National FFA Convention 2015 ~AMPLIFY~

      The National FFA Convention occurs every year, and is an opportunity for FFA members to meet others from around the country with similar interests as them.

      If you asked Faith Carpenter how she felt after the past week, she’d probably tell you that “It was really good!” If you asked a new member, like Dani Wrzesinski, she’d tell you “It was an amazing first experience.” Another member traveling to Louisville for the first time, Mitchell Schaefer, described the experience in a similar way, stating that, “Walking into Freedom Hall for the first time- seeing all of the people and the expo center, I realized how big it all was. It was amazing."

These all describe what it’s like every year at the end of October, when FFA chapters from the state of Alaska to Puerto Rico and the state of Maine to Hawaii meet at the National FFA Convention to showcase their chapter’s accomplishments and individual talents that they have improved upon throughout the year.

Again this year, Big Foot High School FFA members left Tuesday morning to make their way towards Louisville, Kentucky. On the way, they made a slight detour to Abe Lincoln’s house in Springfield, Illinois, as well as the St. Louis Arch, allowing members to experience landmarks in the United States that they have never visited before.

While at convention, students competed, attended workshops, spoke to industry professionals at the career show, made new friends from across the country, listened to motivational speakers, and were recognized on stage for their hard work and dedication to the organization. When asked about what they took away from their week in Louisville, every member gave a unique response. Melissa Konkel, a new member, but one well acquainted with FFA, “realized how large we are, and how big FFA is.” She knows that “some people may think we’re just this small organization,” but argued that “we’re so much more than that, and we’re going to keep growing.”

Multiple time each day, thousands of members, advisors, and guests gather in the Convention Hall for sessions, where members, sponsors, and other award winners are recognized on stage for their dedication to the organization. Destiny Schmidt, this year’s Big Foot FFA Secretary, described her favorite seats for the session. “During the first general session, when we sat up top, was really awesome, because we could see all of the blue jackets that filled the room and watch the laser show before the session.”

“WORMS!!!!”-Carlie O’Donnell

“Free radicals!!!”-Miriam Smith

Dani Wrzesinski with her Agriscience Research board

For the past few years, members have worked diligently on research with hopes of qualifying for national competition. However, along the way they develop passions for their projects, even if the topics of their passion are obscure. Whether it was studying vermiculture, ethanol production, food preparation’s effects on nutrient levels, fruit washing methods, or cinnamon’s effects on cell growth, the students have found passion in their research. Five projects competed as finalists in the National Agriscience Fair this year. In order to qualify, each project had to compete in state competition and receive a first gold. From there, research binders were sent in to the National Agriscience Fair Committee, who judged them to determine the final 15 who would travel to Louisville, Kentucky during National Convention for the interview phase. The results were as follows:

• Dani Wrzesinski’s research, Comparison of Various Plant Based Ethanol on Fuel Efficiency, received 15^th in the nation with a silver ranking in Environmental Services/Natural Resource Systems Division I.
• Miriam Smith and Katy Vacula’s research, The Effects of Microwaves on Antioxidant Levels in Organic Fruit, received 12^th place in the nation with a silver ranking in Division IV of Food Products and Processing Systems.
• Melissa Konkel’s research, The Effects of Various Fruit Washes on the Bacteria Levels on Fresh Fruit, received 7^th in the nation with a silver ranking in Food Products and Processing Systems Division I.
• Carlie O’Donnell’s research, Effects and Comparison of Compost Tea and Fertilizer's Effect on Sprout Germination Rates and Percentages, received 3^rd gold in Plant Systems.

• 

  Carlie receiving her 3rd place award on stage

  Amelia Hayden’s research, Effects of Various Levels of Cinnamaldehyde on Duck Embryonic Cell Growth Rates, received 1^st gold in Animal Systems Division II.

Amelia receiving her 1st place award on stage








After watching the members who competed go through the process of interviewing and sharing their research with sponsors, member Josie Wells was inspired, and said “I realized that I needed to start thinking about my agriscience fair project now. And that you have to make more opportunities with what you have and make the most of it.” Advisor Jeanne Case also noted, “National Convention has motivated me to want to start working more directly with students in the Agriscience Fair to help them accomplish their goals.”

In addition to the Agriscience Fair Award recipients, Faith Carpenter and Chris Walter represented the Big Foot FFA on stage as the chapter was recognized for National Chapter. This award is split into three categories: Student, Chapter, and Community Development. It is also judged first at a state level before being sent on to be judged at a national level. In order to be recognized at National Convention for National Chapter, the chapter must be recognized in all three of the areas described previously.

“It was really rewarding to hear all of the guest and keynote speakers look at us as the future and know that they trusted us with every task that we’ve been told we will face,” Alexx Rullman stated after convention, though this was a shared concept among all those in attendance. Throughout convention, there are several motivational speakers who are brought in to give keynote addresses. Among these speakers were Dr. Rick Rigsby, who spoke about ­­­hard work and dedication. In addition, the creator of the popular YouTube sensation Kid President, Brad Montague, also spoke during one of the sessions, with his talk entitled “Amplify Good.” After hearing from these inspirational people, member Chris Walter decided he wanted to “choose awesome,” stating, “I want to live my life in a better way and do more for other people. I’ve really started to think about what it truly means to be in FFA and how it’s not just being a future farmer, but a leader and a beacon of hope for our nation and our world.”

The chapter’s final highlight of this year’s convention was when FFA and FFA Alumni member Seth Loudenbeck received his American Degree on stage, the highest award the organization can bestow on its members. American Degrees are awarded based on an individual’s work in his or her Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). Seth’s SAE focused on his work starting his own business raising dairy goats and selling the milk yielded for cheese production. Seth was also Wisconsin’s applicant for the Star Farmer over America this year, an award presented to one of four outstanding star categories, selected from individuals receiving their American Degrees in any given year.

Seth with other Big Foot FFA members after receiving his American Degree in Louisville

As with everything in life, all good things come to a close. However, the 88^th National FFA Convention is likely to stay with those who attended for years to come, because there is always something to take away from such a unique experience. New member, Carolyn Peklo, “realized how much fun it was meeting new people and learning about different things from all the other states. Shout out to Pennsylvania and Iowa!” College freshman, Katy Vacula, said “I realized more about what I wanted to do with my life – and that it was not necessarily what I thought it was going to be.” Seth Loudenbeck’s experience came with the realization that it would be his last time donning the blue jacket. First year advisor, Mr. Zachary Markhardt, looked back on the experience fondly, commenting “I’ve come to National Convention multiple times as a student and Collegiate FFA member. But as an advisor, you take on more responsibilities, and it was unique, exciting, and nerve-racking to deal with students in a large city capacity.”

Written By: Katy Vacula
Big Foot FFA Member
Edited By: Amelia Hayden
Big Foot FFA Reporter 

Fall Update!

Lots of new things have been happening for the Big Foot FFA since Agriscience Camp. We have participated in both the State and County Fair Discovery Barns, hosted a New Member Night, participated in the Homecoming parade, attended Sectional Leadership Workshops, and FIRE conference!

Discovery Barn

Discovery Barn is all about educating the public about agriculture. During State Fair, FFA chapters from around the state work to teach Wisconsin about agriculture and farming. Animals there included piglets, chicks (quail and chickens), calves, goats, ducks, and a miniature pony. In addition, the Walworth County Fair also has a Discovery Barn. Big Foot and Badger FFA chapter members jointly work together to educate the county through fun, hands-on activity stations. Big Foot FFA helped to raise awareness about agriculture and also let the public know some fun facts about the animals. Did you know that dairy cows produce, on average, 7 gallons of milk a day? That's enough to fill 100 glasses of milk!

Discovery Barn

New Member Night

Before our September meeting, the chapter officers hosted a New Member Night for freshmen and any other students interested in joining. We had icebreakers and had pizza for dinner. Afterwards, they could stay for the meeting and even had a chance to win prizes!

Homecoming

Big Foot FFA decorated a float for the homecoming parade as a way to spread news about our chapter's work.  Several members rode the float, while the chapter officers passed out candy.

Homecoming Parade

Sectional Leadership Workshops (SLWs)

Several Big Foot FFA members traveled to Lake Mills for the Section 10 Leadership Workshop. There, they collaborated with other chapters and planned on how to be better leaders in their chapter and community. There were opportunities to dance during intermissions and the officers all attended workshops on how to better fill their leadership role. The SLW theme this year was 'Buy a Ticket, Be the Change.' By joining FFA, members 'buy a ticket' and now have the ability to impact their communities, 'being the change.' The FFA members and officers returned excited for the upcoming year with many activities planned.

FIRE Conference

FIRE Conference

FIRE conference provides freshman with the opportunity to learn more about FFA and network with state officers while meeting other members from across the state. Big Foot members who attended were: Emily, Josie, Logan, Tiffany, and Jacqueline.

Meet the New Advisor!

Mr. Zach Markhardt will be an FFA advisor and Agriscience teacher at Big Foot High School this "Among the simple joys of life (e.g. watching sunrises, drinking coffee), I love just talking to people!  Being an agricultural education teacher & co-advisor in the FFA gives me plenty of opportunities to meet new people, connect on likes & dislikes, & share a few laughs along the way," Mr. Markhardt on why he decided to become an Ag teacher. Big Foot FFA would like to welcome Mr. Markhardt and we are looking forward to another great year!
year.


Written By: Amelia Hayden
Big Foot FFA Reporter

Agriscience Camp

Agriscience Camp is a program run by the Big Foot FFA every year in the third week of July through the Big Foot Recreation Department. The purpose of the program is to educate kids in the community about agriscience and its importance through a variety of hands-on activities. Each day is assigned a theme to focus on; the fourth, and last, day is always a visit to a local farm. Students are divided into three groups in order to make sure every kid gets to take part in every activity. At the end of each day, the whole group talks about what they learned and why it is important.

Day 1: Food Science
Food science is the study of chemical and physical structures in food. In their first activity, kids learned how to make a hypothesis and found out which foods have more water in them. They cut small pieces of banana, carrots, and marshmallow and put them on a plate. Each food was weighed out. The kids then made a hypothesis about which food they thought would have the most water. For example, one student wrote, "If bananas have the most water, then they will have the biggest difference in before and after weight because more water was taken out." The foods were then placed in the dehydrator, a machine which removes all of the water from food. After they were dehydrated, each food was reweighed; the food with the biggest difference in weight was the one with the most water in it. The end results were the following: 1st- Carrots (95% water), 2nd- Banana (85%), 3rd- Marshmallow (52%). The next activity focused on why we make pudding with milk instead of water. Each child made a cup of pudding with water and a cup with milk. During snack time, they were able to taste and see the difference. Without milk, pudding does not solidify. This is because milk contains a protein known as Casein, which makes the pudding solidify. In the final activity, kids made gummy worms! By mixing calcium chloride and sodium alginate, we make the gelatin which gummy worms are made of. Then, students could chose a color to make their gummy worms; they could also add citric acid to make sour gummy worms!

Day 2: Environmental Science
Environmental science is the study of the human and natural impacts which influence the environment as well as the way organisms interact with their environment. The first activity of the second day demonstrated to students the relationship between environmental quality and money. Sometimes, the choices which are best for our environment cost us more money and time. Each kid started out with a certain amount of money and the group had a fish tank with clean water. They were asked relevant questions such as, "Imagine you have a friend who throws trash on the ground. He says he'll pay you $2 if you just ignore it and don't tell his mom. Do you pick up the trash or ignore it and get $2?" For every student that made the a bad decision for the environment, the water got more polluted. The next activity included an outdoor scavenger hunt and the identification of endangered and extinct animals. The animals ranged from easier (Woolly Mammoth-Extinct) to harder (Golden Toad-Extinct). Students then traveled to the final station, where they learned about the parts of a plant and then planted a flower to take home!

Students learn about how their actions impact the environment.

Day 3: Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the application of new technologies to solve biological problems in the world today. At the first station, kids played a memory game which showed the large scope of biotechnology. Topics ranged from DNA to Plants to Bacteria. From these topics, kids learned what biotechnology is and how it applies to their lives'. In the next activity, kids made DNA double helixes from twizzlers and marshmallows. We then talked about what DNA is. DNA is found in every cell in your body, and is basically a 'code' for what you look like. It has four base pairs, Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine. These pair together, forming the 'rungs' in the DNA ladder. However, adenine can only pair with thymine; likewise with cytosine and guanine. So kids had four different colors of marshmallows to learn about this exclusive pairing. Next, they learned about bacteria. Kids got to use microscopes to look a bacteria and learn about the structure of a bacterium. They learned about where bacteria like to live. Each kid had a liquid which glows under UV light squirted into their hands. After rubbing it in, they saw that their hands glowed bright orange under UV light! They then washed their hands; the liquid acts like bacteria, hiding everywhere a bacterium would. Afterwards, the kids saw that most people still had orange on their hands under the UV light. In addition, we learned about the difference between good and bad bacteria. 'Bad' bacteria is the kind that makes you sick. 'Good' bacteria can be found helping to make yogurt and bleu cheese and helping you to digest your food.



Chris teaches about the structure of bacteria.

Destiny teaches about DNA structure with twizzlers.

Day 4: Animal Science

On the fourth day, we boarded a bus headed towards Loudenbeck Farms in Zenda, WI. It is run by Seth Loudenbeck, a Big Foot FFA alumni, and his father. They milk over 200 goats twice a day. Each goat produces about 1/2 a gallon of milk per milking. We visited the milking parlor to see where the goats are milked. Next, we visited several pens of the adult female goats, which are called does. All of the kids got the opportunity to pet these goats, who were extremely friendly. Next, Seth brought out a couple three week old goats for the children to pet. These baby goats are called kids. After a fun day at the farm, the students went out to ice cream before leaving.

Students meet the dairy goats at Loudenbeck Farms.

Please check out the Big Foot Recreation Department website next July to enroll your kids in this amazing week of activities!

Written by: Amelia Hayden
Big Foot FFA Reporter

Take Action, Target Sucess -- 2015-16 FFA State Convention

Following weeks of preparation by both members and advisors, the Big Foot FFA chapter was on their way to compete in a variety of events. FFA State Convention is held every year in the month of June and functions as an opportunity for youth from across the state to not only compete and further increase their potential, but also to learn how to better serve their communities.

Day 1: Day of Service

Each year, the kickoff to state convention involves chapters from around the state participating in community service dealing with various issues in the community. The members of the Big Foot FFA went to River Food Pantry, where they learned about the pantry's impact on the surrounding community and helped to organize the food that would be given out. Afterwards, the chapter participated in the Rally to Fight Hunger, where they packaged bags of beans and rice. The evening concluded with setting up the talent show, which the chapter organizes every year.

Members of the Big Foot FFA chapter volunteered at the River Food Pantry during the Day of Service

Day 2: Speaking Contests and Proficiencies
Speaking contests took place the next morning. Speaking contests allow FFA members to further their speaking skills by participating in one of the following categories: prepared speaking, extemporaneous speaking, creed, discussion, job interview, quiz bowl team, and parliamentary procedure team. Big Foot had a member (Carlie O'Donnell) compete at state in discussion and prepared speaking and their parliamentary procedure team also advanced. Big Foot FFA members placed fourth in both prepared and parliamentary procedure! Carlie O'Donnell for prepared public speaking, and the parliamentary procedure team consisted of: Devon Malone, Carlie O'Donnell, Peyton O'Donnell, Faith Carpenter, Amelia Hayden, Katy Vacula, and Chris Walter. Later that day, Faith Carpenter, Carlie O'Donnell, Emma Brost, and Katy Vacula were recognized for their work on their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) through proficiency awards.

Day 3: Agriscience Fair and State Degrees
On the third day of convention, the Agriscience fair interviews took place. 16 members, with a total of 12 projects, competed in the state Agriscience fair. Of these, 10 members, competing in 8 projects won their division at the state level and have qualified for nationals. Amelia Hayden, Aaron Carpenter/Julia Cvicker (team), Dani Wrzesinki, Carlie O'Donnell, Melissa Konkel, Katy Vacula/Miriam Smith (team), Rosa Spooner, and Mikayla Grinnell have all qualified to apply for consideration to compete at nationals. In addition, Emma Brost, Shannon Carpenter, Malachi Gerhardt, Citlaly Leon, Devon Malone, Carlie O'Donnell, and Katy Vacula all received their state degrees, the highest degree which a state may award to an FFA member. Also, Rachel Vanderstappen won the talent show which took place during convention and Carlie O'Donnell placed first in the Agriscience Stars.

Seven members of the Big Foot FFA received their state degrees this year

Day 4

After a week of seeing the fruits of their efforts and setting new goals for themselves, the members of the Big Foot FFA chapter headed back home.

Written by: Amelia Hayden
Big Foot FFA Reporter

Officer Retreat -- Off to the East Coast!

On June 9th, after finals were over and the retiring teacher was bid farewell, the 2015-16 Big Foot FFA officer team made their way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Each year the Big Foot FFA takes their team on an officer retreat to jump start their year of service. Typically it is a cross country experience full of bonding, leadership development, and planning the upcoming year as well as the duties of each officer.

Day 1: Philadelphia
After landing at the Philadelphia airport the previous night, the officer team began their travels by driving to Valley Forge, which was a winter encampment during the Revolutionary War. Despite getting lost and practically driving through the entire National Park at least twice, the group reunited for a trolley ride through the rolling valley. Then the officer team headed back to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. To finish off the night, they obviously had to try Philly cheese steaks for dinner! Afterwards, the team worked to begin planning the chapter's activities for the upcoming year.


Big Foot FFA's 2015-16 Officer Team with the Liberty Bell

Day 2: New York City

Statue of Liberty and the Office Team

The team boarded an early train in hopes of arriving in New York to see the Today Show. After being delayed due to an earlier derailment, they divided into three groups and hailed taxis. However, one taxi caught a flat tire 20 blocks away from our destination, leading to a long walk. While they did not make it onto television, the officer team's trip to NYC was nonetheless exciting! The team traveled to Times Square, where they took photos and entered into M&M World. Next, they headed to Battery Park, where they boarded a ferry which took them to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island! Late in the afternoon, the team returned to the mainland and made their way to the 9/11 memorial. Afterwards, they headed back to Philadelphia, exhilarated from the sight-seeing and eager to discuss the upcoming year and its events.



Day 3: The Airport
After an eventful few days, the Big Foot FFA officer team had packed up and was meeting for one last planning session before heading to the airport for their flight. They had planned out through much of the year and feel confident in the exciting activities planned for the chapter's members.  So the officers and their advisor headed to the Philadelphia airport with ample time to go through security. However, the plane was delayed. And then again. Luckily, the plane eventually took off and arrived back home!

The Officer Team of the Big Foot FFA chapter is comprised of 7 individuals who are highly dedicated to the FFA organization and are looking forward to serving their chapter in a leadership capacity throughout the next year. They had a lot of fun on their retreat, while also bonding with each other and creating a stronger team which can better serve the community.

2015-2016 Big Foot FFA Officer Team
Mikayla Grinnell- Vice President
Faith Carpenter- Vice President
Laura Brost- Vice President
Destiny Schmidt- Secretary
Chris Walter- Treasurer
Amelia Hayden- Reporter
Mitchell Schaefer- Sentinel
2015-2016 Big Foot FFA Advisors
Lisa Konkel
Jeanne Case

Written by: Amelia Hayden
Big Foot FFA Reporter