FFA Sentinel

FFA ACTIVITIES MUST GO ON

BY MICHAEL VANN

At Cullman Middle School in Cullman County, Alabama, things have returned to some sense of normalcy. When class is not in session there are usually activities going on after school. With a full slate of activities, students and FFA members have many opportunities to participate and get involved in both competitive and noncompetitive activities. While the competitive activities such as Land Judging and Forestry Judging require more work and create a little more stress on students to succeed, other activities that the Cullman Middle School FFA Chapter engage in provide a little more relaxed atmosphere that more students can participate in.

Students took their Saturday morning to come out and help decorate by stacking hay bales, attaching streamers, balloons and our FFA banners for people to view. After decoration of the trailer it is time for the parade to begin; we load up on the float and enjoy the ride downtown waving at everyone who has lined the street to watch the parade.

Take the Cullman County Fair for example. This time of year everyone looks forward to the Cullman County Fair coming to town. Activities that lead up to opening day include a Fair parade through the middle of town. The Fair parade draws hundreds of people who line the streets of downtown Cullman. Mr. Lucas McCollum, the adviser of the Cullman Middle School FFA, said that the Middle School FFA has been entering an FFA float for the past five years. What better way to promote your FFA Chapter than to decorate and enter a float for hundreds of people to see. Student participation in this activity has grown to the point that in the past we normally used a 20-foot trailer to let the kids ride on, to this year where we upgraded a little bit to a semi-truck and 53-foot trailer which was graciously provided to us by R.E. Garrison Trucking Company.

As the parade begins, everyone has their spot and it is time to greet the crowds that have come to watch the parade, which consists of bands, Fair court and many other participants.

After the parade is over, attention focuses on the Fairgrounds, where students put up our FFA fair booth. The fair booth project is usually a display that is informative and provides information about the FFA Chapter, courses of interest and other Agricultural facts.

The Fair will come and go, the bright colorful lights of the rides will fade, the screaming kids will go silent and smells of fair food will dissipate, but Agriscience classes, FFA competitions and other activities will go on at the Cullman Middle School FFA Chapter. Hope you enjoy your local Fair.

Students setting up display for fair booth is a way of showing everyone that sees it what we do in our FFA chapter and that we are here.

After all is finished, it is time to take a group photo of the finished product.