Front (L-R): Greyson Hemphill, Kamryn Rader, AJ Witham, Hollis Scheets; Back(L-R): Luke Prestegaard, Callan Clark, Owen Berlin, Clayton Grider, Ryan Pfaff
 

Olympia Middle School Provides Leadership Opportunities via FFA Section 9 Conduct of Chapter Meetings

 

[March 11, 2023]   On March 6, nine Olympia Middle School Agriculture students attended the Section 9 FFA Conduct of Chapter Meetings Leadership Development Event. This contest is open to middle school and freshman FFA members.

The team’s seven eighth-grade students were second in the division. For this contest, students have 13 minutes to perform FFA opening and closing ceremonies and debate a topic while using proper parliamentary procedure.

Team members and their acting roles included:

Kamryn Rader (chairman),
Ashlyn Witham (vice-president)
Greyson Hemphill (secretary),
Clayton Greider (reporter),
Callan Clark (sentinel),
Ryan Pfaff (treasurer),
Owen Berlin (advisor).

Students in eighth-grade agriculture courses have been learning how to effectively run a meeting using parliamentary procedures, including how to respectfully debate topics and make motions. This was the perfect opportunity for them to apply the knowledge and skills they learned outside of the classroom.

Acting Chairman, Kamryn Rader, said “My favorite part was getting to study with friends and learning how to collaborate in creative ways to then showcase our progress and knowledge as a whole and individual. I have learned so much about my peers along the way!”

“Some of my favorite parts were practicing with my friends in such a fun group. Another one of my favorite parts was going to actually compete at the competition. It was really cool to see the work that we did pay off. One of the most challenging parts was memorizing the opening and closing ceremonies, but I feel that I worked hard to memorize my lines. I learned more about how meetings are run in an organized way and I’m sure it will be a significant thing in my future. Overall it was a great experience hanging out with my friends, competing, and working together as a team to earn a good score at the competition,” said Greyson Hemphill, acting secretary.

Like the FFA closing ceremonies state, this is such a great opportunity to “practice brotherhood, honor agricultural opportunities and responsibilities, and develop those qualities of leadership which an FFA Member should possess." Thank you to Dr. O’Donnell, Mr. Jones, Mr. Hoffman, and Mrs. Baer for providing opportunities for leadership development, personal growth and career success through this experience.

[Meg Baer, OMS Agriculture & STEM Teacher]