Mountain Lake FFA Chapter celebrates its 75th year
The program is an exceptional diamond – which is a most appropriate description as the Mountain Lake FFA Chapter celebrates its 75th year. Throughout the years, the Mountain Lake FFA Chapter has had only a few advisors, including Jake Tschetter, James Crawford and Tom Appel. Current advisors are Lindsey Brown and Stephen Funk.
A new chapter project this year is hosting Bingo for the residents of The Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake-The Village and The Lodge. FFA members have enjoyed the experience, and have been able to interact with people who remember the FFA from years ago when they were members – as well as the current definition of the organization of which their children and grandchildren haven been, or are, participants.
The annual Parent/Member Banquet will be held on Monday, March 14, with the opportunity for FFA members to exhibit all of the chapter’s hard work and dedication to the organization over the past year.
To top off the celebration of the diamond anniversary year of the Mountain Lake FFA, the chapter’s Facebook page is attempting to collected 75 responses as to why people love FFA. These comments will be used for the annual banquet.
In addition, the week of Saturday, February 20 to Saturday, February 27 was recognized as National FFA Week. To recognize the special national week – along with its very special anniversary – the Mountain Lake FFA presented many events and activities to bring awareness to FFA.
To kick off the week, local chapter officers went on a mini-retreat in order to give the finishing touches to FFA Week plans, along with those for the approaching FFA Banquet.
This year’s national theme was “Beating Hunger,” and to defeat hunger locally, the chapter held a Food Drive for The Mountain Lake Community Loaves and Fishes Food Shelf, with classes competing against one another. If a class collected over 200 items, their class advisor received a pie in the face.
The week was noted as Hat Week. The twist with Hat Week was that, for a $2 donation or two cans of food to the drive, a student would be able to wear a hat all day in school.
The Medallion Hunt also began on the Monday of the national week, with hints to where it was located in the morning announcements.
There were also Dress-Up Days for each day of the week, beginning with Monday’s Pajama Day.
Tuesday of FFA Week was Tractor Color Day, and senior class chapter members took the lead for the Food Drive as well as COTY (Class of the Year) points for their costumes.
The junior class chapter members responded the challenge, and on Wednesday, took the Food Drive lead. However, the seniors stayed in the lead for COTY points due to their win in ag trivia during the lunch hour, and their attire on Nerd Day. Also on Wednesday, Jaylee Lugo and Victoria Hofmann claimed the medallion.
Thursday was Career Day, with students dressed in attire typical for their career choice.
On Friday, the chapter officers hosted a breakfast in the kitchen classroom for all Mountain Lake Public School staff.
As the school week wound down, the juniors claimed the Food Drive class contest title, collecting 306 items – and $108. To that end, their class advisor, Jaime Banks, received a pie in her face. The senior class, along with the sophomore class, each additionally reached the 200-item donation level, so their respective class advisors, Scott Boelke and Tim Snyder, were also “pied.”
Also on Friday, the school’s student body learned that if they raised at least $250 before lunch, former ag teacher and FFA advisor, Tom Appel, along with current ag teacher and FFA advisor, Stephen Funk, would square-off in a pie-eating contest. The funds were raised – and Appel and Funk faced each other pie-to-pie. Champ of that contest was Appel.
In total, the local chapter collected 750 food stuff items and $308 to donate to the Mountain Lake Community Loaves and Fishes Food Shelf in Mountain Lake.
