February 2019 by Texas Ag Ed

NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication

February 2019

#TammyTalks

Tammy Christian, Penelope

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a joyful Christmas and that you had time to relax and spend much needed time with your family and friends. I hope that your new year has got off to a great new start! As we continue my journey, it is extremely hard to believe that 30 years ago this month I began teaching ag in Penelope, Texas. I was nervous and anxious as I began, my surroundings were familiar, it had been just under five years since I had graduated from the same school. There are challenges for any teacher as they begin, but starting mid-year was no cake walk. The kids were receptive and welcoming, and a bit amused with having a female ag teacher. There were certainly a lot of the high school students I knew, and Mr. Hawthorneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s middle daughter Stephanie was one of my students. Mr. Hawthorne had been a great ag teacher, so I relied heavily on how he had done things. I will admit, there were struggles. Learning to plan and prepare for classes was a little difficult, and in addition to teaching ag, I was teaching some junior high science classes as well. I was considered a part time ag teacher, according to my administrator. I was limited on how many stock shows I could attend, and how much I could be gone for ag related trips. I was going to have

to become certified to teach junior high science. Females were still new to this profession, but the community and school board had welcomed me with a pinnacle of confidence. While I was welcomed by the county ag teachers and neighboring communities, I did not always ask enough questions. I made mistakes and learned the hard way, many times! I struggled as new and young ag teacher, I was not convinced that I had made the right choice. In the spring of 1990, I set out to Houston for the livestock show with one student, Stephanie Hawthorne and her lamb, it was before the sift at Rosenberg. I had changed our reservations to a Motel 6 based on the recommendation of a fellow teacher. As we drove into the parking lot, I felt a little uncomfortable, but we settled in for the night. In the early morning hours, I received a call from the front desk, they had caught someone trying to steal my truck. They had twisted the door lock and much of the steering column, including the ignition for the key, was in the floor-board. After a few phone calls and a couple of hours, the police showed up. They taped my ignition back in so I could get the key in it and cranked. We spent the rest of the week with my cousin and my husband had to come pick up the truck and bring me something else

to drive. What a trip! After teaching for two and a half years decided I need to try something else, I was not convinced teaching was my calling. To be continued... The stock show tour is upon us, I head to Fort Worth with heifers in a week. I had a close call with my Fort Worth entries this year. For many years now, I have always mailed my entries certified return receipt. I mailed our Fort Worth entries on November 13th. The second week in December, I had not received any passes for Fort Worth and it occurred to me I did not remember receiving the green receipt card back from Fort Worth. I checked my file folder and it was not there. Continue on page 2

#TammyTalks Continued I immediately call the stock show office, only to find out, they had not received our entries. My heart sank to my ankles at that point, she explained I would need talk to my post office. I immediately called the post office, they checked the number on my receipt, the tracking showed it had left the post office on November 13th, was in route November 15th and 17th and that was the last record of movement. The post office explained they would send an email to the receiving centers, they said they usually never received an email back, but that typically, the mail would start moving. In talking to the stock show, they had explained they had to have that envelope with the contents to help us. The parents of the participants were very understanding of the situation. After a week of emails, phone calls and a great deal of worry and disappointment on my part, the envelope made to the stock show on December 21st. This has prompted to believe I need to drive my entries to Fort Worth or send all entries by Fed Ex. Another lesson learned!

THERE CAN’T BE A GAME WON WITHOUT A GAME PLAN See what Texas FFA students have to say at mytexasffa.org

How Much Time Away From School Is Too Much? Barney McClure, VATAT Executive Director From now until the end of May could be the most challenging time in an agriculture teacher’s year. County livestock shows, major livestock shows, career development events, degree checks, and banquets just seem to follow each other in rapid succession. It is very easy for teachers to overextend themselves to get everything done. During the spring semester, I frequently get calls from teachers who are having administrators question them about being gone from school so much. How much is too much? There is no real answer for all departments. This is a decision that must be made locally. If the district policy is too restrictive, students may be put at a disadvantage when applying for degrees, awards, and scholarships. If a district’s policy is too lenient, too many students may be left at home under the direction of substitutes who may or may not do an adequate job of covering the materials. Ideally, discussions should take place as part of the development of a strategic plan for that program. It is always better to have them long before the events take place so everyone will be on the same page. A decision made too late may impact a student who has already made financial and time commitments to an activity. Our website has a template for a program strategic plan that should fit most schools. It is always positive to engage administrators, parents, students, and other stakeholders to map out the plan. Agricultural education has so many quality components that no program, teacher, or school can do justice to them all. A decision on areas of focus is not only appropriate, but necessary in most districts. This will allow an organized approach to how many school days the teacher or students can be away from campus. This will result in happier administrators, and ultimately, better programs.

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VATAT.......................................1 - 3 Texas FFA....................................4 Alumni....................................5 Young Farmers........................8 - 9

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What ag education classes do you teach? Advanced Animal Science, Advanced Plant and Soil Science, Advanced Floral Design, Practicum in Agricultural Mechanics, Agricultural Mechanics and Metal Technologies Why do you teach ag? I teach agriculture to provide opportunities for students that they would not get anywhere else. I understand that not every student will work in an agriculture field, but what drives me is the fact that agriculture education and the FFA can provide a firm foundation for students to build upon while in high school and after they graduate. I hear constantly from former students about how their agriculture classes have helped them after graduation.

What advice would you give a first-year teacher? As a first-year teacher I believe that you should invest most of your time in making instruction your top priority. The best way to keep students, administration, and parents happy and engaged is to have an instructional program that is focused on the needs of the community and industry. I firmly believe that the best recruitment tool is a strong instructional program. Taking care of the classroom will eliminate a vast majority of the pitfalls that most first year teachers fall into.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S your favorite classroom memory? Getting to skip the line at Franklin Barbecue, a famous restaurant in Austin, Texas that is known for its hours long wait time. I reached out two summers ago to Aaron Franklin to see if he would be willing to host a group of students that were interested in building a BBQ pit and in cooking BBQ. He agreed and once we arrived, he quickly shuffled us to the back of the restaurant and spent three hours talking with the students about pit designs and cooking. He also fed us copious amounts of brisket which was a bonus.

Why do you believe that ag education is so important? Agriculture education is important because it gives students the power, skills and knowledge to advocate for what I believe to be the most important industry in our society. We need leaders in our country that understand how agriculture impacts every facet of our lives.

What is your favorite FFA memory? Hands down my favorite FFA memories involves working with kids and livestock. Over the years we have developed a swine program that allows students to participate in the swine industry from conception to consumer which has given students the opportunity to farrow and show their own livestock projects and be successful. A couple of years ago we were able to win two breeds at our county show with pigs that students had breed, fed, and showed.

Do you have advice on balancing work/home life? I struggle daily with balancing home and work life because my wife, Julia Ricicar, works right across the hall and sometimes the lines are blurred between work and home. I believe that everyone should have a hobby outside of agriculture that they can engage themselves in to relieve stress and to stimulate their minds. For me I like to go bass fishing and love the barbecue scene in Central Texas.

UPDATE Texas FFA Alumni News Kelly White, Texas FFA Alumni President

Each year, FFA members from all over the texasffaalumni.ffanow.org under applications. United States travel to Washington, D.C. to attend More info about the Washington Leadership the Washington Leadership Conference (WLC). Conference can be found at www.ffa.org. During the five-day event, attendees learn how to become effective leaders by teaching them to Affiliation Overview know their purpose, value people, take action, • Annual fee of $100 for National Dues per local affiliate for the affiliate program providing basic and serve others. This is no ordinary leadership support to all volunteers of that local affiliate. experience. You will spend a week putting these This annual fee would be waived if the local skills into practice as you make new friends from across the United States, tour our nation’s capitol affiliate has at least 25 life members. This process would continue to provide additional and visit with members of Congress. annual members in the affiliate coverage to This action-packed week will help you gain selfconfidence and leadership skills to take back to keep them current and active without any additional fees. your FFA chapter and share with other members. They leave WLC with the knowledge and the • Annual fee of $100 for State Dues per local confidence to act in ways that help their schools, affiliate for the affiliate program providing basic community, and their country support to all volunteers of that local affiliate. The Texas FFA Alumni will grant two $500 This annual fee would be waived if the local scholarships to deserving FFA members whose affiliate has at least 25 life members. This local affiliate are in good standing with the Texas process would continue to provide additional FFA Alumni. annual members in the affiliate coverage to keep them current and active without any Eligibility and Deadlines additional fees. • Only one FFA member per chapter can submit • Reported membership information in all an application for the WLC scholarship. required fields with a minimum of 10 local • The WLC scholarship covers $500 of the affiliate members will continue to be in place registration fee for an FFA member to attend the for the affiliate to be considered active. WLC conference. Travel to and from the WLC • The affiliate must keep required affiliate conference site and incidental expenses are the information completed and updated in Ag recipient’s responsibility. Career Network to remain active. • Recipients must attend a WLC workshop for the • Designate a responsible key contact to sign year the scholarship is awarded. up the affiliate and keep affiliate information • Applications are due postmarked by February current and communicate to members. 15 of each year. WLC scholarship recipients will be announced by March 1st and winners notified by March 15th. • Each recipient is expected to attend the Texas Alumni dues FFA Alumni Association’s Annual Meeting in July deadline held in conjunction with the State FFA Convention.

how

apply

February 15, 2019

Applications can be found online at http:// 5

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UPDATE Notes From

the

Executive Secretary

Bob Young, Texas Young Farmers Executive Secretary It has certainly been an interesting, busy, and rewarding time for Texas Young Farmers. We just completed the 65th Annual State Convention of the State Association of Young Farmers of Texas, which was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Temple, January 10-12. There is much satisfaction to be derived from such a wonderful group of people who come together to practice, promote, and enhance the principles of education, leadership, community service, and recreation on which our organization has thrived for the past sixty-five years of existence. And those principles are why we are still here. As I visited with Young Farmers during the convention, I observed a tremendous amount of pride that all of them have in being members. When you put hard-working, honest, and dedicated people together around our world of agriculture, that is what you get. agriculture and our love for it are the driving forces behind the successes of the members, as well as of the success of our organization. It is relatively easy for those of us who are involved in agriculture to understand and appreciate it because it is such an integral part of our everyday lives. I know that each of our members is very appreciative of agriculture and to be a part of TYF. Special appreciation goes to our outgoing 2018 State Officer Board Members Robert Bland, Savannah Bland, Natalie Swenson and Connie Koopman. They have contributed greatly to our overall success. Their hard work has positively affected the forward advancement of Young Farmers. We salute you for your efforts and accomplishments and we trust that each of you will continue your active involvement. We also hail the accomplishments of our 2018 State President Stephanie Wood, who did a tremendous job by keeping all of us on the state board organized and focused on the goals of TYF. She displayed great leadership abilities and continued the precedent of responsible and accountable leadership exhibited by presidents before her. Of course, she will continue serving on the State Board as Past State President. Congratulations, Stephanie, on a job well done.

And we welcome our 2019 State Officer Board, led by new State President Clovia Ketchum of the San Saba County Young Farmers. Herb Casey of the Teague Chapter will serve as President-Elect. We are proud to now have Chad Wood, L. A. Muehr, Sherry Mendenhall, Tommy Ketchum, Larry Mendenhall, and John Butler as new Board members. Clovia and the entire board realize that, even though there will be many challenges, we can accomplish much during this year. Congratulations to all the award winners at the convention. We are gathering pictures now that we will publish in future articles recognizing all the chapters and individual members who achieved these awards. Also, in our January article, we stated that State VP Roy Ward, of the Limestone County Chapter, won 1st place in the National Young Farmers Education Association Institute Ag Communications Contest. His accomplishment earned him a trip to the Agriculture’s Promise Program in Washington, D.C., March 3-5. This is such a wonderful award for Roy, his family, and Texas Young Farmers. We are very proud of him. We salute all of the people who support us each year. Special thanks to RVOS Insurance, Ag Workers Insurance, Koopman Catering, and Texas FFA Foundation for being convention sponsors again. We appreciate Randy Lenz of StayTuff Fence Co. for sponsoring the state contests. We thank Janis Muehr with Melaleuca (the Wellness Co.) for their continued support. And there are so many others who we will recognize throughout the year. Thanks to all. We encourage all Young Farmer Chapters to please submit rosters and dues if you have not done so yet. it is extremely important, as this helps to ensure that our State association remains strong and functional. I also encourage local chapters to inform me of any upcoming special events/activities that your chapter sponsors. I want to visit as many of the activities as I can. So please keep me informed. There is much more to talk about, but we’ll have to wait until the next edition. Thanks for reading. Until then, know that Alfred Mercier said, “What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.”

Our 2019 Texas Young Farmers Officers President

President-Elect

Past President

Executive Administrator

Executive Secretary Bob Young

VP Area I

Chad Wood

VP Area II

VP Area III

VP Area IV

VP Area V

VP Area VI Roy Ward

Tommy Ketchum

VP Area VIII

VP Area IX

VP Area X

Clovia Ketchum Barney McClure

Kenneth Hedrick Sherry Mendenhall Lisa Brown

VP Area XI

Charlie Rochester

Herbert Casey

LA Muehr

Stephanie Wood

Trina Holaway

VP Area VII

Larry Mendenhall

John Butler

VP Area XII

Advisor

Makayla Cruz

NYFEA Institute Ag Communications Contest

Roy Ward, of the Limestone County Chapter, won 1st place in the National Young Farmers Education Association Institute Ag Communications Contest. Pictured with his dad, Past State President Bill Ward.

Terry Hausenfluck

Thank You to Our Texas Young Farmers Sponsors

KOOPMANN CATERING SCHULENBURG, TX 979-561-6272 koopmanncatering@gmail.com

TEXAS FARM BUREAU

2019 Scholarships Supporting the next generation of leaders Details at texasfarmbureau.org or email youthactivities@txfb.org

Applications due March 1, 2019 11

VATAT

614 E. 12th Street Austin, Texas 78701

Upcoming Events February

March

April

1st National Scholarship Online Submission Deadline

1 Spring Texas FFA Roster Deadline

1 VATAT Scholarship Application Deadline

15th State Officer Nom Com & Adult Consultant Application Deadline

25 Texas FFA Board Meeting, Austin

15 Foundation Ambassador Application Deadline 15 Texas FFA Convention Media Deadline

16th - 23rd National FFA Week 19th/21st Texas FFA Day At The Capitol

www.vatat.org

Contact

(512) 472-3128

vatat@vatat.org

Officers Tammy Christian, President

Terry Baize, Vice President

Staff

Ryan Pieniazek, Secretary/Treasurer

Barney McClure, Executive Director Ashley Dunkerley, Communications Karen Jones, Membership Services Tori Rosser, Special Projects