The Geneseo FFA Chapter kicked off the month of December strong, competing in the Section 3 FFA Vet Science and Horse Evaluation Contests on December 3rd at Blackhawk College East Campus. In the Vet Science Career Development Event, contestants are required to take a general knowledge exam, a math exam, identify equipment, animal breeds, and parasites, and demonstrate real life practicums, such as cutting stitches or restraining an animal to judges. Geneseo FFA’s teams saw great success at this contest, with both varsity and greenhand teams placing first. Individual awards in the varsity division went to Annabelle Betcher, who placed second, Kolby Causemaker placing third, Bee Scheider in fourth, Bella Bailey in ninth, and Hannah Wildemuth placing tenth. In the greenhand division, Molly Wannemacher placed first, Faith Kuster was second, and Lillian Bellagamba placed seventh. This success continued into the Horse Evaluation contest, where contestants judge live performance and halter classes of four horses, placing them best to worst in the context of each class’s requirements. In the Reasons division of the contest, FFA members will then write a set of reasons explaining why they placed a specific class the way they did, then memorize and present it to a judge. The Geneseo FFA Reasons team placed third, with individuals Ella Schaaf, who placed sixth, Kali Herberg placing seventh, Maycie Sims, and Hannah Wildemuth. The contest also includes a Questions division, where contestants must answer questions based on the classes. In this division, the Geneseo FFA placed first, with individuals Annabelle Betcher, who placed first, Ashlynn Chamberlain placing second, and Dawsyn McDonald placing sixth.
As the month continued, the Geneseo FFA Chapter continued to stay busy, hosting a Culver’s Share Night fundraiser where members helped clean up customer’s trash, held doors, and talked to those customers who came out to support their organization. To get into the Christmas spirit, the chapter hosted a Wreath Making Workshop, where members of the community had the opportunity to come and learn how to make their very own Christmas wreath! The workshop was a great success, and all of the attendees were able to take home their wreaths. Following the workshop, the members of the chapter had their December Chapter Meeting. After going over officer reports from the Geneseo FFA Officer team and learning about upcoming events and opportunities, the members did a fun Christmas gift exchange and played Christmas themed games.
Alongside all of the fun events hosted by the chapter, there was also a big opportunity for middle school students to get involved in the FFA organization. Section 3 FFA hosted a Middle School CDE Rally, where middle school students had the opportunity to compete in contests similar to the variety of Career Development Events (CDEs) that will be available for them to compete in once they join the FFA in high school. Members of the Geneseo Middle School Ag Club saw great success. In the Ag Mechanics division, Haley Olson placed first and Colton Kies was 5th. David Betcher placed second, Easton Frank was fourth, and Matthew Werling placed seventh in the Animal Systems division. In Plant Systems, Ameila Anderson placed twelfth, and Robin Dwyer placed fourth in the Food Systems division. As a team, Geneseo placed third in the contest!
The chapter is also preparing for their annual Trivia Night, their biggest fundraiser of the year put on by the Geneseo FFA Alumni. Members of the Geneseo FFA officer team, along with alumni members, have been traveling throughout the community to local businesses, gathering donations for live and silent auctions at the event. This fundraiser is a fun night, featuring several rounds of trivia as well as both great live and silent auctions! There are tables of 10 seats still available to be filled. If you are interested in giving a donation to the event or attending, please contact Steve Taets at (309) 944-0580, Dusty Olson at (309) 489-6032, or Lisa Ellerbrock at (309) 657-8916. We hope to see you there!
FFA Coverage is proudly sponsored by Valley Insurance.
