NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication
September 2018
#TammyTalks
Tammy Christian, Penelope
Greetings from Penelope, Texas. By now most of you are back in the saddle, school has started, the students have returned, and you have a “to do list” that is growing! I hope you had time to enjoy your summer and rejuvenate before heading back to the grind. Thank you for helping us make our conference in Lubbock a success, I hope that you were able to attend some workshops that will be helpful and beneficial to you. A highlight of this year’s conference was the note burning ceremony. Being able to pay off the Agriculture Education Ford Texas FFA Leadership Center in Austin, early, is a great accomplishment. Thanks to all of those involved for making this possible, and to Barney McClure for his guidance, management and watchful eye over our finances. I want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve you as President of the VATAT. It is a humbling experience and one I do not take lightly. For me, this coming year is not about leaving legacy’s or making my mark, it is about serving you; the members! Please let me know if I can help you in anyway or if you have concerns. I appreciate all the words of encouragement and well wishes. It’s going to be a great year! It was 1980 at Penelope High School, I was a freshman and
excited to be enrolled in my first ag class. My ag teacher was Gene Hawthorne, and it was his first year to teach at Penelope. I entered his classroom a shy young lady, lacking a bit of self-confidence. But I was so excited to take ag, and I could not wait to put that blue jacket on! That first semester was spent much like many of us spend it now. We learned and recited the creed, talked about FFA, and the opportunities we would have, and we covered the parliamentary guide. Mr. Hawthorne encouraged us, pushed us, prepared us and motivated us! At the end of the first semester, I had been elected greenhand president, served as presiding officer of our chapter conducting team, and we had landed a 10th place banner at state in greenhand quiz. I was excited for the spring and the topics we would cover in class and the contests we would participate in. To be continued... As we head into the 2018-2019 school year I have a few tips to share. Please know you will have the Tammy Christian’s that are eager to learn and excited about ag. You will also have those who are taking ag not by their choice but their counselor’s, do not overlook those! In my 28 years of teaching I have learned a lot, but I have room to learn so much more. Upon return from conference I get a list of potential dates that I will need a sub
and I turn it in. At the end of each month I review the coming month and make any necessary changes. Those who schedule substitutes will appreciate it. Get a calendar, use your calendar on your phone, make notes, have to-do lists, look at them all, everyday! I cannot see those deadlines and dates of events too often! It’s fundraising season and time for dues, write receipts and keep good records. Most of my career has been spent in a single teacher department, my goal has always been to have a well-rounded program. Don’t limit your students on your knowledge, learn with them, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Public Continue on page 2
#TammyTalks
Thank You, Ron Whitson
Continued
Barney McClure, VATAT Executive Director
perception of your program is important! Think about what you are doing and where you are seen. Read your emails and respond accordingly. If you receive an email that will require some time to respond to, let the sender know it has been received and you are working on it. If you receive an email that warrants a response, like, “I got your email” or “thank you” respond, it will be appreciated. If you have a school vehicle, you may be required to keep a log, but if you are not, keep one anyway. I keep a calendar in the school truck, I record mileage and an explanation of where I am going and what I am doing. I write animal weights, vaccinations, any pertinent information. Be informative with key personnel so they know where you are and or what you are doing. Last, but certainly not least, thank your administrators, school board, fellow faculty and parents. Thank you cannot be said enough. Good luck as we begin this year and stay positive.
My column this month could be a recap of conference at Lubbock, or a look toward the coming school year. Instead, I want to use this space to thank a very important cog in the wheel of agricultural education in Texas. After a very successful career as an agriculture teacher, primarily at Mansfield, Ron Whitson accepted the job as statewide coordinator of the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources cluster at the Texas Education Agency in 2007. After eleven years on the job, Ron announced his retirement at our conference, effective August 30, 2018. While our careers overlapped a great deal, and we taught about 20 miles apart, we were in different areas, so we didn’t have a great deal of interaction during this time. Once Ron went to work for TEA, I had the chance to work with him more. Our first big project occurred during 2008 and 2009. My State Board of Education member appointed me to the TEKS revision team for our division. My fellow committee members and I worked with Ron, and when the dust cleared, we had agriculture classes that counted for math credit, fine arts credit, science credit, and we had a CTE course that counted for speech credit. Ron was instrumental in this process. This achievement has had a lot to do with our growth during the last ten years. In part, Ron’s job entailed serving as a curriculum resource for agricultural education, and several other clusters within CTE. He became a valuable asset for teachers and administrators who had questions concerning our state programs. Another TEKS revision came and went, as well as a teaching materials adoption. As the years passed, he navigated several regime changes within the agency and continued to represent our program area with class and dignity. As mentioned previously, Ron Whitson will be retired by the time you read this, but his influence on our program will be felt for many years to come. I want to thank him for his service and wish him a happy and rewarding retirement. Job well done, my friend.
YOUR CONFERENCE CERTIFICATE IS ONLINE NOW. visit vatat.org
INSIDE THIS ISSUE VATAT.......................................1 - 3 Alumni................................6 Young Farmers..........................8 - 9
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A Note From Your Past President Michael Meadows, Simms
Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said that “Change is the only constant in life.” Change is inevitable. My natural tendency has always been to resist change. As I have grown older, I have tried to embrace change and the need to adapt and evolve. While I am a practical person and have never believed in changing just for the sake of changing, I like to think I am reasonable enough to I will accept and embrace positive changes. I have been teaching long enough to have seen many changes in our program. Most of these changes may have been met with resistance in the beginning but have benefitted our program and our students. Consider our curriculum: what once was focused on preparing students for careers in production agriculture only, now prepares them for hundreds of careers in other industries as well. Consider our students: look how allowing females to be FFA members has positively affected our program. This change has tremendously affected our profession. I wonder how many female Ag teachers there would be today if FFA was still limited to males only. These are just a couple of examples of how accepting and embracing change keep our program relevant and moving forward. I am not so naïve to believe that all changes are necessary and good. While I am reasonable enough to accept needed changes for the good of the program, I also believe there are some things you don’t ever change. I am talking about the core beliefs and values that this program was built on. Sure, we must tweak and change how we do things as technology changes, as agricultural practices changes, as our industry changes. If we don’t make adjustments in our program to how we deliver knowledge and skills to our students, our program will become old, stale, and irrelevant. We can do this without changing who we are. When we, as a program, start changing things that define what we believe, what we stand for, and what our values are, we will be undermining what those who came before us have built. This program has stood the test of time and has come through some rough places and efforts to kill it. Today, we enjoy and benefit from the
support of former students, financial sponsors, and supporters who believe in what we teach, what we stand for, and who we are. If future changes affect these core beliefs and values that define who we are as an organization, will these supporters remain in our corner and continue investing their time and resources? That is a question we must consider. The future of our program may depend on the answer. As my term as President of the VATAT ends, it is my hope and prayer that those who come after me will be discerning and deliberate in helping make decisions that will keep our program and FFA relevant, challenging, and moving forward without sacrificing our core beliefs and values. The FFA and Agricultural Education programs are one of the few institutions left in our country that continues to emphasize and instill decency, respect, morals, honesty, patriotism, leadership, and Godly principles in young people. I pray that never changes. I want to thank the staff and everyone else who had a hand in planning and conducting our conference in Lubbock. I also want to thank my wife, family, teaching partner, school administrators, VATAT staff, fellow officers and everyone else who supported me this year as President. It has truly been one of the highest honors of my life to represent Texas ag teachers. I thank the VATAT board for allowing me the opportunity to serve. I encourage each of you to continue working to move this profession, our association, and our program forward. The young people of Texas deserves and needs our best! See you down the road.
Fresh Country Supports the
VATAT with a
Annual Donation!
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THANK YOU FOR A GREAT CONFERENCE!
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We’re growing opportunities Scholarships Two $1,000 scholarships are available to: • High school junior or seniors • Current college or university students
Application Deadline: Nov. 30th
Youth Grants • Designed to assist Texas FFA Chapters with project(s) lacking funding within its local school district • Apply for a $250-$2,500 grant
Application Deadline: Nov. 1st
Visit us online for more information
www.TexasCorn.org 5
UPDATE Texas FFA Alumni News Kelly White, Texas FFA Alumni President
The Organizational Flow Chart below is a great informational tool. I have heard the words, “The Alumni is separate from the school and the principal can’t tell us how to run it.” The words are from Alumni members and possibly an ag teacher or two. I have been asked on several occasions from a flustered ag teacher with a rogue Alumni group for this chart, and from an administrator asking what he could do to assist their ag teacher from an Alumni group gone wild. Not every program has this problem and thank the Lord they don’t!
This chart is just a tool! I apologize if my portion of the newsletter is a downer, but I believe this information is very useful. I would guess that 95% of our support groups (Alumni or Booster Clubs) are supportive of your program and it is the slight percentage that can cause problems. Unfortunately, you can’t always please everyone. So work with that 95% and continue to give 100% to your school, your ag program and your FFA chapter. Thank you for all that you do!
AGRICULTURE EDUCATION SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CHART School District Board of Education Board of Directors The mission of the National FFA Alumni Association is to support and advocate for agricultural education and FFA through gifts of time, talent and financial resources at the local, state and national levels.
Superintendent of Schools CEO School Building Principal COO
Agricultural Education Instructor(s)/FFA Advisor(s) General Manager
Advisory Council Curriculum Consultants
Parents Supporters/Consultants
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Agricultural Education Classroom
FFA Chapter
Students #1 Customer
Chapter Members Leaders
Community Members Consultants
FFA Alumni Supporters/Consultants
Chapter Officers Key Leaders
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UPDATE Notes From
the
Executive Secretary
Bob Young, Texas Young Farmers Executive Secretary
What an eventful summer it has been for Texas Team Ag Ed. The Texas Young Farmers Association is proud to be a part of this important group. After retiring from teaching in 2015, I realized that maybe I had taken for granted many of the benefits, opportunities, and rewards. For two years I missed the opportunity to be a part it and believe me, I really did miss it. Texas Young Farmers has provided me a second chance to join the thousands of folks with whom it is such a pleasure to work. I made several observations and reflections about our program while preparing for and participating in the Texas FFA Convention and the VATAT Professional Development Conference this summer. When I think about all the positives that we have in this profession, it is very easy to talk about and express appreciation of the benefits that we receive. I am always amazed at how eager businesses and organizations are to help young people succeed. There has been a tremendous outpouring of support to Young Farmers because these groups realize the importance of continuing to develop agricultural education, leadership, and community service. As we accomplish those goals, we are able to provide more support to FFA chapters. Upon arrival at the FFA Convention in Ft. Worth, my daughter Kara and I were greeted by several Ambassadors who helped us set up our booth and to make the proper connections to register. They made us feel special and assisted us at every turn. We got to know them individually and it was rewarding to hear about their FFA lives. All the visiting we were able to do at the booth reminded me of what I had missed by not attending the Convention after I retired. We are also very proud to host a breakfast 8
for the 2017-18 FFA State Officer Team during the Convention. It is easy to see why Texas FFA has been known for tremendous leadership for so long. These young people will succeed in life and accomplish great things for themselves. Congratulations to our Texas Young Farmers 2018 Scholarship winners. Our recipients were: Spencer Thacker, Pewitt FFA; Audrey Brown, Dayton FFA; Kourtnee Kirgan, Fairfield FFA; Caelyn Thompson, Teague FFA; Kaitlin Newman, Fairfield FFA; and Cory Sinkule, Penelope FFA. All six of these FFA members are outstanding individuals. I feel we will be hearing more about their accomplishments as they extend their education and continue to promote FFA and Young Farmers. The VATAT Professional Development Conference in Lubbock was a great opportunity to visit with Ag Teachers about their existing Young Farmer Chapters and to encourage others to create a chapter. This aspect of my job is one that I really enjoy because it is a “no-brainer” to have a Young Farmer Chapter at every school. Advantages that I listed earlier provide so many opportunities for adult leaders who have an interest in agriculture and valuable support to the local FFA Chapters. I am looking forward to visiting as many YF chapters as possible this fall. I have already learned of numerous local chapter activities that are happening in the next few weeks. the time spent visiting with Ag Teachers during the Conference was enjoyable, interesting, and rewarding. So, there are my takes on two of the most insightful, fulfilling, and meaningful state gatherings of Ag Education folks that we can be a part of in Texas. Here’s hoping that all FFA Chapters and Young Farmer Chapters have a tremendous year in 2018-19.
Texas Young Farmers at the Texas FFA Convention & VATAT Conference
Executive Secretary Bob Young his daughter Kara with the 2017-18 Texas FFA State Officer Team at the annual breakfast sponsored by Texas Young Farmers.
A glimpse of Young Farmers booth at Professional Development Conference in Lubbock.
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THERE CAN’T BE A GAME WON WITHOUT A GAME PLAN See what Texas FFA students have to say at mytexasffa.org
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VATAT
614 E. 12th Street Austin, Texas 78701
Upcoming Events September
October
November
1 - 30 Regular Swine Tag Orders (Major Shows)
1 Leadership Conference, San Angelo
1 Fall Texas FFA Roster Deadline
10 Texas FFA Board of Directors Meeting
1 - 31 Sheep and Goat Validation
1 Tarleton Invitational LDEs
1 - 31 Late Swine Tag Orders (Major Shows) 9 State Fair of Texas Agriculture Awareness Day 24 - 27 National FFA Convention
www.vatat.org
Contact
(512) 472-3128
1 - 7 Late Priority Swine Tag Orders (Major Shows) 12 Leadership Conference, Canyon 30 Last Day to Validate Swine 30 State LDEs, Huntsville
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
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