Activities above the Local Level
8 members participated in the District Trapshooting competition down at the Manson Gun Range in September. Members competed against schools from across the state in a series of rounds and targets. Considering this was the first time that our chapter competing in this competition, we were very proud of our accomplishments! Members that participated were: (from left to right) Marcus Aaron, John DeVries, Drew Prins, Mat Zanelo, Riely Andringa, Jace Mulder, Keegan VanSurkum and Gavin DeHough.
Trapshooting
Greenhand FireUp
Western Christian FFA sent 4 members to the district Greenhand Fire Up at MOC-Floyd Valley in Orange City. Members spent the evening attending workshops, meeting other members from across the district, hearing from our district and state officers, and gaining a better understanding of what FFA is all about.
Even though we weren't able to attend the Greenhand FireUp this year due to COVID, we are excited for another year of growth!
Livestock Judging
We had a team go down to Clay County fair and participated in livestock judging the team got 7th overall. Barret Bleeker placed 5th overall as individual
Congrats to this team!
Soil Judging
The Western Christian FFA had four members attend the Soil Judging competition at Dordt College in Sioux Center Iowa. They received a bronze rating. To compete in the contest, students were required to take a 40 question test assessing them on their basic knowledge of soil. Students then were taken out to four different soil pits to test their knowledge about soil texture, slope, saturation rate, erosion rate, etc. at each pit. Using the scores from the test, and the judging results from the pits, scores were then calculated to determine the top 10 individuals, and top 4 teams scores. It was a beautiful day, and everyone had lots of fun!
National Convention
Day 1: On our way down to Indiana we made a stop in Coraville Iowa to support the volleyball girls, then we continued on our way to Indiana and made it there later at night.
Day 2: We had an early start to our day and made our way to Fair Oaks Farm, we got a tour of there swine facilities and we learned many new things. Then we headed to the convention center for the afternoon and finished off the night with the Laney Wilson concert!
Day 3: We had another early morning start and headed to the convention center for opening ceramonie, we spent the rest of the morning going to different booths and sessions at the convention center. Then for the afternoon we headed to Churchill Downs to watch a horse race, then we finished off the night with supper in St. Louis at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
Day 4: To start the day we left the hotel pretty early and we started on our way back home, on our way home we stopped at the Cat museum and learned many new things. Then we continued on our way home and adobes back later that night.
Fall Career Development Events
While Career Development Events looked a little different this year, there were still several members that participated in CDE's. While most were held virtually, students were to still able to gain experience. In the fall, four teams competed in the State Meat, Vet Science and Poultry competition. The Dairy and the Horse judging competition were hosted by the Northwest District.
Mason Kelderman, Isaac Alexander and Marcus Aaron competed in the Meats Judging competition. They received a silver rating.
Sam VanOtterloo, Emery Blankespoor and Ashley Fedders competed in the Vet Science CDE. They received a bronze rating.
Eli Blankespoor, Conner DeGroot and Cade Tiedeman competed in the Poultry Judging CDE. They received a silver rating.
Sawyer Rozeboom, Trent Dykstra, Laremy Schreurs and Vince VanderKooi competed in the District Dairy competition. Trent placed first in the competition with a gold! The team received a silver rating.
Emery Blankespoor competed in the Horse Judging CDE. She placed 4th in the Greenhand division and earned a gold rating!
Legislative Symposium
In 2020, our chapter was able to travel to the Legislative Symposium in Des Moines. While we were planning to attend this year, snow and COVID restrictions kept us from making it. Instead, we spent time at Mrs. Nettinga's house and zoomed in our new legislator, Jeff Taylor.
Sub-Districts
Western Christian FFA chapter had several members participate at the Sub-District FFA competition on Tuesday February 16 at West Lyon High School. Competing against schools in the Northwest sub-district, members competed in career and leadership development events in five different areas. Our ag mech team consisted of: Noah DeWeerd, Keegan VanSurksum, Ashlyn Hulstein and Taeten Kollis. They received a bronze rating. Derek Heynen participated in the job interview competition. He received a bronze. Sawyer Rozeboom competed in the ag sales competition and he received a silver and advanced to districts. The Conduct of Meetings team consisted of Eli Blankespoor, Hayden Van De Stroet, Ashely Fedders, Laremy Schreurs, Trent Dykstra, Vince VanderKooi and Lily Hofman. They received a silver rating. John DeVries participated in the Ag Broadcasting competition and he received a bronze rating.The Parliamentary Procedure team consisted of Lyndsey Moser, Emiy Fedders, Alexa Klyn, Sydney VanderPol and Darcy Alons. They received a bronze rating and are advancing to districts.The Chaptere Program Team, Kendra Wynja, Shawna DeKam and Samantha VanOtterloo received a gold rating and is advancing to districts. Emery Blankespoor received a gold rating in the Creed and is also advancing to districts.
Congratulations to all that participated and good luck at Districts!
The 2020 State Leadership Conference did not happen due to COVID...so! Here are some updates from 19-20 school year!
Sunday night 16 Western Christian FFA members headed down to the 91st FFA State Leadership Conference at Iowa State University. Each member went down to the convention with the intent to compete in a competition that they had been preparing for, receive a degree, or serve as chapter delegates.
Members started off the conference with workshops, the career shop, watched competitions,sessions, keynote speakers, such as US Olympian Archerer, Matt Stutzman, and many more. Members toured the Iowa Agricultural and Environmental Services lab at Iowa State University that day as well where they learned about how Iowa’s soils and waters are being treated and affected by environmental and human factors. Trey Kelderman and Abby Veldman served as our chapter delegates throughout the day where they voted on and discussed the upcoming 2019-2020 State Officer team. Later in the day, members enjoyed an evening together at the famous Hickory Park and then enjoyed a members night out at the Memorial Union on campus with the other FFA members in attendance.
Bright and early on Tuesday, fourteen of the sixteen members participated in their competitive area that they had been preparing for in the past few months. The Poultry Judging team, Madison Hofman, Aubrey Kooima, Olivia Granstra and Abby Schmidt, received a silver rating
The Marketing Team, Titan Hofman, Trenton Hoekstra and Ty Vande Hoef, came up with a marketing plan to enhance precision planting at Van’s Implement. Members were able to work with Van’s to discuss ways and means to make this resource even more exciting and valuable to crop producers. Team members received a silver rating and represented their chapter for the first time in the chapters history in this competition.
The Farm Business Management Team, Kyler VanVoorst, Ethan VanMaanen, Brennan Moss and Matthew DeVries received a bronze rating. Team members were tested over their knowledge of farm business management individually and as a team.
The Ag Sales Team, Carter Broek, Mason Stetson, Levi VandenBos and Colt Hofman, worked to sell a given product, Peak Aquacide, to a judge that acted as a customer of this product. After a test, a group sale and individual sales, members received a bronze rating.
Chapter Display was put together by Abby Veldman, Christina Van’t Hul and Aubrey Kooima and received a gold rating! Members put together a display that highlighted an activity that the chapter does each year. This year, members chose to put together a display regarding Farm Safety Day.
Aubrey Kooima, received THIRD IN THE STATE for her hard work on the Secretary’s Book! Aubrey has been working on this book since the beginning of her position as the secretary at the beginning of the year! It was an absolute joy to see her be the first member from the Western Christian FFA chapter tor bring home a plaque to put on the wall.
To finish out the day on Monday, Madison Hofman received her State FFA Degree. Madison was our second recipient from Western Christian to receive her State FFA Degree along with 725 of the Iowa FFA members! Congratulations Madison on this accomplishment!
Student Leadership Conference: State Convention
