2004 turned out to be a great success for our club here at SDSU. We were able to play a role in several activities and programs promoting our club, campus, and Agricultural Education.
We kicked the year off at with the Ag Bio Bash, where all of the clubs in the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences set up booths, and attract new members from the incoming freshman and transfer students, while they were treated to some delicious SDSU Ice Cream.
In October, we traveled to another successful ATA conclave in Louisville, KY. Club Presidents Laura Norton and I had the opportunity to serve as National 2nd Vice Presidents this year, and were able assist in all of the conclave sessions and events. We traveled down with a group of 8 Ag Ed Student teachers and 2 advisors, who stayed busy at the FFA convention taking photos for the CDE teams and judging the Farm Business Management CDE.
In November we hosted our The Annual Jackrabbit Invitational, where FFA High School students come from South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa in Leadership Career Development Events. The event is put
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together by our club to help students practice their Leadership Event skills before they attend their regional FFA competitions. The judging panels for the events comprise of University Faculty and Club members.
In December we kicked off the Holiday season with a club party at Advisor, Dr. Portillo’s home. Club members came and enjoyed food, fellowship, and created Holiday cards for residents in some of the local Assisted Living Facilities. We also used the night to distribute the candles for our annual Candle sale Fundraiser.
In February we hosted the SW National FFA Vice President Rachael McHall & National FFA Local Program Success (LPS) Specialist Mr. Ernie Gill at our club meeting who spoke to us about national events and Agriculture Education.
Other events through the year include some of our members hosting a booth at the University Junior and Senior days to promote the Agriculture Education major, and visit with prospective high school students about the opportunities available at SDSU. We are also proud to have the National PAS President Lavyne Rada on our Membership |
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roster. Lavyne has stayed very busy this year traveling the country promoting PAS, as well as student teaching and staying active in the club. In addition, SD FFA Reporter, Etta Balo was elected National PAS Vice President.
In a few weeks we will be busy with that South Dakota State FFA Convention. Our club provides Student Chairs for all of the production CDEs along with recruiting students to help staff all of the events during the day and tabulations throughout the night. Our Club also hosts a banquet for all of the students who receive State FFA Degree’s.
We have had a wonderful year here at SDSU, and hope with new faces and leadership next year that it will be just as great.
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Pictured left to right: Dr Portillo; National
2nd Vice President, club advisor, Co- National 2nd Vice Presidents and Club Presidents; Jonathan DeMars and Laura Norton, Lavyne Rada, PAS National President |
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| University of Wisconsin - River Falls |
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Alpha Mu
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The University of Wisconsin – River Fall’s Alpha Tau Alpha – Alpha Mu Chapter has been continually striving towards our goal of being the best that we can be. Throughout the year we have had a wide array of opportunities, countless events, and numerous educational opportunities that our members have had the chance to be part of.
Alpha Mu was able to host this year the 2004 National Collegiate Agricultural Education Conference/ATA Conclave. Along with hosting the conclave we also had the opportunity to participate in quiz bowl, debate, and the Program of Excellence. The Alpha Mu Chapter received first place in the quiz bowl contest as well as receiving the honor of the only Platinum A.W. Nolan Memorial Leadership Award. The countless hours of dedication and hard work paid off!
Shortly after the conclave our chapter began working on the Parliamentary Procedure Judging Workshops with the |
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Agricultural Education Society on campus. Theses workshops were presented for FFA Chapters throughout the state of Wisconsin. Putting on five workshops throughout the state, members of both organizations taught FFA members parliamentary procedure for competition and for their own use in their FFA Chapters. After the workshops were completed, our members had the chance to work with the Wisconsin State FFA Organization to judge nineteen district parliamentary procedure contest as well as eight of the ten sectional contests in the state of Wisconsin. We will also be judging the parliamentary procedure semi-finals during the Wisconsin State FFA Convention.
Our chapter has developed a new fundraiser in addition to our classic Taco-In-A-Bag Sale. We are very excited about this new opportunity. Our new
Potluck Sale fundraiser will be done twice a year (once |
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each semester). The proceeds in the spring will go to benefit Relay for Life and the sale in the fall will go towards our ATA chapter. Each member of our organization is able to bring a main dish, side dish, or dessert. We also had the opportunity to cook together (a great team building experience) using the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity House Kitchen. Although we were a little unsure how our new fundraising idea would turn out, it was a wonderful success! We received great feedback from all members involved and we look forward to continuing this event in the future.
We still have many events to look forward to this spring including our annual golf outing the Putzke Open, a spring picnic, and our end of the year banquet. As the year is coming to a close we are already planning and looking forward to an even brighter fall semester within our organization. |
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