The Wellington FFA chapter held its annual alumni meeting Jan. 13 at Wellington High School. The meeting established fundraisers in 2024 and provided updates on what current Wellington FFA members have been working on recently.
The council approved a placemat fundraiser which the organization has done in the past. Companies can buy business card-sized squares as advertising that will be on placemats used during the organization’s banquet in the spring.
Agriculture equipment company Wellington Implement presented a fundraiser it is putting on to raffle off a brand new Case IH square bailer or $16,000 of in-store credit if you do not need a bailer. A representative from the company said the goal of the raffle is to help local organizations, including several FFA chapters, raise money as each organization gets to keep all the money from each $20 raffle ticket sale.
During the meeting, the Wellington FFA agreed to sell tickets for the raffle which will take place March 6 at Wellington Implement’s Ashland location.
Wellington FFA president Jillian Stannard and vice president Scotty Hook provided a chapter update during the meeting.
Stannard noted that herself and Hook received their FFA State Degrees, the second highest honor in the organization while fellow Wellington FFA member Taylor Michel received the top honor, the American Degree.
Stannard also explained the organization’s FFA for a Day program which provides a day of agricultural education to kids in grades K-8 in Wellington.
“That’s been going really well and it seems like the kids have really enjoyed learning about different things in agriculture,” Stannard said.
Hook provided an update on a state competition he was a part of recently through the organization. He said the chapter’s Ag Technology and Mechanical Systems team competed at Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster Dec. 7 and placed 10th in the state.
Wellington FFA alumni council member Kalyn Wise has been involved in FFA since she was in high school and has been a part of it at the state level as an alumni. She emphasized the importance of agricultural education.
“Obviously agriculture feeds all of us,” she said. “If we don’t have people feeding us, how do we survive? FFA stretches into horticulture, floriculture, meats and dairy products.”
Wise also said FFA is not solely focused on agriculture, but also helps students develop career skills they can use anywhere. She mentioned the Career Development Events held through FFA that can help students learn how to write a resume, do job interviews and write cover letters among other skills.
“Whether you’re in agriculture or not, those are things you need to know how to do,” Wise said. “The program teaches a lot of life skills. When the students do these SAE projects, they have to keep track of everything like income and expenses. Anything you learn here, you’re going to use somewhere in your life.”
SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experiences) projects are done by current FFA members students to learn about something agriculture-related of their choosing. For example, one of the projects on display at the meeting was on maple syrup production while another was on restoring a vintage Farmall tractor.
Wise said the alumni meetings help connect past generations of FFA members with current members.
“It’s important to learn what the students are doing so we can help support them to meet their goals,” she said. “Maybe there is something they want to do that they’re having a hard time with and we can help them with that.”
An example she gave is that if a student wants to work with dairy cattle but does not live on a dairy farm or have financial access to cattle, they can help try to connect them with a local dairy farmer.
“They may need mentoring or financial help and we’re just here to help them with anything they need to reach their goals,” Wise said.
