their schools BARR program
where freshman are placed in blocks to increase
student success in high school. This has been a
great support system for freshman coming into the
Agriculture program, especially since the BARR
offers a strong leadership component that ties right
in with what is already taught in the FFA!
Hemet works hard to make events both
educational and fun for the members in the
chapter. In October, they host a Halloween
meeting complete with costumes, bobbing for
apples and a pie eating contest. The Greenhand
Degree Ceremony is accompanied with a green
food potluck where members dine on green
macaroni and cheese, green nachos and a
variety of green desserts. Students compete in
Career Development Events such as light horse
judging, floral, vet science and parli-pro. Senior
Allyson Donnell says, “I love traveling to all of the
competitions up north. It is a great opportunity
to compete and make new friends all over the
state.” Members also enjoy having livestock
projects, attending two fairs during the school year
in October and February. Because the Region
and Section President are from Hemet, they hosted
the Riverside Section leadership conference,
“Go4Gold” complete with a tri-tip barbeque
cooked by their supportive Principal, Dr. Shaw.
In recent years, Hemet FFA has transformed
a section of their farm into a productive garden
where students learn the realities of where food
comes from and truly embrace the idea of farm
to plate. FFA members help in the garden after
school with everything from planting seeds to
weeding and maintenance of the garden. “I love
working in the garden on our workdays because
I enjoy the hard work and watching things grow,”
2
California FFANEWS • Spring 2014
commented Senior Cheyenne Caballero. On
Sundays Chapter President, Chris Gutierrez, helps
to run a farm stand selling vegetables, fruit, flowers,
sausage, and eggs. Members of the community
line up for the fresh products and are encouraged
to walk around and see both the animals and
plants that are being grown. The school also
donates the extra produce to a local food bank,
“Hope Foods”, in an effort to help less fortunate
individuals in the community.
This year Hemet FFA has started a project
with the special education department on campus.
They now have a therapy goat for their students
to work with on a daily basis. The goat, named
“Cleo”, is helping to teach students basic animal
care and responsibility. Junior Melanie Valencia
says, “I love seeing the special education students
get excited about working with animals. It is
an amazing opportunity for them.” Learning
from these unique experiences help Hemet FFA
members become strong leaders in their school
and community! •