“Since 1928, there have been a countless number of ways in which the agricultural industry has progressed. Changes such as the use of tractors and mechanical milking parlors have increased production an amazing amount.” This is how Corbin Hellwarth from Parkway FFA chapter feels agriculture has changed with the advances of technology since 1928.

“So how do I envision agriculture in eighty years? I see broad expanses of land farmed by a single farmer, herds of genetically superior cows that produce twice the amount of milk that today’s cows can.” Corbin imagines this is how technology will change everyday life in eighty years.

He wrote this essay to submit to the Ohio FFA Organization. His essay was judged at districts and then state level. It was chosen to be in the top three essays of the state of Ohio, meaning he would be recognized at the 80^th Ohio FFA Convention.

At the first session of the convention on May 2^nd, Corbin’s essay was named top essay in the state of Ohio. For this accomplishment he received a plaque and sixty dollars.

The chapter would like to congratulate Corbin on a great essay!

Do you have what it takes to answer 100 questions about Engineering? The questions range from Environment to Equipment from Natural Resources to Market. To be able to answer these questions you have to study very hard. The Parkway team Brandon Riley, Paul Brown, Mark Sheets, and Aaron Bollenbacher did just that. After the written test, the top twenty teams compete in finals. In finals, they may work with small engines, welding, and problem solving.

The team placed 8th out of 16 teams in the state of Ohio. For their accomplishment, they received a plaque.

Congratulations to the Ag Engineering team on a job well done!

The Parkway FFA Chapter attended the 80th Ohio FFA Convention on May 1st to May 3rd. The chapter had four members take their Agri-Science Fair Project to the state level.

The chapter on Thursday night ate at Mongolian Grill and many of them learned how to eat with chopsticks. The group then toured The Cheesecake Factory and many bought some for themselves.

The chapter attended the five sessions in Columbus. All the sessions had a theme; each pertained to one line of the FFA motto. The first session was held on Friday and the theme was “Living to Serve.” The second sessions keynote speaker was Mark Scharenbroich and “Learning to Do” was the theme. The third session on Friday night was about “Earning to Live” with the keynote speaker being Shawn Harper. The last two sessions were on Saturday with the themes being “Doing to Learn” and “Blue Jackets, Bright Futures.”

Friday morning the chapter had each member take a CDE test. The different tests were Cooperative Learning, Agriculture Engineering, Grain Merchandising, Farm Business Management, and Greenhand Quiz. The students all studied very hard and did well in what they participated in.

The students, as you can see, were very busy this week and worked hard to earn recognition at the 80th Ohio FFA Convention. 

The Parkway FFA Chapter had multiple students take their Agri-Science Fair projects to state level to be judged in many different categories and divisions.

There are four different categories you can be judged in which are: Biochemistry/Microbiology/Food Science, Environmental Sciences, Zoology, Botany, and Engineering. After being placed in a category, they are split into divisions. The divisions are based upon number of people in the project and your grade. Division one is for grades seven, eight, and nine with one member doing the main portion of the project. The second division is for one member in grades ten, eleven, and twelve. Division three is for two project members and grades seven through nine. Lastly, is division four designed for grades ten through twelve for two students with the project.

Three students received the top gold rating and one student received the bronze rating. Travis Guggenbiller and Michelle Thomas competed together in Microbiology, division four, with their project, “To Treat or Not to Treat?” It was about whether or not seed treatment would affect seed germination or emergence percentage. Guggenbiller and Thomas received a 3^rd place gold rating.

Travis Guggenbiller took a second project in Botany, division two, with his project, “Does seed shape matter?” It was based around whether or not seed shape, rounds or flats, would affect the growth rate and germination. He received a 2^nd place gold rating.
 

Corbin Hellwarth entered his project “Moovin’ in the Milk House,” into the Zoology part of the fair. It was about two different ways to prep and milk cows and which one would have the best milk amount. He received a third place gold rating.

Danielle Matthews of the Parkway FFA received a bronze rating in Botany. Her project, “Which Way Is Up?” was about the placement of the eye of a soybean would affect germination and leaf growth.

If they received a gold rating, they were able to walk across the stage at the fourth session of the 80^th Ohio FFA Convention.

The Chapter would like to congratulate all members on a job well done!

Parkway FFA Students Attend Tractor Trouble Shooting 
On February 22, the Parkway FFA Chapter attended Tractor Trouble Shooting at Spencerville. The students who attended were Mark Sheets and Brandon Riley. The students had to find a reason why a tractor was not functioning properly. The Parkway FFA Chapter placed 12^th out of 15 teams. Some of the problems the students found were disconnected wires, blown fusses, disconnected safety switches, shut-off to the injector pump misplaced, and air intake systems plugged. There were five stations and twenty minutes of time to fix these problems. Tractor Trouble Shooting was a great way for the students to work together as a team and develop their own way of leadership. Mark Sheets who attended the Tractor Trouble Shooting said, “Working on different tractors than the ones you work on at home is always interesting.” The Parkway FFA Chapter would like recognize your effort and hard work.

Recently the Parkway FFA Chapter held the District Four Ag Mechanics Skill Contest. The Parkway FFA had three students from their chapter who participated which were Mark Sheets, Brandon Riley, and Michael Ford. The Parkway FFA team placed 6^th out of 12 teams. Some tasks that took place were wire welding, stick welding, oxyacetylene cut, tap, sharp a drill bit, caliper readings, tool identification, fastener identification, small engine identification, electrical problems, and a written test. The team worked extremely hard and their hard work paid off. The chapter would like to congratulate the team for their hard work.

 

Public Speaking Contest Held in Delphos

The Parkway FFA recently had five students that competed in sub-districts at Delphos for the Public Speaking Contest. The students were Olivia Houts, Corbin Hellwarth, Crysti Hoehamer, Abby Evans and Samantha Jackson. Olivia Houts and Abby Evans competed in the Creed Speaking and did very well. Olivia Houts received 3^rd place and Emily Evans received 4^th. Samantha Jackson competed in Extemporaneous Speaking and received first place with a gold rating. Corbin Hellwarth and Crysti Hoehamer competed in Beginning Prepared and did very well. Corbin Hellwarth received 1^st place with a gold rating and Crysti Hoehamer received a gold rating.

Corbin Hellwarth and Samantha Jackson moved on to districts at Cory Rawson on February 19^th for their public speaking. Corbin Hellwarth received 6^th place in Beginning Prepared and Samantha Jackson received 2^nd place in Extemporaneous Speaking. Sam will now compete at the state level for the Parkway FFA Chapter under Extemporaneous Speaking.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to congratulate everyone for their hard work and wish Sam best of luck at State.

This year the Parkway FFA Chapter had a can food drive for Parkway Ministerial Food Bank from November 7th through the 16th. The food bank gives these non-perishable foods to churches in the school district to help families in need.

The chapter asked all the high school and elementary students to take part in this donation. The cans were counted and collected every morning during homeroom. The chapter collected an enormous amount of non-perishable food. The total of non-perishable foods collected was a whopping 2,989 units. The elementary class that collected the most cans was Mrs. Shellabarger’s 5th grade class.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank everyone for making this a successful fund-raiser. All of this food collected will be a wonderful gift to those families in need.

The Parkway Parliamentary Procedure Team placed first at the District contest held at Sentinel on December 4, 2007. The team consisted of Sentinel-Jennifer Thomas, Advisor-Abbea Hoehamer, Corbin Hellwarth, Sam Jackson, Secretary-Megan Monroe, President-Melinda Miller, Reporter-Travis Guggenbiller, Treasurer-Michelle Thomas, Ethan Hayes, and Vice-President-Sara King. The team will move on to state on December 15, 2006. Good luck and Congratulations.

The Parkway FFA attended a leadership conference at Coldwater on Thursday November 19, 2007. The Conference was hosted by the Coldwater FFA Chapter and pizza and refreshments were provided at the conclusion of the conference for all the members who attended. Leadership skills were brought to our attention by Ohio’s Brittani Regula, District 4 President, Tyler Church, District 5 President, and Anna Hall, State Secretary. The three officers broke everyone up into three groups and rotated them into three different stations. The first station was “Describe a Leader”. In this station the students had to build a leader out of craft items and describe how the parts of the body relate to leadership. The second station was “Discover Everyone”. This station helped students interact with other members of their group. They learned about their favorite color, ice cream flavor, vehicle, and future career. The last station was “Design Your Own Avenue”. This station taught students how to work together as a team and make a bridge out of straws. Therefore the leadership conference taught everyone an enormous amount of information on how to become a better leader.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank the Coldwater FFA Chapter for hosting the Leadership Conference and the officers for taking the time to teaching leadership skills to the students.

The Parkway FFA Chapter recently attended the 79^th National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana during October 24^th-28^th. The students who attended the convention were Travis Guggenbiller, Corbin Hellwarth, Garth Louth, Zach Searight, Mark Sheets, Sara King, Jackie King, Melinda Miller, Danielle Mathews, Michelle Thomas, Jenifer Thomas, Kara Heiser, Alissa Belna, Abbea Hoehamer, Olivia Houts, Tasha Walls, Megan Monroe and advisor Mr. Alan Post.

The students started off on Tuesday with a tour of the Top Cut Boar Farm in Ohio. At the boar farm, the farmers showed six of their boars that range in price from 15,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars. They use these boars to collect semen which must stay at a certain temperature; otherwise it could kill the sperm. Abbea Hoehamer who attended the boar farm stated, “The boar farm was very intriguing and informative. I was shocked at the prices of the boars.

After the tour of the Top Cut Boar Farm, the next tour on the agenda was the tour of Pierre Foods, OH. Here the students were able to see some of the school food processed. Some of their foods they make that is served in our school are chicken patties and BBQ rib sandwiches. Many of the students that saw this tour thought it was very interesting including Sara King who stated, “I was really fascinated when I saw how our school food is made. It was hard to believe the finished product came from the raw meat I saw at the beginning.”

The next tour we attended was Cargill Grain Facility, OH. There we observed the corn being tested for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and saw how they transport their grain in barges down the Ohio River. Michelle Thomas stated, “It was interesting to see the barges and how much grain they held.”

The last tour of day one was the tour of Jungle Jim’s International Market. The Jungle Jim’s International Market is the biggest grocery store any of the students had ever been too. There was food for all ethnic groups there. They had live fish and lobster for people to take home and thousands of different types of fruits and vegetables from across the world. Danielle Mathews’ favorite tour was Jungle Jim’s and she stated, “Jungle Jim’s is one of the biggest grocery stores I have ever been too. My favorite part of the tour was how they designed their restrooms.”

On Wednesday, they started the day off on a tour at Integrity Biofuels. The students were shown the entire process of how they make their Biofuels and how they transport their fuel to their consumers. Melinda Miller stated, “Integrity Biofuel was my favorite tour because it is an occupation that I can see myself going into. It was interesting to learn about a new and growing industry.”

The next trip we took was a tour of a winery. They showed us the process of making wine and how long they keep the wine in barrels. “The winery tour was very interesting.” stated Travis Guggenbiller, “We were able to see the vineyard and how they propagate their grape plants and learn the process of making a wine bottle.”

On Thursday, the students’ morning started off on a tour of Campbell’s Seed. The tour included a tour of their facility and an explanation on how they breed their corn. Jackie King who thought the Campbell’s Seed Company was very interesting states, “The process of the seeds going through the facility to be sorted into bags was very interesting.”

On Friday, the last tour we took of the week was the tour of Traders Point Organic Farm and Creamery. The tour guide gave us a tour of the milking parlor and the barnyard. They also explained to us that their cattle pasture grazed and how the cows heal themselves if they become ill. Olivia Houts who attend the convention said, “Living on a non-organic farm, it was interesting to see how an organic farm works.”

Throughout the whole week of convention the chapter went to many sessions and listened to many guest speakers. Two guest speakers they had were Dr. Rick Rigsby and Mr. Henry Winkler. Dr. Rick Rigsby gave a speech on how everyone one needs to live their lives the best they can. One of his key notes that he spoke on was “In Whatever You Do, Do Your Best.” Rick Rigsby was trying to tell the students that doing your best will lead you to a great future. Mr. Henry Winkler also told the students a powerful message. Winkler’s message was to never let anyone put you down for whom you are and that you should follow your dreams and achieve great things. Both of these guest speakers were outstanding and had great leadership techniques.

The national officers also gave their retiring addresses during the sessions. They all talked about their family lives and how the FFA helped them become great leaders.

Also during the week, the Parkway FFA Chapter had two students place second place at the national level on their Agriscience Fair Project. The two students were Michelle Thomas and Travis Guggenbiller. The Parkway FFA would like to congratulate them on their accomplishment.

On Saturday we woke up in the morning and went to the American Degree Ceremony where we watched members from Ohio, four of which were members were from our chapter, and members from other states receive there American Degree. After the ceremony we went our way home. The convention was a wonderful time for all the students that attended the convention.

 The Parkway FFA competed this year at the Sub-District Competition on Tuesday, November 28, 2007 at the Delphos Jefferson High School.

The Varsity team included: Melinda Miller Corbin Hellwarth, Michelle Thomas, Travis Guggenbiller, Sara King, Megan Monroe, Jenifer Thomas, Sam Jackson, Abbea Hoehamer, and Ethan Hayes. The Varsity team placed 1^st at Sub-Districts and will be moving on to Districts on December 4, 2007 at Sentinel.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to congratulate the parli-pro team and wish them good luck at districts.

Indianapolis, In., -- Travis Guggenbiller and Michelle Thomas, members of the Parkway FFA Chapter of Rockford, OH, competed in the National FFA Agriscience Fair program. The event was held during the 80^th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, In., October 24-27. Participants from 40 associations defend their projects against other entries for judging in 20 divisions.

Travis and Michelle’s project, Does Seed Shape Matter, was on display at convention in the National FFA Agriscience Fair area of the FFA National Agricultural Career Show. Categories for competition were biochemistry/microbiology/food science, botany, engineering, environmental science, and zoology. The four divisions divide students in grades 7-12. Each winning participant received either a cash award or scholarship.

The agriscience fair program is sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund as a special project of the national FFA Foundation. It is one of many ways FFA combines classroom teaching and hands-on learning to prepare youth for future success.

FFA is a national youth organization of 495,046 student members preparing for leadership and career in the science, business and technology of agriculture with 7,242 local chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. FFA strives to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through education in agricultural science. Visit www.ffa.org for more information.

The Parkway FFA Chapter held their annual Fall Fresh Fest on November 3^rd as a way for the freshmen to interact with other members of their chapter. The Fresh Fest also gave the freshmen and other members an opportunity to become more involved with the organization.

The Fall Fresh Fest provided the members with pizza, chips and pop. There were also games for the students to play such as hillbilly golf, corn hole, and cards.

Travis Guggenbiller, chapter reporter, stated “The Fresh Fest is a great way for freshmen to interact with other members in the chapter. The fest helped members in our chapter realize all the things that our chapter does for our community.”

The chapter had a great turn-out this year and plans on having another for next year.

This year the Parkway FFA Chapter had two students receive awards at the 63^rd Mercer Soil & Water Conservation District Banquet. The banquet was held on November 8 and was started off with a welcome from Bob Pohlman. After the welcome everyone was catered dinner from Romers. Once everyone finished their meal Bob Pohlman gave an introduction and then gave out the scholarship award with Scott Piper. The Mercer Soil & Water Conservation Scholarship was rewarded to Danny Knapke from the Parkway FFA Chapter. Later on during the banquet, Travis Guggenbiller, also from the Parkway FFA Chapter, was rewarded the Urban Soil Award from Nikke Hawk. Travis received this award for placing first at Mercer County soils contest. After the soils award, the banquet was entertained by the Sisters of the Disorder. The sisters sang songs and told jokes. At the end of the banquet, door prizes were handed out to people and a closing was given by Brother Don Fisher.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to congratulate Danny and Travis on their awards they received.

 

This year at the 80^th FFA National Convention the Parkway FFA Chapter had four former members receive their American FFA Degree. The four students were Felicia Quaintance, Katie King, Ashley Gamble, and Jessica Suman. They were just four of the 271 Ohio FFA members and of the 3,169 members from the United States, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands who received their American Degree.  

The American FFA Degree is the highest level degree that a FFA member can achieve. Before any of these members can receive the degree, they must have received the Greenhand Degree, Chapter Degree, and State Degree. To receive these degrees it takes a lot of dedication and hard work and only a small percent of the students receive the degree. Receiving the American Degree allows the members to remain active in the FFA beyond their high school graduation.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to congratulate Katie, Ashley, Felicia, and Jessica for receiving their American Degree.

The Greenhands from the Parkway FFA Chapter attended the Versailles Greenhand Conference on Saturday, October 6. The members that attended were Kara Heiser, Jenifer Thomas, Brad Shaffer, Brad Goodwin, Abby Evans, Patrick Jackson, Tyler Alt, Stephaney Hesse, Garth Louth, and Casey Mullen.

When the group arrived, they did icebreaker activities to meet Greenhands from other schools. Then they went into workshops which were developed by the state officer team. These workshops focused on communication and leadership skills, which can be incorporated by the students in their home chapters. Kara Heiser, who attend the conference stated, “I enjoyed meeting new people from other chapters and this was a great way for me to develop new leadership. I hope to take these skills back to my home chapter and help make a difference.”

The Greenhands would like to thank Versailles for holding the conference.

On October 13, 2007, the Parkway soils team competed at Hartford Fairgrounds for the state soils contest. Parkway was proud to have their Urban Soils team compete at state for their second time.

At the state level the teams were divided into multiple groups in their judging class. Then the groups went to four different soil pits and 2 different testing stations. The students faced everything they were exposed to at the district level but with an extra pit.

The Urban team did very well this year for it being their second time at state competition. The Urban team consisted of Sara King, Corbin Hellwarth, Travis Guggenbiller, and Melinda Miller. As a team, they placed 11^th out of 51 teams. As individuals, Sara King placed the highest for Parkway being 24^th out of 194 students. Melinda Miller placed 36^th, Travis Guggenbiller placed 69^th and Corbin Hellwarth placed 95^th.

The Parkway FFA Chapter is extremely proud of all the students’ hard work and ability to accomplish their goal of going to state in soils. We would like to congratulate the urban team for their efforts.

Parkway FFA Does Well At Districts

On September 27, 2007, the Parkway FFA took their teams to the Districts soil judging contest near Ottawa, Ohio. The teams worked very hard and did extremely well in the contest. The contest consisted of three pits, a soil survey test and a general knowledge test. The teams were faced with multiple questions. They were questioned, is the dirt loamier or siltier? What was the depth of bedrock? What was the latest glacier that crossed Ohio? Those are just a few of the questions they were asked.

The rural soil team of Michelle Thomas, Michael Ford, Sam Jackson, and Paul Brown, placed 12^th out of 28 teams. Paul Brown was the highest scoring for Parkway who placed 27^th out of 113 students, along with Michelle Thomas who placed 29^th, Michael Ford 73^rd and Sam Jackson 74^th.

The urban soil team who placed 1^st out of 27 teams consisted of Sara King, Travis Guggenbiller, Melinda Miller and Corbin Hellworth. Corbin Hellworth was the highest scoring student for Parkway and of all other judgers in the urban soils contest who placed 1^st out of 89 students, along with Sara King who placed 3^rd, Travis Guggenbiller 27^th and Melinda Miller 40^th.  

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to congratulate the urban team for placing first and wish them good luck at state on October 13, 2007. Submitted by Travis Guggenbiller, reporter.

This year for 2007-2008, the Parkway FFA Chapter has started a recycling program for the new facility. The chapter received a Building Our American Community Grant for $2000 to purchase our blue recycling tubs for all classrooms and containers to collect cans and plastic bottles. The chapter started the recycling program last year but decided to make a bigger step this year by collecting more than just paper and start collecting, plastic bottles, cans and cardboard at the school. We have students that go throughout the schools on a regular basis that collect the recyclables. Last year, during FFA Week, the chapter had a contest on what class could collect the most cans throughout the school as a fundraiser for the Children’s Medical Center. The chapter raised nearly $1,000 for the organization. This year the chapter hopes to raise more money for the medical center.

The Parkway FFA Chapter in cooperation of the Mercer County Solid Waste received a grant from the Department of Natural Recourses for a trailer to be placed in the back of the school for all of our recyclables. The FFA Chapter would like to expand their program by having the community be involved. The chapter is asking the community to start collecting tin cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, glass bottles, aluminum cans and paper for our recycling program. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Medical Center.

The chapter is having the drop off day every 3^rd Saturday of every month. The time to drop off will be any time between 8:00am and 12:00pm behind the school. The first drop off date will be October 20^th.  
                       

Parkway FFA Recycling 2007

For a list on how all recyclables should be sorted - Click Here 

The Parkway FFA traveled to Hardin County for a Soils Invitational on Thursday, September 20, 2007. There are two types of soil judging: rural and urban. The students were divided into teams of three to four and given individual scores and a team score based on three pit scores and one test score. The results are as follows:

Parkway sent two teams in the urban category and both teams placed in the top twenty out of thirty-two. The first team consisted of Jackie King, Olivia Houts, Abby Evans, and Brandon Dellinger who placed seventeenth.  The second team consisted of Sara King, Travis Guggenbiller, Melinda Miller and Corbin Hellworth who placed second. Out of 102 competitors the placing of the 8 students were Sara King 3^rd, Corbin Hellwarth 9^th, Melinda Miller 10^th, Travis Guggenbiller 13^th, Abby Evans 62^nd, Olivia Houts 66^th, Brandon Dellinger 68^th, and Jackie King 79^th.

Parkway sent seven teams in the rural category and placed very well out of sixty-nine teams. The first team consisted of Michelle Thomas, Paul Brown, Abbea Hoehamer, and Michael Ford who placed 4^th. The second team consisted of Sam Jackson, Eddie Burtch, Stacy Speelman, and Vickie Teboe who placed 3^rd. The third team consisted of Taylor Bates, Jake Jackson, Cole Hamrick, and Jarrod Bourelle who placed 29^th. The fourth team consisted of Matt Dugan, Ashley Trafzer, Danielle Mathews, and Nick Strader who placed 36^th. The fifth team consisted of  Blake King, Ashton Houser, Mark Sheets and Caleb Caffee who placed 28^th. The sixth team consisted of Cody Motyka, Samantha Beerbower, Crysti Hoehamer, and Zack Searight. The seventh team consisted of Ryan Steinbrunner, Kasey Krugh, Trent Mullen, and Zack Kuhn. Out of 246 competitors, the placing of the top 10 students from Parkway are Sam Jackson 3^rd, Michelle Thomas 12^th, Samantha Beerbower 15^th, Eddie Burtch 20^th, Ryan Stienbrunner 22^nd, Michael Ford 32^nd, Paul Brown 33^rd, Blake King 54^th, Vickie Tebeo 57^th, and Jake Jackson 62^nd.

Nice job!

The Parkway FFA traveled to Mercer County for a Soils Contest on Friday, September 21st, 2007. There are two types of soil judging: rural and urban. The students were divided up into 4 groups and rotated with three soil pits, and a written test.

Parkway sent eight students to judge urban and these students did extremely well. Out of 27 participants, the results of the eight participating were: Travis Guggenbiller 1st, Corbin Hellwarth 2nd, Melinda Miller 3rd, Olivia Houts 4th, Sara King 5th, Jackie King 6th, Abby Evans 13th, and Brandon Dellinger 18th.

Parkway sent 25 students to judge rural soil. These 25 students did extremely well too. Out of 58 students the 10 that placed the best for Parkway were: Cole Hamrick 3rd, Crysti Hoehamer 4th, Ashden Houser 8th , Nick Strader 9th, Caleb Caffee 10th, Trent Mullen 11th, Danielle Mathews 13th, Paul Brown 18th, Stacy Speelman 19th, and Vicki Teboe 20th.

The urban soil team of Travis Guggenbiller, Sara King, Corbin Hellwarth, and Melinda Miller and the rural soil team of Paul Brown, Michael Ford, Michelle Thomas and Sam Jackson will be heading towards Ottowa for Districts. Parkway FFA would like to congratulate these students for all of their hard work.

Nice job and good luck at Districts!!!

Students to Participate in Agriscience Competition

INDIANAPOLIS – The National FFA Organization has selected two local students to participate in a national agriscience competition. Travis Guggenbiller and Michelle Thomas, members of the Parkway High School FFA Chapter of Rockford, Ohio, will be competing in the National FFA Agriscience Fair program. The event will be held during the 80^th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN, Oct. 24-27, 2007. More than 300 participants from across the nation will defend their projects against other entries for judging in 20 divisions.

          Guggenbiller’s and Thomas’ project “Does Seed Shape Matter?” will be on display at convention in the National FFA Agriscience Fair area of the RCA Dome. Categories for competition are biochemistry/microbiology/food science; botany; engineering; environmental science and zoology. The four divisions divide students in grades 7-12. Each winning participant receives either a cash award or scholarship.

          The agriscience fair program is sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund as a special project of the National FFA Foundation, which includes cash awards.

          The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, is a national youth organization of 495,046 student members – all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture – as part of 7,242 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The National FFA Organization changed to its present name in 1988, in recognition of the growth and diversity of agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Visit www.ffa.org for more information.

Sheets Receives the 2007 DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award

Brett D’Wight Sheets of Willshire, Ohio, who attends Parkway High School, was recently presented the school’s highest agricultural honor, the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award, sponsored by Monsanto Company.

Sheets, the son of D’Wight and Michelle Sheets received the award for excellence in academics, leadership and agricultural work experience. Sheets’ significant experiences and accomplishments have included 1^st at district Ag Mechanics 06 and 07, 1^st at State Ag Engineering 06, Attend Tractor Trouble Shooting and small engines contests, and the Big Eastern States Expo Ag Mechanics Contest. Alan Post is Sheets’ agricultural education instructor at Parkway High School.

This year the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award celebrates its 60^th anniversary. Over these 60 years more than 158,000 high school seniors from across the country have received the Award, which has become a symbol for excellence and the school’s highest agricultural honor. In 2006, over 2050 students from high schools in 49 of the 50 states were recognized with the Award. As the winner of the 2007 Award, Brett’s name will be recorded on a permanent plaque displayed at Parkway High School.

Monsanto, a long-time supporter of agricultural education, FFA, 4-H, and other farm youth organizations and initiatives, has sponsored the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award, named for its brand of seed, since 1998.

Monsanto is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. For more information about Monsanto, visit their website at www.monsanto.com.

Parkway FFA Chapter Attends Farm Safety Review On Friday, September 7, the Parkway FFA Chapter attended the Farm Safety Review at the Mercer County Fairgrounds. The Farm Safety Review had three different categories broken down into three different stations where each one explained farm safety. The first group explained to us how the ingredients for drugs, such as methamphetamine, are used on farms. They explained to us the effects these drugs have on people and how they destroy your life. The second group explained the safety of farm machinery. They gave a demonstration on how you should run your lawn mower and what to look out for. They gave a demonstration to show how badly the blades can destroy someone’s foot and what happens when you run over things. They also showed us how you should run a skid loader and what you should watch for when operating on the machine. The third group, which was demonstrated by Helena, explained the relationship of chemicals used on a field to the cleaning supplies used at home. They also told us when looking at a chemical you always look and see if there is a danger sign, caution sign, or warning sign. All of these groups taught us a great deal on farm safety which will help each and every one of us. The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank Helena, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Lefeld Implement for giving the demonstrations.

Parkway FFA Participates at the Mercer County Fair

The Parkway FFA Chapter had many students participate this year in the Mercer County Fair. The chapter had students participate in the animal shows, such as Danny Knapke, Dee Dee Knapke, and Melinda Miller who showed sheep and Michelle Thomas and Jenifer Thomas who showed poultry. We also had many students from the chapter who brought in wood projects, welding projects and vegetables that were judged at the fair. That is just a small portion of what the chapter worked on at the fair.

Students, as well as their parents, from the Parkway FFA Chapter volunteered to work at the FFA Food Stand with Fort Recovery FFA Chapter members. The stand had Pepsi products and all kinds of fried food such as fries, chicken fingers, etc. The students had a great time working with the other members from the Fort Recovery Chapter and the customers that went to the food stand. The FFA Food Stand had another successful year and will probably be at the Mercer County Fairgrounds next year.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank everyone who supported our food stand by buying food and thank the students for making this another successful year.

Parkway FFA Summer Officer and Chairmen Retreat

The Parkway FFA officers held a summer officer and chairmen retreat at Bearcreek Farms on August 15. The officers worked extremely hard with the Chairmen on the upcoming FFA events for the 2007-2008 school year. The officers broke all of the chairmen into seven groups and worked with each group trying to figure out new ideas, and improving old ideas that we can work on for the new school year. After a couple hours of work, we took a break and enjoyed ourselves with pizza and pop. Then we went back to work.

When we finished our working day, everyone went to the Ol’ Swimming Hole. That evening, after the committee chairmen went home, the officers invited their parents to a meal and a show at Bearcreek’s restaurant and theater.

The retreat was a great success in helping plan this year’s events. The Parkway FFA Officers would like to thank Bearcreek Farms for the great opportunity of allowing us to plan out our new school year.

Parkway FFA Chapter Attends Camp Muskingum

This year the Parkway FFA Chapter attended Camp Muskingum in Carroll County near Leesville Lake. The chapter had students that attended the 3^rd session from June 22^nd through 29^th and the 5^th session from July 9^th through 13^th. Camp Muskingum was a wonderful learning experience for the Parkway FFA students who attended. The camp counselors split the students into 14 groups with other FFA students throughout the state.  The students attended camp for 5 days and interacted with many different students in their group and all of camp. Students learned the responsibility of leadership, working with others, and dealing with difficult problems in workshops. However, Camp Muskingum also held sports competitions between the groups that the students were assigned. Camp is a wonderful way for students to interact with others, and work in groups with people they have never met before. One group activity that was assigned to seniors only was to build a cardboard boat with duct tape that a person could fit in and stay afloat. This activity was a great way for students to work together and develop a boat that would outlast the other boats. Travis Guggenbiller who attended camp stated, “Camp was a great opportunity for me to meet other members from different chapters and to work on my leadership skills.” Parkway FFA would like to thank Camp Muskingum for giving the students a fantastic learning experience.