1999-2000 HistoryCurrently we are working on compiling our chapter history. Here is what we have so far for the 1999 - 2000 school year. Anyone who has information concerning this or other years, please contact our advisor Ben Rutherford either at the school or via email.
Mark Wallace Elected as NE. District FFA Treasurer. Chapter president Mark Wallace was elected as the treasurer for the NE District of the Arkansas FFA during the recent Arkansas FFA Convention. Mark has an exciting and busy year ahead as the serves both the district and our chapter. Good luck to Mark and all the other District officers. 73rd Arkansas FFA Convention. Our chapter recently attended the 73rd State FFA Convention held at Camp Couchdale. Our chapter was represented by one delegate, two members of the State Band, and three members of the Courtesy Corps. We received a National Chapter award for all our activities during this past school year. We also had one member receive his State Farmer Degree. Finally, our chapter president, Mark Wallace, was elected as NE District FFA Treasurer. The members who participated or received recognition at the State FFA Convention were: Lane Julian - Delegate FFA Fundraiser at Pizza Inn. Our fundraiser was a success. We earned quite a bit of money to help with chapter operations and activities.2nd Annual FFA Banquet . On the first Thursday of May, we held our 2nd Annual FFA Banquet. This year’s banquet was catered by Harry Myers. Man, can he cook. Some of the highlights of this year’s banquet are:Speaker—Misty Smith, NE District State Officer FFA & Paintball. On April 29th, seventeen members and guests of the BHS FFA traveled to Sikeston, MO to participate in a teamwork activity, paintball. Wow, we didn’t know just how much fun learning about teamwork could be. Expensive also. 2000—2001 Officer Elections Held . On April 20th, the BHS FFA Chapter held officer elections for the upcoming year. The following members were elected.President—Mark Wallace Nursery/Landscape Team Participates in State Contest. The Nursery/Landscape Team traveled to Fayetteville, AR in April to participate in the State CDE Contests. The event was held on the U of A Campus. The team placed 15th overall. Congratulations goes out to the team members. FFA Members Read at Robinson. Karen Howard and Doug Jackson, BHS FFA members went to Robinson during National Library Week and read to students. The students at Robinson highly enjoyed interacting with the “big” kids from the high school.Spring Plant Sale. We held our spring plant sale this year on April 8th in conjunction with "HOPE" fest 2000 at the Mississippi county fairgrounds here in Blytheville. This was an arts and crafts fair held to raise money to help fund a scholarship in memory of Brandy Welch who was tragically killed this past fall. We had tomatoes, peppers, houseplants, cookbooks, and other bedding plants. Many people attended and supported us and the "HOPE" fest.CDE Contests & Teams This year we participated in several career development events (CDE's). Below is a list of the events we participated in, members participating, and the results of how we fared. Congratulations to everyone who participated. Agriculture Mechanics - Will Henson, Doug Jackson, Gary Myers, John Stanfield (27th @ District) Crops - Sheila Schmidt, Jennifer Wilbur, Amanda Willis (20th @ District) Dairy Products - Cynthia Brown, Anna Beth Henson, Bobby Jefferson, Tim Knott (27th @ District) Floriculture - Leslie Ashby, Rebekah Betts, Karen Howard, Lane Julian (12th @ District) Nursery/Landscape - Jonathan Myers, Audrey Reams, Tommy Reid, Mark Wallace (2nd @ District, 15th @ State) Parliamentary Procedure - Rebekah Betts, Will Henson, Karen Howard, Lane Julian, Bobby Jefferson, Jonathan Myers, Mark Wallace (2nd @ Sub-Area) Creed Speaking - Tommy Reid (4th @ Sub-area) Extemporaneous Speaking - Will Henson (2nd @ Sub-area) Prepared Speaking - Mark Wallace (1st @ Sub-area, Competed @ District) District Contest Results The Blytheville FFA chapter traveled to Jonesboro to participate in district contests. This year we had 18 students who participated in five contests. Those contests were Agriculture Mechanics, Crops, Dairy Products, Floriculture, and Nursery Landscape. Each team worked very hard practicing two hours a week, all after school. Practice began in mid January. At the time of this issue, all the results were still unofficial, but here is how the students did. Agriculture Mechanics placed 27th out of 38; crops placed 20th out of 38; Dairy Products placed 27th out of 34; Floriculture placed 12th out of 23; Nursery Landscape placed 2nd out of 12 teams. Nursery Landscape has qualified to compete in the state contest to be held in Fayetteville in April. Congratulations to each of these teams even though they did no place as high as they would have liked. We are extremely proud of the jobs that they did. National FFA Week This year, we traveled to Jonesboro to attend the State FFA Foundation Drive Kickoff banquet. This Foundation raises money to help fund various FFA activities throughout the year. This year, BHS FFA has committed to donate $300 to the foundation. This figures out to be less than $10 per member. When you look at the benefits our student received in the way of recognition and activities, the return benefit is three to four times that investment per member. So all the money we raise comes back to our kids. Any assistance in this fundraising effort will be greatly appreciated. Students also prepared breakfast for the teachers at BHS as a way to show our appreciation for their continued support. On Saturday of FFA Week, we traveled to Batesville to participate in the NE District FFA Leadership Conference put on by the district officers. Made For Excellence conference changed to February 18 - 19 due to SNOW. Mark Wallace and Tommy Reid participated in the Arkansas Made For Excellence (MFE) Conference in Feb. The conference was originally scheduled to be held during January, but snow in excess of 12 inches in the Hot Springs area forced the conference to be delayed until February. Approximately 200 FFA members from around the state participated. This year's theme was www.success.you and stressed self-improvement, goal setting, and being a role model. Leadership Contest Results The Blytheville FFA chapter traveled to Wynne to participate in sub-area leadership contests. Leadership contests consist of parliamentary procedure, FFA creed speaking, and public speaking, both extemporaneous and prepared. The teams spent many hours outside of class time learning and preparing for the contest. The hard work paid off. The parliamentary team, consisting of Mark Wallace, Lane Julian, Will Henson, Bobby Jefferson, Karen Howard, Jonathan Myers, and Rebekah Betts placed 2nd. Tommy Reid, a freshman from WJHS, finished fourth. Will Henson placed 2nd in extemporaneous speaking. Mark Wallace won the prepared speaking contest and qualified to participate in the district contest held in Jonesboro. Mark did well but did not win. We would also like to thank Ms. Virginia Reid for her assistance with these contests. Cookbook Arrives Our cookbooks have arrived and look wonderful. Sales have been great. Many people have commented on the practicality of many of the recipes. Cookbooks are still available for $8.00 each. If you have not gotten one yet, we ask that you purchase at least one, as this is our major fundraiser for the year. Some of the things that the funds will be used for are to send CDE teams to state contest in Fayetteville, send students to leadership conferences and other educational activities. To purchase one or to learn more about the cookbook, contact Mr. Rutherford at the high school. Calendar Arrives This year, we started something, which we hope to continue on an annual basis. That is a chapter calendar. Cost of the calendar was supported by local businesses that purchased ads on the calendar. We would like to thank each of these businesses for their support. Bedding Plants BHS FFA will again have bedding plants for sale in April. Some of the plants will be tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. We will have more on this later. Memphis Botanical Gardens The Blytheville FFA chapter traveled to the Memphis Botanic Gardens on Saturday, September 11th. We saw and learned about many types of plants. Members paired off into groups for a plant scavenger hunt. The winner this year was Martez Jefferson. Congratulations Martez. Chili Cook Off Our Chili Team participated in the Blytheville Chili Cook Off on Oct. 2nd. We had a great time, and began preselling cookbooks. We didn't place in the contest, but we still had fun. Trip to N.E. Arkansas District Fair We went to the N.E. Arkansas District Fair in Jonesboro on Sept. 23rd. We had a great time visiting the exhibits and seeing the animals and farm equipment. Parliamentary Procedure Practice Begins Our practices for our Leadership Contests began Sept. 21st. We have a Parliamentary Procedure team, an Extemporaneous Speaker, and a Prepared Speaker. Sub-area contest was held at Wynne HS. Plant Storage Again this year, we will be housing plants in the greenhouse. Plants that need care and/or repotting will receive what they need. A couple of changes have been made however. First, concerning ferns. We do not have room to care for ferns that do not need to be repotted or split. Ferns that need this done can be stored as they will receive a "hair cut". This process allows more light to filter down to the plants below in the greenhouse. Without this process, not enough light will reach the other plants and they will suffer. Second, concerning costs. The fee for storing plants this year will be $10.00 for the first 5 pots and $1.00 per pot after that. This slight increase in the cost will only affect a small number of people. We will begin accepting plants on Monday, October 4th. For more information, feel free to contact Mr. Rutherford at the high school. Greenhand Conference On September 14th, three 9th grade members of the FFA Chapter traveled to Nettleton to participate in the 2nd annual Northeast District Greenhand Conference. The conference dealt with perseverance, leadership, and teamwork. The conference was also an opportunity for FFA members from area schools to meet and get to know each other. 9/1 Chapter Recruitment at West Jr. High September 1st, four members of our officer team visited the 9th grade shop classes at West Jr. High to recruit new members. We presented brochures, a video, and discussions about the FFA Organization and our chapter. We have seen positive results from our efforts and hope to have many active 9th graders participating in our chapter’s activities. 9/1 Robinson Primary School Presentation September 1st, Members of the FFA Chapter were asked to give a presentation to Mrs. Maggie Simpkins’ kindergarten class at Robinson Primary School. We briefly discussed FFA values, as well as local agricultural aspects. One topic of heavy discussion was "cows and chickens". We learned that cows go "moo" and chickens go "cluck" and "cock-a-doodle-doo". Our scrap book and collections of photos were displayed to the students. We also inducted the class as "Honorary FFA Members for a Day". BHS FFA Landscaping The Blytheville FFA chapter and horticulture department is starting a landscaping business. This business will provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable experience dealing with people, designing, constructing, and maintaining landscaped areas, and operating a business. For more information contact Mr. Rutherford at the high school. Chapter Fundraiser The FFA chapter conducted a fundraiser to assist members with the payment of dues. Vonnie Henson won the $100 gas certificate from Hopper's Exxon. Thanks for everyone who helped. 8/26 Chapter Elections The FFA chapter elected Mark Wallace as chapter president at its first official meeting for the school year. Mark was elected to fill the position vacated by the resignation of Jonathan Myers. This created an opening at chapter treasurer which Karen Howard was elected to fill. This year’s officer team is excited about the events happening within the chapter, and eager to work to make this the best year yet in the chapter’s history. Chapter Attends 72nd State Convention On May 30, we left for Camp Couchdale, the Arkansas State Camp, near Hot Springs. The convention consisted of several sessions of official business, including the election of state officers. Doug Jackson participated in the State Band as a percussionist, while Mark Wallace served as our delegate during business sessions. Leslie Ashby, Will Henson, Lane Julian, and Jonathan Myers all participated in Courtesy Corps. This consisted of various onstage and behind stage tasks. Kristin Oxford served as photographer. Ben Wheatley also attended. Eve Wilbur, Ryan Kern, and Ben Wheatley were awarded their FFA State Farmer Degrees. National Nursing Home Week In conjunction with National Nursing Home Week, our chapter donated various varieties of plants to the local nursing homes and assisted living center. The plants were raised in the school’s greenhouse. Lane Julian and Kristin Oxford acted as the chapter’s representatives at the centers. Cow fest 99 Cookout The first annual Cow fest did not go as planned, but did well. A majority of the officers and a number of chapter members and guests were in attendance. All current members and any potential members were invited to this event. Arkansas Leadership Conference Our officer team attended the annual Leadership conference at Camp Couchdale. Sadly, 3 of our officers could not attend due to personal reasons. However, Lane Julian, Kristin Oxford, Mark Wallace, and Will Henson were in attendance. Mr. Rutherford and Ms. Hardin served as chaperones to our chapter. The conference taught leadership skills, as well as informing us of other opportunities offered to us as FFA members. On behalf of our chapter, a very special thanks to Ms. Hardin for volunteering to chaperone the girls. Click on any photo to enlarge
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