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The past 18 months, members of the newly chartered Greenville FFA Chapter have built not only one, but two small homes to be placed in homeless communities in the St. Louis area. Greenville FFA Advisor, Scott Payne, got the idea to build these homes from a fellow Army Reserve Chaplain who has a servent heart for homeless individuals, specifically homeless veterans.

“When I told my FFA kids about (the homeless communities), they immediately wanted to do something about it,” Payne said. “So, we drew up some plans and decided we would build a small house.”

The small 6-by-12-foot houses are only large enough to hold a set of bunk beds. Even though the houses are not made with plumbing or electricity, the facilities help make living much more bearable for homeless individuals.

“They (homeless individuals) were living under tarps and thrown over branches,” Payne explained.

Payne, who has a background in industrial education, encouraged his students to begin soliciting community businesses for material donations such as lumber, metal and linoleum. With the support of local businesses, both homes were fully funded. The first home the chapter built was delivered to a man and his wife living in the homeless community in February 2018. The second will be delivered this month.

“The students bought into the project immediately, and they would all work hard during the assigned class periods,” Payne said. “They would show up after school. They would show up during free time in other hours. They just wanted to work on it and see it come to pass.”

Building the houses was used as a teaching tool in a building construction course. While building, the students had the opportunity to learn about planning, designing, estimating the required materials and different tenants of construction for the small houses.

Aesthetically, the homes are very pretty inside even though they are only made to house two people. The walls and ceilings are made from tongue-and-groove pine lumber with two windows for ventilation. To put a personal touch on the houses, Payne left a spot on the wall for each student to sign his or her first name around the words “From Your Friends at Greenville FFA.” The students also used their artistic ability in art courses to paint patriotic paintings to decorate the interior walls of the home.

The homes are delivered to a homeless community in the St. Louis area with mostly veteran inhabitants. While Payne is not certain the recipients of the first small home were veterans, he is certain the person who received the home this year is a veteran.

Payne is encouraged by the commitment the Greenville FFA members have made to building the homes. While they are learning crucial building skills, they are also helping someone stay warm at night.

“On a personal note, it was great to watch the kids get excited about it,” Payne said. “Not because they were just building this, but because they knew they were helping somebody. When that lightbulb came on, I could just see it in my student’s faces. That’s what I appreciated the most out of the build itself.”

After being chartered in 2014, the Greenville FFA Chapter has become home to nearly 50 students and just graduated its first set of four-year members in 2018. The number of active freshmen joining each year encouraged Payne. With a little help from their supportive community, the fast-growing chapter is living to serve, one tiny home at a time. —by Julie Choate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., April 10, 2019 – FFA members from across the state will meet in Columbia, April 25-26, at the 91^stMissouri FFA Convention to honor fellow members for outstanding achievements, conduct association business, elect new officers and participate in leadership workshops. For the first time, convention sessions will be viewable at https://Livestream.com/MoDESE/MoFFA.

Cultivate Tomorrow, Today is the theme for this year’s annual convention, which is expected to attract more than 8,000 students and guests to Hearnes Center on the University of Missouri campus.

According to Missouri FFA Executive Secretary Keith Dietzschold, the state association will present State FFA Degrees to 760 members who, as a result of their agricultural and leadership achievements, have qualified for the state’s highest FFA degree. Dietzschold also said Missouri has the largest number of American FFA Degree recipients of any state – 518 Missouri FFA members received the American FFA Degree in 2018 during the national convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in October.

During the convention the State Star Farmer, the State Star in Agribusiness, the State Star in Placement and the State Star in Agriscience will be named. In addition, 576 FFA members will receive awards in 48 agricultural proficiency areas for development of their supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program. The proficiency areas are varied and include production, management, and communications disciplines. In Missouri, SAE programs during the 2017-18 school year generated more than $52 million in student income.

FFA members also will participate in a number of organization program areas including speaking competitions and career development events such as agricultural sales, floriculture, and livestock evaluation.

The Missouri FFA will present awards to several adults and groups for their support of agricultural education and FFA. This year 22 Honorary State FFA Degrees will be presented. An additional 16 honorary degrees will be presented to parents of the retiring state officers.

The Distinguished Service Citation will be presented to Don Fuhrmann, Hillsboro. Fuhrmann started working as a lifeguard in 1978 at Missouri FFA Camp Rising Sun. His position grew to include boat mechanic, ski instructor, lifeguard trainer, boating instructor and waterfront supervisor. Fuhrmann taught art at Hillsboro High School for 32 years. He also coached football, wrestling and track. After retiring in 2005, he continued to work with the wrestling program and was recently honored with the Hillsboro Wrestling Tournament being renamed the Don Fuhrmann Duals.FFA Convention results on the State FFA Med

During the convention Missouri FFA President Paxton Dahmer, Nevada FFA Chapter member, will lead 694 delegates in official business sessions. Each chapter is represented by two delegates.

Four FFA chapters will be chartered during the Thursday evening session. The new chapters are Oak Ridge, Valley Caledonia, Newburg and East Carter.

During the first general session Thursday afternoon, Christopher R. Daubert, vice chancellor and dean of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Columbia, will welcome convention attendees. Prior to joining MU in August 2017, Daubert was at North Carolina State University where he served as a professor and head of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Services; director of the Food Rheology Laboratory; and system co-chair of Food, Biochemical and Engineered Systems. Daubert has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Texture Studies, is on the editorial board of the Journal of Food Process Engineers and is a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.  He has received distinguished alumnus awards from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania and Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. He earned a doctorate in agricultural engineering and food science from Michigan State University.

National FFA Western Region Vice President Shea Booster, a member of the Bend FFA Chapter, Bend, Oregon, will speak during the first session. In high school, Booster’s SAE was focused on hog production. He was the 2016-17 Oregon State FFA president.  Booster is a sophomore at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, where he is studying agricultural business management. Booster’s goals include being in a leadership-development or communications position with an agricultural company, and eventually taking over his father’s leadership-consultation company.

Booster was elected as a national officer in October during national convention. The six-person national officer team collectively will log more than 100,000 miles representing FFA to top leaders in business, government and education. National officers also lead numerous personal growth and leadership training sessions, and promote agricultural literacy.

Also during first session, Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn will speak. Chinn, named to director January 2017, resides on her family farm in Shelby County with her husband and two children. The Chinns have a farrow-to-finish hog operation; a small cow-calf herd; raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa; and operate a family feed mill.

During the Thursday evening session, Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven will address the convention. Vandeven joined the department of elementary and secondary education in 2005 as a supervisor of the Missouri School Improvement Program before serving as a director of accountability data and school improvement, an assistant commissioner in the Office of Quality Schools and as deputy commissioner of the Division of Learning Services. She was appointed commissioner of elementary and secondary education by the Missouri State Board of Education in December 2014 and served in that capacity until December 2017. She was reappointed in January 2019.

Vandeven earned a bachelor’s from Missouri State University, Springfield, and a master’s degree from Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a doctorate from Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri. Vandeven has been recognized by Missouri State University and St. Louis University as a distinguished alumna.

During the Friday evening final session, Vietnam Veteran and Purple Heart Recipient Dave Roever of Fort Worth, Texas, will share a story of survival and inspiration. At the height of the Vietnam War, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a river boat gunner in the elite Brown Water Black Beret. Then tragedy occurred. Today Roever travels the globe, speaking at national conventions, public schools and to U.S. military audiences, including tours of war zones. Since 2007, at the two Eagles Summit Ranches near Westcliffe, Colorado, and Junction, Texas, Roever and his team run Operation Warrior RECONnect.

The Missouri FFA Association has 25,375 members, ranking sixth as a state in membership. FFA strives 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.

Whether you are interested in strengthening your speaking skills or simply meeting new friends, the Missouri Public Speaking Academy (PSA) might be right for you.

Missouri State FFA Vice President Dillon Reinitz is a past PSA attendee. He says the experience helped him sharpen his presentations, hook the audience and develop a topic meaningful to the audience.

“I personally was the shy kid who was frightened of talking to others,” Reinitz says. “After attending the Missouri Public Speaking Academy my freshman year of high school, I felt as though I could effectively and confidently present a speech to anyone.”

Reinitz tried his hand at public speaking the following spring. “I did really well because of the skills I learned at PSA and even attended two more times,” he says. “I highly recommend all FFA members attend PSA at least once.”

This year’s PSA will be held June 4-6 on the University of Central Missouri campus in Warrensburg.  Sixty spots are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Deadline to apply is May 15. Registration application is available online HERE.

—from our staff.