Marion/Florence FFA provides leadership
Sports reporter
With 39 members, Marion-Florence FFA is the largest club at Marion High School.
That comes as no surprise considering it's also the largest high school organization in the world with 500,823 members.
It began in 1928 as Future Farmers of America, but changed its name in 1988 to the National FFA organization after some people had the incorrect notion that those only interested in a farming career could join.
MHS sponsor Mark Meyer said, it's really for any student interested in an agricultural career, or one involved with agriculture.
"That makes up 20 percent of all careers, so I could make a case that FFA provides something for any student," Meyer said.
However, for a student to become an FFA member, which runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 each year, he or she must be enrolled in an agricultural education (ag-ed) class.
Membership also includes a $10 fee which goes to the state and national organizations.
Accountability and responsibility also come into play according to Meyer.
The students who sign up are not required to do everything offered by the organization, but they do have to make an effort to be involved.
Meyer said he has three requirements: be active, come to the work auction and annual banquet, and help with fund-raising.
Meyer admits some members, as in any group, are less active than others.
He encourages the active members to push the inactive ones to work harder.
"That's how you develop some of your leaders," Meyer said.
One of the leaders would be senior Tacy Taylor, one of just five girls in the club, who is the president of Marion-Florence FFA.
"It's something I knew I wanted to do [for a long time]," she said of joining FFA.
In her first three years there were more girls involved and Taylor said it has been strange for her to see so few this time around.
She said she doesn't mind being outnumbered, but wouldn't mind if there were more than five girls.
"I could go either way," she said. "But I would absolutely love to have more girls."
What is FFA
The events within FFA students at MHS compete in are called Career Development Events (CDEs) and Supervised Ag-experience Programs (SAEs).
The CDEs are events at different high schools across the region (MHS has played host to many), and they include typical FFA situations such as identifying retail cuts of meat and determining yield and grade of carcasses.
Other CDEs focus on food science, dairy products, ag mechanics, poultry, and even leadership skills such as public speaking.
But Meyer said it also helps in a different way.
"It helps motivate some kids," he said. "It provides a real-life experience I can't simulate in the classroom."
The CDEs are another way to help the members learn some responsibility and become more knowledgeable in certain fields of interest.
"I have become more educated, and you meet a lot of people," junior FFA member Mark Kukuk said.
Kukuk, who is the group's secretary, said each year he gets a little more involved than the one before.
He thinks it is a perfect organization for anyone looking to get involved in the school.
"I would tell them it's fun, and a great experience," Kukuk said.
On top of the CDEs, the SAEs are the yearly projects members must work on as well.
It's another "beyond the classroom" experience Meyer said.
The SAE can be anything they are doing outside of school, usually a job, that gains them experience and income.
They keep financial records, and record their work experiences.
The members can compete for district, state, and national SAE awards.
While identifying meat and learning about agriculture in general are big parts of what FFA is, leadership, responsibility, and teamwork rank just as high for Meyer.
"We're having kids make decisions in what they might do in a career," he said.
Which means regional retreats to Colorado and trips to nation conventions (this year in Indianapolis), can be just as beneficial to the students as studying in the class room.
Students learn how to interact with others interested in FFA, and creating relationships is beneficial in whatever field a person chooses.
But in order to attend these events, the responsibility factor still comes into play.
Without fund-raisers, they won't happen.
That's why the work auction, where students are auctioned off to local residents for an eight-hour work day, is so important.
"If you don't want to do that, we're going to talk about whether you really want to be in FFA or not," Meyer said of the auction.
For the most part he doesn't have a problem with attendance, and generally his group takes FFA seriously.
President Taylor is even thinking of staying active after she attends one year at Kansas State University.
She then can come back and be a female sponsor for the leadership trip to Colorado.
"I would love to sponsor that trip," she said. "It would be cool if I can come back."
While the group will miss Taylor, there may be some young females waiting to take her place.
Meyer said this year's group of eighth graders already has a lot of girls pre-enrolled for the group.
But no matter the size or gender ratio of his group, Meyer just likes to see the students showing responsibility and taking the initiative by being active members.
He also understands today's students are involved in numerous activities.
"The kids are going different ways," he said. "You have to give and take a little bit."
Luckily though, his current group has made this year a fun one.
"The kids enjoy it," he said.
And in the end, that is what matters the most.
Other Marion/Florence FFA members are: Hank Collett, Brett Billings, Jacob Czarnowsky, Zan Fine, Charlie Holub, Austin Percell, Levi Carpenter, Brad Klenda, Gabe Moore, Alan Overton, Jennilee Preece, Brandon Coleman, Sam Ehrlich, Josh Gayle, Justin Herzet, Adam Hett, Danny Hett, Louis Holt, Ryan Jones, Marshall Ragland, Joe Richmond, Doug Schroeder, Ted Turk, Eric Vogel, Marc Washington, Adam Cope, Galen Funk, Brandon Meierhoff, Adam Molleker, Adam Palic, Shelby Percell, Mitchell Ragland, Zach Robinson, Corey Seacat, Derek Stuchlik, Kayla Williams.
