Warm weather, steaks outside on the grill, the need for a heavy jacket gone, what must all of these things mean? That yes, springtime is definitely here. Which means FFA members spring judging is right around the corner. Are you ready yet? If not you better start hitting the books or if Ag Mechanics is you’re thing hitting up the welder.

 

February was a very busy month with National FFA Week but March is here!! Which means that regionals have been taking place to see who will compete at spring judging and state convention. I had the opportunity to help out with the Region 4 Ag. Mechanics competition. This was a very special treat for me as I have never been to this cde before. I thought that the contest consisted of building stuff and fixing equipment but I was very wrong there is a lot that goes into prepping for this contest. Not only do you have to be handy with a welder but you have to be book smart as well.  

 I also had the pleasure of attending the Region 4 public speaking contest. It turned into a very long but fun night.  The senior prepared public speaking made the night so long but we had a few interruptions like the fire alarm going off in the middle of speeches. While everyone was waiting for us to finish, a game of apples to apples broke out to pass the time.

 Congratulations go to all of the winners and participants of the Region 4 regional competitions. Everyone did a fantastic job! A big thank you goes out to Maryland Paving and Liberty High School for hosting the region 4 competitions.

Nicole Hood of the Middletown FFA Chapter was featured in the FFA New Horizons magazine under the FFA faces. It was nice to see Maryland well represented!

 

More

Hello all, during FFA week I participated in a video for the MD Department of Ag that is to educate people on the importance of mediation in the agricultural setting. Mediation is basically an alternative to taking someone to court for legal reasons. During the video we portrayed a simple farm man who has new neighbors from the city. The city people do not like the noise of a working farm and wish to come to a conclusion. Also during FFA week I got the chance to be with Landan at the State Fairgrounds to do workshops for the region. The presentations and speakers were GREAT! We then traveled to the MD Department of Ed. There we visited several important people and discussed various FFA topics. After we went to Kent County for a banquet and had the chance to listen to one of Landan’s speeches that are from the heart, not memorized. Since then we have still been busy with school, work, various FFA events and visits, among other things that are keeping the state officers very busy!!  Hope everyone is doing well in school and work, and that everyone is enjoying the arrival of spring!!

Hello Everyone,

 

I would just like to report on some of the recent events in Region II.  On Wednesday, March 9 Region II Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Creed Speaking and Ag Mechanics contests were held at Walkersville High School.  There were many contestants in each competition and I would like to thank all of you for coming out and participating  in these events.  I look forward to seeing you all at spring judging and state convention.  Just a reminder for that, Spring Judging will be April 5th at the University of Maryland, College Park.  I hope all is well and everyone is practicing for their CDE's!

 

Sincerely,

Matthew Ripley

2010-2011 MD State FFA Sentinel

Well now that National FFA Week has come and gone, I hope you all had a wonderful week and had the opportunity to meet Landan! It seemed like the week just flew by so quickly. It must have been because we were all having such a great time!

 

On Wednesday, Matthew, JD and I started our day at Middletown High School for a breakfast with the region 2 FFA officers. Landan put on an amazing workshop about knowing your card- the importance of values, choices, and interests. All had a great time. Then it was off to Frederick Career and Technology Center for workshops with region 2 members. There Landan, Matthew, JD and I all put on different workshops about team building and leadership. The officers and I all had a wonderful time getting to know the members! Landan had never been to Gettysburg, PA before so that afternoon Matthew and I accompanied Landan to a museum. It was such a good experience because I had never been there before either! Later that night we went over to Bounce U in region 3 and had a great time playing on the moon bounces. It was a highlight of my day getting to play like a kid again!

 

On Thursday Lucas, Landan and I headed to the Maryland State Fair Grounds for more workshops with Region 4. We had a great time learning more about FFA and getting to know the members of region 4. We had a yummy snack of pop corn. Lucas and I now have good experience popping popcorn so if we every work at a movie theater we are good to go! In the evening, we headed over to Kent County for a banquet and awards ceremony! We enjoyed getting to see the progress the chapter has made in building their chapter back up. They are definitely on the right track.

 

Friday was the final day of National FFA Week and it was sad to see it come to an end. But, we relished the little time we had left with the Easton FFA Chapter. We played an very intense game of the Blue and Gold Game and we learned that Mr. Bishop is a serious FFA knowledge competitor. We had a fun time testing the knowledge that we had and even learned a few things too!  After our visit with Easton FFA, we headed over to the Wye Research Center to learn more about the University of Maryland beef cattle operation. It was interesting to hear about the program and the cattle that they have.

 

Saturday, I tore up the dance floor at the FFA dance hosted by...More

          Over the weekend the state officers attended the MD and PA Young Farmers and Ranchers Convention held in Hershey, PA. Little did i know that this weekend would be a wonderful trip. We heard many keynote speakers, listened to the discussion meet, had great fellowship and meet many great people. We also attened sessions about media training, changing attitudes about animal agriculture, and using social media. Not only did we attend these workshops but we also had the chance to tour Hershey world. Wow, talk about alot of chocolate!! As you can amagine we had our share! Other attendees helped at the local food pantry and the Ronald McDonald House where they had a great time. There was a dance held in the evening where Lucas showed his dance moves!! Abbey also led the way to a Joe Nickles concert!! Jd caught the guitar pic, and you can only amagine how excited he was. It was a great trip and we can not wait until we can attend next years conference! National FFA Week is FINALLY here, check out our blogs to see what we are up too!!

 

Hope to see you soon,

Scarlett

When we hear the word Valentine's Day, we immediately think of the day that love is freely expressed between between family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and married couples. But, Valentine's Day has more to offer than just a greeting card, a dozen red roses and if your lucky a big teddy bear. It is also a day filled with kindness and caring. 

 

As, FFA members we share our kindness with others through our community service projects. These may be big projects like raising money for our local animal shelters by having pet pictures taken with Santa or holding a canned food drive for the local food pantry. But, it does not take a huge project to accomplish this. One expression that holds true is "its the little things that count the most", we can spread the kindness and love of Valentine's Day to everyday just by saying hello to someone in the hall or giving a smile. Giving a smile and saying hello are easy to do and do not require much effort. If you were having a bad day and someone went out of their way to say hello to you, wouldn't you feel loved and begin to feel better? We should all just try at least once today to go out of our way and give that smile or say hello and maybe it will become part of our regular routines.

 

As we continue forth into our FFA year, continue to spread to the kindness as you meet others from across the state. Just by giving that smile you can make a difference in someone's day, maybe make it a little bit brighter!

 

Happy Valentine's Day Maryland FFA!

 

Forever Blue and Gold,

 

Abbey

 

Hello everyone,

 

I assume you all have started your spring semester classes and are hopefully enjoying them.  If your chapter has not had a State Officer Visit yet or you would like another visit this semester have your teacher email the State officers at officers@mdffa.org and we will get you scheduled as soon as possible. For those of you who have had visits this year I hope you have enjoyed them and learned some new stuff about the FFA.  If you have suggestions for what you would like to see at your visit please have your teacher include those requests in their email.  We look forward to seeing you all through visits. Also I hope you are practicing for your Spring CDE's because Spring Judging is just around the corner! See you all there!

 

Matthew

Hello Maryland!

Well it is so hard to believe that the year is already half over! It has been awesome getting to know everyone so far and is still incredible meeting so many new faces! There are still alot of chapter visits left and spring judging is coming up very fast! I look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely, Lucas

Hello Maryland FFA

I had a great hoilday season I hope all the other Maryland FFA members enjoyed their hoilday season as well.Has everyone been saving pop tabs I know I have.At state convention the chapter with the most pop tabs will be announced.Me and J.D. enjoyed our chapter visits to Catoctin and Southern Garrett.I look forward to seeing more members at upcoming events.Good luck getting ready for spring and regional CDE's.

Rebecca

Hey Everyone,

 

I hope you all are enjoying the snow and winter weather!  I know I certainly am!  It is hard to believe that 2011 is here already and January is almost over.  For our officer team 2011 is off to a great start, as we have many exciting events coming up!

 

Scarlett and I had a wonderful visit with the Liberty FFA chapter even though there was a two- hour delay.  We did some sheep tossing as we learned more about the mission of the FFA.  We also learned more about the different types of events that members can participate in.  Scarlett and I realized that we cannot pass a piece of paper only using a straw and that further practice is needed before we are the example for this activity again.  But, overall we had a great time and cannot wait to go back!

 

I am starting to get very excited for National FFA Week in February as we will have a National FFA Officer joining us! What are some of the activities your chapter's are planning for National FFA Week? Let us know on our facebook page! Keep up the good work in all of your FFA and school activities!

 

Forever Blue and Gold,

 

Abbey

 

Hello MD FFA members,

 

I hope you have all had a wonderful and safe holiday break and are ready to start your new year. This past six months has flown by and we are excited to see everyone in this new year. We have still been very busy with our chapter visits and have the goal of visiting each chapter. If you have not had a visit yet please let your adviser know that you would like us to come, we would love to!! Also remember to save your pop tabs, the chapter who collects the most will receave a prize! The tabs will go to the Ronald McDonald house and will benefit many sick children and their families. Have a safe and wonderful tome returning back to school!

 

See you soon,

Scarlett Fost  

Hello FFA members

 

Well, Christmas is over and earlier this week the officer team finished up our Christmas with our Christmas Party in Garrett County exchanging gifts, sled riding and having a great time and we hope you guys had a Merry White Christmas like we did.  Since I wrote my last blog, Rebecca and I visited the Catoctin and Oakland chapters a few days before Christmas and we had a great time meeting members and getting a chance to be with you.  We've seen chapter's collection of the soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and the team can't wait to see all of the tabs FFA has collected at State Convention. 

 

We have plenty more chapter visits coming up in January once everyone starts school and I look forward to seeing everyone!

 

Enjoy the rest of the break,

J.D.

Hey MD,

 

I hope you are all doing well and beginning to reflect on your 2010 FFA year. The past few weeks have been very busy filled with chapter visits! Scarlett and I had a great time with the Manchester Valley FFA Chapter as we learned about leadership and communication! Then it was off to see the North Carroll FFA Chapter with Lucas. We were having a fantastic time but unfortunately it was cut short by something else very exciting, snow!!! Today Lucas and I bonded with the South Carroll FFA Chapter as we braved the cold temperatures to do group jump roping as we learned more about team building.

 

If you read my last blog, I spoke about the holiday season being a season of service. Let us know on the Maryland FFA facebook page how you fulfilled you duty to service this holiday season! I did my duty to service by continuing to collect the pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Charities and by donating toys to Toys for Tots.

 

As you reflect on the personal growth, success, and leadership skills you gained as a result of a first or another year in FFA. Remember to Let Blue Inspire you to give 150% in personal endeavors, classroom work, and anywhere the blue jacket the may take you.

 

From our FFA family to yours, Happy Holidays!!!

 

Forever Blue and Gold,

Abbey

 

 

 

I haven't blogged in a while but since I only have one final left to go, I'll take a break from that to do this.  Like Rebecca said in her last blog it is definitely winter! Here in Clear Spring it hasn't go above the 20's all week.  But I'm glad we aren't getting the snow that Rebecca and Scarlett have in Garrett County.  This weather makes me even more excited for State Convention when it's warm!  The officer team has seen some of the chapters aluminum soda tap collections and so far everyone is off to a good start.  Keep on going and we'll see who's the winner at the Convention!  We have been visiting chapters through-out the state, Rebecca and I will be visiting Catoctin on Monday and there are many more planned, but if your chapter hasn't scheduled for a state officer to visit make sure you do so we can visit both semesters.  Until I see everyone again enjoy these last days of school during 2010 and have a great break!

Hello,

I hope all the members are doing well. Winter is most certainly here it's most certainly cold here hope all the members are staying warm.Our officer team has been pretty busy.I'd like to thank the Urbana FFA chapter for having myself and Scarlett at their chapter visit.In addition me and J.D. enjoyed visiting the Clear Spring FFA chapter.I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving !!!

Thanks,

Rebecca

Hey MD FFA,

 

I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and good fellowship. Believe it or not we all have a lot to be thankful for as FFA members. Our parents and FFA advisors, who we owe a huge thank you and maybe even a hug. Our FFA advisors give us the extra push we need to take it to the next degree and they provide the guidance that can aid our personal FFA journeys. Parents, well without them where would we be.

 

As we move into the holiday season filled with merriment, giving, and family lets focus on giving to others. The "Living to Serve" part of our FFA motto. Service doesn't have to be a big expensive project because it is the thought that counts. Think of what you can do for your community like maybe making scarves for the homeless or collecting toys for children in need. So FFA members what does service mean to you? 

 

Keep collecting your soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Charities as the state fulfills our duty to service!

 

Forever Blue and Gold,

Abbey 

 

Hey Everyone,

Hope everything is well with all the members around the state.I wanna start by saying fall has been busy but very fun.National Convention was great I hope all the members who went enjoyed it.Our team is now done with all the fall leadership conferences. I hope that everyone who went enjoyed themselves.As a team we have also began chapter visits id like to thank Caroline Career and Technology Center for having me and J.D.I look forward to tomorrow when Scarlett and I will be visiting Urbana High School.

 

Rebecca Winegardner

 

This past week has been a very busy one for me jammed packed with FFA events. I have had a great time getting to meet FFA members from all over the state at the 212 Leadership Conferences! Members use you what you learned at 212 to risk boldly and take everything you do to the next degree. It is sad to say that all of our leadership conferences are over. But we are continuing on with more activities. Scarlett and I were invited to attend the Queen Anne's FFA Chapter open house. We had a great time meeting the members and learning about their program. It is easy to see that they have a good thing going on! Tonight, I am very excited to attend the Carroll County FFA Banquet! I cannot wait to see all the Carroll County chapter presidents come together to perform opening ceremonies! I just finished baking the State Officer cake for the Carroll County FFA cake auction and it looks delicious!

 

I have some very exciting news! During National FFA Week we will be having a National FFA Officer join us for our festivities! I am sure we will give our National Officer a warm Maryland welcome as he/she make their way across the state.

 

Keep collecting your soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Charities and we will see who has the most by state convention. I am pretty sure it will be the State Officer Team because we are on a roll with our collection of tabs!

 

Remember Let Blue Inspire You through out your FFA year!!

 

Forever Blue and Gold,

Abbey

I have finally figured out how to blog, this is super exciting! It seems like I have been on a whirlwind adventure since being elected to state office and I am having the time of my life. Since becoming a state officer, I can honestly say that I have driven from one side of the state to other all in one day! I got to meet members on the eastern shore and had a blast with them at the region 5 leadership conference! From there we went straight to Nationals where Rebecca, Scarlett, and I represented Maryland as delegates during the business sessions. We even got to sit on the floor during sessions and when we made an arch for the national officers to run through it was the coolest thing ever!  I am looking forward to the regional leadership conference on friday with the members of region 4! 

 

Remember Let Blue Inspire You!!

 

Forever Blue and Gold,

Abbey

Hello Maryland FFA!

It's taken me a while to be able to work this blog but I think I've finally got it (thanks for being so patient!).  With this school year already a month or so underway, your state officers have been very busy.  In July we had our first training as a team during BLAST Off at the Maritime.  For a whole week we participated in workshops and activities that would help us to be better leaders and state officers, and we really molded together as a team during that time.  The first week of July we spent in the mountains of Syria, VA with National Officers Levy Randolph and Chase Rose for the National Leadership Conference for State Officers.  While BLAST off was more for focus on us as individuals, NLCSO taught us how to function as a team.  The next week we attended Joint State Officer Training in Annapolis for two days with the state officers from other CTE Organizations such as FBLA, DECA and SkillsUSA.  We also attended 212 Training in Baltimore where we were taught how to facilitate the brand new curriculum for the Fall Leadership Conferences.  We got to go to the State Fair and dip Ice Cream Friday with Hereford members.  By now all of the summer CDE's are over, as well as the Big E and those who attended Big E did a good job representing Maryland!  Region V was the first in Maryland to experience the new 212 curriculum Friday, and everyone else has to wait until November.  BUT we will be seeing some of you a lot sooner than that! Rebecca and I have our first chapter visit Friday at Caroline CTC and we are very excited about it. Then next Friday is Land Judging somewhere on the eastern part of the state and Nationals is the week after that!  So, good luck to everyone competing in Land Judging and/or a CDE at National Convention and remember to Let Blue Inspire You...

See you around!

JD

This year has been flying by! With October approaching we all know what that means...National Convention!!! We are very excited and we hope to see you all there. Also Friday is the Region V Leadership Conference, and we are ecstatic!! Chapter visits are also approaching and we can not wait to see all of you!  

 

 

See you soon!  

Scarlett

 

 

Hello Everyone,

Big E was alot of fun congratulations to all the members! I am excitied for our first Leadership Conference October 1st. I also can't wait to attend soil judging in October hopfully the weather is nice. The greenhand ceremony in Fredrick county  went well and I would like to congratulate all the members on earning their greenhand degree.

Members,

This year has been one that has changed my life forever. Over this past year I was able to meet so many great people and make so many great memories. I have grown as a person and that was because of you guys. I cannot begin to thank you all enough for giving me such a great year. FFA members just remeber to keep creating your own journeys! Everyone stay in touch!

To the new officer team

You guys have the potential to be great and we all know you will be nothing but great!

Thank You for everything this year, it truly has been a pleasure to be apart of the MD FFA Family!!!

I Love you guys
Nikki

Wow, How this year flew by so fast!! I wanted to say for my last blog thank you to all of the members, parents, my team, and advisors who my year so worth while. It was hard to see this year come to an end as this year was amazing. It gave me memories that will be in my heart and soul for a lifetime. Members remember you need to set your own path in your lifes and make it worth while just like mine has been this past year. Of course there are going to be twists, turns, detours and road blocks but that's the beauty of a journey. It's kind of like the movie Forrest Gump when he says " Momma always said life's like a box of chocolates you never know what your gonna get," This is true and one of my favorite sentences from my favorite movie! :) You could reach into a box of chocolates and get one with nuts or caramel, peanut butter or dark chocolate. just like our lives you don't ever know what's going to happen next. Just remember my RA "It's about how many lives you touched and what you give to others" You all have touched my life this past year and i wanted to thank you for allowing me to serve you as your 2009-2010 MD FFA Secretary. Good luck to the new state officer team! You guys are going to have an amazing year just like we did. There will be ups and downs but cherish the good times and memories that you make!
Much love to everyone
love always
Mandi

Well a year has come, and unfortunately is almost gone. I have done my last chapter visit, completed all leadership conferences, and tonight I am going to my very last FFA banquet as the 2009-2010 Maryland FFA President. It is truly hard to believe that convention is merely 25 days away.

At the beginning of May the other state officers and I got to take part in a Barn Restoration project sponsored by the Campbell's Soup Company and National FFA Alumni. It was amazing!! We got to meet the amazing and so so deserving Mackenzie family, and spent three days restoring two of the barns on the farm. Members, serving your community, or helping someone in need is one of the most rewarding things you can do. As it is stated in the last line of the FFA motto, we should all, in some part be "Living to Serve." If you are given the opportunity to help someone, do it, put their needs before your own, and see how you feel afterwards. I know I feel amazing when I help someone other than myself and I believe that is something we can all feel.

As my 27 days till my FFA retirement draw near I have been reflecting on my choices, our theme this year was "Create Your Own Journey", my choices took me on a journey, an wonderful and adventurous journey. My FFA journey may be coming to an end, but yours is just beginning. No matter if you are a first year Greenhand or receiving your State degree this year at convention, FFA has amazing opportunities for you to take part in. As I have been saying at banquets, I pray that all of you carry FFA memories in your heart, and lessons in your soul. Lord knows I will never forget what he has blessed me with in FFA.

LoveLoveLove

Alli

I hope everyone is doing great, even though the snow has set us back in all of our activities and school schedules. Im sure everyone is getting sick of the snow i know i am.
I hope all of you are enjoyed national FFA Week. I had a blast at the dance that Middletown and Catoctin FFA chapters put on. You all did a great job!!!!!
Tyler and I attended Walkersville FFA Chapter this past thursday for a chapter visit. It was a exciting to go back to my home chapter and see all what the members were accomplishing. Linganore FFA members I will be seeing you on March 17th.
I hope all you members are studying hard for the local speaking contests and for Spring judging which is coming up soon!!!!
I hope I see you there!!!!

Mandi

I hope everyone had a safe and filling holiday!! I know i did after all the turkey!! Now that leaderships are over we hope that everyone will make sure that their chapter fills out an officer visit form so we can come see you guys.
Spring Judging is right around the corner. I hope that everyone is studying and getting prepared. I am really excited to see everyone again at College Park and hopefully we will be seeing a lot of you guys sooner then that!

With Love,
Nikki Swann
09-10 Vice President

Hey everyone!

I hope everybody has a good thanksgiving! We have been busy going to many chapter visits! I just was recently at frederick's FFa chapter, Hartford tech, and North Carroll. Thank you for letting me come to your chapter and get to know all of you. Many more chapter visits are coming up such as Queen Anne's, Clear Spring, Catoctin, Linganore, and Middletown. We would like see all of the chapters this year so get those chapter visit request forms in! I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving eat lots of turkey, and watch a lot of football!
 

See everyone soon!
 

Mandi

Welcome to the New Maryland FFA website.  Our new website design will allow for more chapter interaction and will keep many of the features that members and advisors have come to enjoy and expect.