Logan County Fair

Hartem FFA chapter built strong and changing the faces of agriculture

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[August 07, 2015]  LINCOLN - Though Hartsburg-Emden combined Junior and Senior High School is just 250 students, the FFA chapter with around 50 students is somewhat large. For both small communities surrounded by farm land, agriculture is the primary industry for the area.

Now retired teacher, Betsy Pech helped to build the Hartem Ag program and led the school's FFA for many years. Pech, a 2013 recipient of the Honorary Holbert Award given by the Illinois State University Department of Agriculture, was one of the first women to teach high school agriculture. She is recognized as a role model and mentor for young women interested in careers with an agricultural base.

Through her many years at the school, she also led many award winning FFA teams.

In 2014, as Pech retired 29 years of teaching, Hartem's FFA was selected as the top chapter in Section 14, a Gold Emblem chapter, and a National Finalist.

2014 graduate and FFA member Natalie Nowatney participated in the Ag Issues program for three years. She said that in 2014, "We went to nationals and got bronze."

Nowatney says that to prepare for the contests, "my mom and I read through hundreds of pages of government documents." She notes that the contests gave her a lot of public speaking experience.

Pech left a great legacy that new Ag teacher and FFA leader Elizabeth Fanning has begun writing her place into the schools history.

Fanning gave a review of the past year, her first year -- "Last year, we did a lot of trap shooting and livestock judging, which we will be doing again this year."

As for future plans, she says, "This year Hartem FFA will be competing in multiple Career Development Events (CDE'S) such as Ag Sales, Livestock Judging, Soils, and many more."

The Hartem FFA Facebook page shows highlights from last year's contests, where the team often did well. At the Geneseo FFA contest in February, Noah Watts received the high individual award in the junior swine division and Dustin Woolard received third overall in the senior sheep division.

In April, the Hartem Livestock Judging Team won the Section 14 contest. Meg Meeker placed 1st overall and Dustin Woolard placed 6th overall. And congratulations also go to Noah on receiving the high individual award in the junior swine division and to Dustin for receiving third overall in the senior sheep division.

Many of the chapter's members have also gone to the Washington Leadership Conference, a weeklong conference that helps students develop leadership skills and do service projects.

Fanning explains that the 2015-2016 Officer Team has set some goals for the chapter to be more community oriented and help out with beautification and upkeep of their towns. CDE'S are career development events. We are planning on fixing the Hartsburg welcome sign, planting flowers, and litter pick up.

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The community oriented spirit is in line with what the chapter has done over the years. Under Pech FFA members were required to complete individual community service projects -- one per month -- during the school year. Another community project they have done over the years is a food drive.

Hartem's new principal John Leslie mentions on the school's website the strong focus on community.

The National FFA also has something of a focus on helping communities. Via its website, "FFA members amplify their voice when it comes to speaking about agriculture and letting others know the importance of agriculture in today’s world. This is the perfect time to show your community how FFA members live the FFA motto: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve."

And the Illinois FFA website notes, "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."

What students learn in FFA influences their future. Several recent FFA alumni are currently studying agriculture in college or involved in Agriculture related careers. 2013 Hartem graduate Cole Baker is studying agricultural business at Lincoln Land Community College with plans to transfer to Illinois State University and states that the FFA opened many doors of opportunities for him. He explains, "I was very involved in the Ag Issues contest, livestock judging, and public speaking contest, all of which taught me skills that I use every day in my life." Baker also says, "I was the chapter president and Section 14 president. Holding those offices taught me about leadership, communication, and many other different aspects of agriculture. Everyday, I thank the FFA organization for providing me with those great skills and opportunities. Also I thank my agriculture teacher Mrs. Betsy Pech for pushing me to pursue all that I did in FFA."

Others, such as 2010 State FFA Award winner Christopher Crane are now helping run their family farms. Josh Clark, another 2010 award winner, is the service coordinator/supervisor at Roland Machinery, a supplier of heavy equipment. Also from that group was Tommy Zinser, who now works at the grain elevator in Emden.

With former FFA members taking what they have learned and using it in their careers, this statement from the National FFA - "Students whose lives are impacted by FFA and agricultural education will achieve academic and personal growth, strengthen American agriculture and provide leadership to build healthy local communities, a strong nation and a sustainable world" - appears to ring true.

[Angela Reiners]

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