Cecilia Spiller
Public Relations LDE
Public Relations Q & A 2007
1. I was once an FFA member. One of my prized possessions was my FFA jacket.
However, since then, that jacket was destroyed/lost. Would it be possible for me to get another one?
According to the Official Jacket policy from the National FFA Association, FFA jackets are sold to and are for use by active constitutional members only. If a jacket is sold to a non-member, the emblems and lettering must be removed. However, according to Tom Mannard, executive director of the Texas FFA, purchase of replacement jackets by former members must be approved by the State FFA Advisor. Approval is contingent on the verification of previous membership and on the agreement by the purchaser that the jacket is being purchased for display purposes only--not to be worn. You can order a jacket by calling the National FFA Center or ordering through FFA Unlimited online.
Official Jacket Policy: FFA® jackets are sold to and are for use by active constitutional FFA® members only. If a jacket is given or sold to a non-member, the emblems and lettering must be removed.
The official FFA jacket was established by the Delegates at the 1933 National Convention. FFA Official Dress Standards were created by the Delegates at the 1973 National Convention and most recently revised by the Delegates at the 2002 National FFA Convention.
Chapter degree, officer and award medals should be worn beneath the name of the right side of the jacket.
State FFA Degree or American Degree key should be worn above the name or attached to a standard key chain.
No more than 3 medals should be worn on the jacket. These should represent highest degree earned, highest office held and the highest award earned.
2. If I wanted to use my business to promote the program, could I print the emblem on a feed sack/etc. (questioner selects item) to do this?
In order to use the FFA emblem, the product that you are selling must be intended for
#2 see log in pr 2007 folder
3. I am running for the school board of trustees, and as a trustee, I would support
agricultural education and the FFA 100%. Can I count on the support of the FFA in this election?
#3 Our FFA strives to build relationships with the community and with elected officials. We appreciate the support of elected officials of our FFA and the FFA in general, however our FFA encourages its parents and members to support the candidates that they feel are most deserving. Our FFA will not support one particular candidate; however we will allow candidates to speak to our organization. This process is much like what we as FFA members face on a yearly basis, when it is time for our own chapter, district, area, state and national elections. We as FFA members are encouraged to vote for the candidates we think will do the best job, not who our advisor thinks may be the best.
4. I would like to volunteer my time to help support the FFA and the local program. Is there some kind of organization that would be an avenue for that?
#4 In our chapter we have three avenues for you to get involved, the best way is to contact one of our advisors through our website to find out where your skills would best be used. We have an advisory board, Alumni Association, and a booster club, all of which support our organization.
5. I saw a copy of the FFA magazine in the veterinarian’s office. Can I get a
subscription to the FFA magazine?
#5 Yes you may. As a matter of fact there are a couple of ways of viewing the magazine. To receive a copy of New Horizons in your mail, you can look inside a current issue such as the one at your veterinarians’ office and fill out the order form. A subscription will only set you back seven dollars. However, if you only want to look at a particular issue or don’t want to receive one through the mail, you may view a virtual copy online at www.ffanewhorizons.org .
Look inside a current issue. Also bring up the fact about the new online subscription available. There is now a copy of the magazine available online and you can go to the website- www.ffanewhorizons.org and view it.
6. I think this is a fine program. What if I wanted to help keep it going financially? Is there an avenue for me to do that? Would my contribution be tax deductible?
#6 – Absolutely, You can donate locally through our chapter booster club or alumni association. In fact, a 1990 graduate came back to Madison to donate 100,000 dollars to our chapter. He worked with our booster club to set this up as an endowment for scholarships.
7. We have a wholesale nursery operation here in town, and my daughter has a real interest in running the business after I retire. I would like her to be able to get some recognition and scholarship money with her horticulture interest. What are the opportunities in that area for her? (Question may be altered to accommodate some other form of agriculture such as but not limited to: veterinary medicine, specialty animal production, floral design, mechanics, aquaculture, wildlife habitat management or game animal production, forestry, etc.)
#7 There are many different avenues that she can choose to take in the FFA to earn recognition and even increase her knowledge in Horticulture. One of the first steps is to enroll in any of our different horticulture related classes such as horticulture or floral design. She can also apply for a proficiency in the areas of Nursery Operations, Landscape Management, Floriculture, or Diversified Horticulture depending on what all she becomes involved in with the FFA, possibly earning recognition at all levels. Besides all of these opportunities she can join one of the Career Development Event Teams such as floriculture or Nursery & Landscape. Not only can she participate in all of these opportunities, but she can use her job at the warehouse towards a placement SAE and earn recognition through that. All of these things when placed on a scholarship application will earn her recognition for her hard work and most likely some scholarship money, besides the recognition from her peers in FFA and those people in the community who she came into contact with.
8. I have a student who is going to be in seventh grade over at the Middle School
next year. What kind of opportunities are available for students that age?
#8 The North East ISD currently does not provide an opportunity for 7th or 8th grade students to get involved as full FFA members, however we do offer the opportunity for students 3rd grade to 8th grade to join our Jr. FFA program. They must still pay FFA dues, but are allowed to raise and show animals through our local chapter.
9. I never have known much about the FFA, but I have always seen the blue coats. I guess they had those things when I was growing up in the 1950’s, and they look pretty much the same today. What’s some of the history of the blue jacket and is there some kind of ceremonial importance tied to them?
#9 The official FFA jacket was established by the Delegates at the 1933 National Convention. FFA Official Dress Standards were created by the Delegates at the 1973 National Convention and most recently revised by the Delegates at the 2002 National FFA Convention. The FFA jacket is worn by members at all official FFA functions were official dress is appropriate. For example……
Also, talk about the colors, emblems and symbols.
10. It seems like many times the FFA mentioned in the same breath with the 4-H
Club. What is the relationship between the FFA and the 4-H? Are they the same or are they different from each other?
#10 We do a lot of the same things and have many things in common. The 4-H is part of the cooperative extension service and is coordinated by the local extension agents through county government and by volunteers. 4-H is not limited to agriculture, but takes in things like family and consumer sciences and other areas as well. The FFA is an integral part of the school’s agricultural science program. Each local program is led by an agricultural science teacher who works for the school. FFA members apply what they learn in the classroom in FFA activities through school activities.
11. We home school our students. What opportunities are available for home school and private school students?
#11 FFA is integral to a systematic school-based agricultural science instructional program. Private schools may establish agricultural science instructional programs following the State Plan for Career and Technical Education program guidelines and charter an FFA chapter in the same manner as a public school. Because FFA is part of a school-based instructional program, no provision exists for home-schooled students. However, some districts may allow in-district home-schooled students to access the career and technical education program and participate in the student organizations affiliated with these programs. This is a local district decision.
12. I noticed in the newspaper some students were doing FFA activities
graduated from high school. Isn’t FFA a high school organization?
#12 The FFA is a high school youth organization, however students have the opportunity to continue to earn degrees and participate even after graduating from high school. The perfect example is Angela Garcia. She competed this summer as a high school graduate, earned the opportunity to advance with science fair and her proficiency category and attended the National FFA convention. While most people may think she is done, she actually has 2 more years to complete her American FFA degree. Also, many colleges and universities offer students a chance to join Colliegate FFA.
13. We always enjoy going and watching the ball games and the band. What about the FFA? Are there some events we could watch?
#13 In our FFA chapter we have many events were the public can come and watch. Stock shows are the most common, however, state LDE’s, different speaking events, and State convention activities are open to the public. In fact, we hosted an open house for our LDE’s this last Monday. It was a great way to showcase all of the student’s talents from our chapter. Just go to our website to check our more activities.
14. Other organizations such as the Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts and others promote
leadership development opportunities. What makes the FFA different from all of
these other youth programs?
#14 There are many organizations that help to promote leadership, but our FFA chapter does much more than that. Our advisors find ways for us to develop premier leadership, apply the leadership skills and then help other students to do the same. The FFA also focuses that leadership in the high school years where developing and exhibiting leadership is most important. So, while many high school students get lost and distracted and have no place to turn, our FFA chapter keeps us focused and directed to developing our premier leadership.
15. Our family lives in a subdivision where deed restrictions and city ordinances
prohibit livestock. Can my son or daughter still have an opportunity to have a
livestock project?
#15 Yes, 100% of our FFA members live in the city. Our school provides an on campus farm for students to raise and maintain livestock projects. Facility use fees are charged, as well as barn specific fees for medications and supplies. Each barn is a little different, so the fees are different for each livestock species.
16. I was watching the National FFA Convention on RFD-TV awhile back. I was
really impressed with the FFA officers who were running the convention? How
does one get one of these positions at the national level?
#16 Well, it all starts at the chapter level. An individual must first receive the appropriate nomination for the chapter and district that they are associated with …
ARTICLE IX. NATIONAL OFFICER CANDIDATE PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION
Section A. To represent the Texas FFA Association/Texas Association of Future Farmers of America at the National Convention, a National Officer Candidate must:
1. Meet all qualifications of eligibility to serve as a National Officer according to the National FFA Constitution.
2. Receive the nomination from the candidate’s respective Area to represent that Area as their national officer candidate at the Texas FFA Convention.
3. Be elected as the National Officer Candidate representing Texas by a majority vote of the delegates present at the state convention preceding the national convention at which the candidate is to run for National office.
17. If I wanted to access some FFA information on the internet, where could I go to find this information? Does our/your chapter have a website?
#17 We want you to look at our website first to check out our local FFA and the opportunities that we offer. From there, our FFA site links to the Area VII, Texas, and National FFA websites.
18. I think that the primary role of the school is to teach the basics—reading,
writing and arithmetic. How is teaching agriculture and doing FFA relevant to the mission of the school?
#18 We agree with you in that all students must learn to read, write and learn arithmetic’s, however, we think that doing these things as hands-on activities though our agriculture science classes helps make things come to life. In fact, our principal recently compared the TAKS scores of the Ag students from those of the general school populations, and found that on average, the Ag students scored higher than the school average in every category.
19. When I was in school, there were no girls in the FFA. Now I notice a lot of girls. When did this happen? What percent of the FFA is female?
#19 In 1969 one of the best things happened to the FFA….Girls were allowed to join. Female membership did not automatically soar, but overtime has grown to be very large. Currently our FFA chapter has an 80% female membership. According to the national FFA only 38% of the members are female.
20. It seems that as our state and county become more urban, there would be less
interest in FFA. How is FFA membership today compared to previous years?
#20 Well, in 1976, when our chapter first received its charter, we had 17 members. The area was completely rural with most of the land involved in production agriculture. Since that time we have grown. The city of San Antonio grew around the school and now, every student is considered urban. This year we have over 500 ag students with 415 paid FFA members. Becoming urban may have been the best thing for our chapter.
21. I am a Human Resources Director for my company. In most organizations there is an emphasis on promoting diversity. Is this important to the FFA? What does your chapter do to be proactive and inclusive?
#21 Diversity is important to our FFA chapter. Some FFA advisors may find it hard to get the minority population involved, but our chapter does not have that problem. I think this is partly because we are an urban school. Our agriculture classes ave an enrollment of 45% Caucasian, 45% Hispanic, 5% African American, and 5% as one of several other minority groups. In fact, 50% of us here today are Hispanic.
The National breakdown - 77% of our membership is Caucasian; 17% is Hispanic and 4% is African-American