Wisconsin FFA - Wisconsin FFA Center's Newsletter

Wisconsin FFA Center's Weekly Newsletter

WISCONSIN FFA UPDATE - News In Brief
A weekly update on Wisconsin Association of FFA activities from the Wisconsin FFA Center, Inc.

For the week of May 12, 2008

1. Official Wisconsin Association of FFA State Convention Planning Guide Online
2. 2008 State FFA Convention Ticket Order Information
3. Don't Forget about the Educational Tours and Workshops for Members at the State FFA Convention
4. Checklist for State FFA Convention
5. State Proficiency Award Pins and Sectional Winner Plaques Now Available
6. Change Lives! Teach Agricultural Education Invitations Sent to Students
7. H.O. Sargent Diversity Award Applications - Due May 15
8. Members Can Apply to Be National FFA Delegates - Due May 15
9. 2008 State FFA Committee Members Needed
10. 2008 Wisconsin Association of FFA Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contests
11. Environmental Science and Natural Resources CDE at State FFA Convention
12. FFA on the Hill Visit Opportunity during State Convention
13. NEW AWARD: Largest Percentage of the School Population Involved in FFA
14. Is Your Chapter A 100% Membership Chapter?
15. FFA Flags Needed for the Convention Opening Session
16. FFA Scrapbook Competition
17. National CDE Certification Forms
18. 2008 American Degree Update
19. State FFA Officer Mileage for Attending Local FFA Banquets
20. Have You Signed up for WLC?
21. Did You Know?
22. Quote of the Week
*****************************************************************

Upcoming Deadlines and Activities:
May 17 Section 9 Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contest
June 9-12 Wisconsin State FFA Convention - Madison
June 13 Section 4 and Section 6 Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contest
June 19 Section 1 and Section 2 Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contest
June 20 Section 7 Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contest
June 24 Section 8 Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contest
July 15 State FFA Safe Tractor Operator Contest - Farm Technology Days - Brown County

Applications: (Postmark Deadline Indicated)
May 15 H.O. Sargent Award Application Deadline
May 15 National Delegate Application Deadline
May 15 100% FFA Membership Award Application Deadline
May 15 Largest Percent of School Population Membership Application Deadline
May 15 National CDE Team Certification Forms and Waivers Due to Wisconsin FFA Center
May 16 Final Revised American Degrees Due and Verifications Completed - Send to the Wisconsin FFA Center
June 1 Deadline for Environmental Science and Natural Resources CDE entries
June 1 Official State Voting Delegate Registration Due to State Officers
*****************************************************************

SPECIAL NOTE: All of the State FFA Convention information is being posted online. Please review the Wisconsin Association of FFA Website as new items about the State Convention are being posted http://www.wisconsinffa.org/convention.php. Everything that you need to prepare for Convention will be located on the website over the next several weeks.
*****************************************************************

Official Wisconsin Association of FFA State Convention Planning Guide Online
Everything you need to plan your 2008 State FFA Convention activities is online at http://www.wisconsinffa.org. The Official Planning Guide and Information for the 2008 Wisconsin State FFA Convention is online at http://www.wisconsinffa.org/convention.php. You will also find the ticket order information for meals, tours, Jim Wand and dance. In addition, you will find all kinds of information about workshops, tours, speakers, registration, etc. You will NOT be receiving a paper copy of the State FFA Convention Planning Guide in the mail in order to save on mailing expense, so please download and print a copy of the Official Planning Guide.

Each chapter is allowed two official delegates for the official business session on Tuesday morning and for State FFA Officer elections on Wednesday. In addition, chapters are allowed to bring anyone and everyone who is interested in the State FFA Convention. There will be educational workshops and tours, LifeWork Expo™ with super exhibits, fun activities and the Agriscience Fair. There is so much to get involved with, see and learn at the State FFA Convention. Don't miss this year's 79th convention!!!
*****************************************************************

2008 State FFA Convention Ticket Order Information
Tickets are available for you to purchase for your members and guests attending the 2008 State FFA Convention. A ticket information guide was e-mailed to you and also posted on the Wisconsin FFA Website http://www.wisconsinffa.org/convention.php as well as the site for the online ticket order form. The online order form is located at http://www5.dpi.state.wi.us/FFA/2008Tickets.html

MAKE SURE TO FILL IN THE SPACES ON THE ORDER FORM INDICATING YOUR CHAPTER NAME, CHAPTER ADVISOR AND HIGH SCHOOL. If you don't fill out this information, we do not know who is placing the order for tickets.

Tickets are available for meals, tours and dance. Ticket orders are due no later than Thursday, May 29. Please read the directions on page two of your information guide for complete details on ordering tickets.

Members eligible to receive Sponsored (Free) Tickets must request these tickets on the online form in order to receive them. Sponsored (Free) Tickets are non-transferrable and only meant for the member who is receiving the recognition.

Members can receive sponsored tickets if they are:
1. A gold proficiency award winner in the top half of the sponsored golds - notification was sent to advisors
2. Career Development Event State Winning Team and Top Individual
3. State FFA Degree Recipients (Includes State Star Finalists)
4. American Degree Star National Nominees
5. State FFA Officer Candidates
6. Three Star Leader Award Recipients

Please contact us if you have questions regarding ticket orders.
*****************************************************************

Don't Forget about the Educational Tours and Workshops for Members at the State FFA Convention
There are numerous educational tours set up for FFA members and guests to participate in at the State FFA Convention. A listing of the tours is on the Wisconsin FFA Website. Make sure to check these out. ALSO make sure to order your Tour Tickets by May 29 so that we have a count of who plans to attend. Low participation in tours may cause them to be cancelled, so don't wait until the last minute.

There are also some excellent educational workshops for members to attend while at convention. No pre-sign up is needed for these however we encourage you to share the list of workshops with your members and have them plan to attend. Workshops are conducted by a variety of individuals from past state officer, national officer and former national presenters, alumni, our keynote speakers as well as other instructors and staff members.

Please encourage your members to attend these educational events as they promote the educational experience that FFA members receive by participating in the Wisconsin FFA State Convention.
**********************************************************************

Checklist for State FFA Convention
Here are some commonly asked questions that can help you prepare for State FFA Convention...
1. Housing...Do I have a place to stay in Madison? If you need any housing, the housing requests are due TODAY. However you can contact Janine Wachter at the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau to see if anything is still available. jwachter@visitmadison.com. There is no special housing set for band and choir members or state officer candidates. These individuals need to stay with their chapters.

2. Meals...If you need food for your members, you are not too late...ONLINE ticket orders are due May 29 to DPI. http://www5.dpi.state.wi.us/FFA/2008Tickets.html
Just make sure that you don't miss this. No meal tickets are sold at convention. Make sure to request your sponsored free tickets on your order form (this includes Proficiency Awards Winners - notification was sent to chapters and is also posted online, State Winning CDE teams and 1st place individuals, State Degree Recipients, State FFA Star Finalists and American Star Candidates, Three Star Leader Award recipients and State Officer Candidates). Send your ticket order payment to Mike Odden, Agricultural Education, DPI, P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841.

3. When do I get the tickets I ordered? All tickets can be picked up at the State FFA Convention Ticket Table at Convention Registration. NO TICKETS ARE MAILED OUT.

4. Tours...There are some great tours around the Madison area for your members. Check out the website for the complete listing. Ordering your tour tickets in advance is a good idea so we know how many to plan for. Tours that receive few ticket orders may be cancelled, so don't take a chance. If you miss this, there will be tour tickets available at convention. TICKETS CAN BE ORDERED ONLINE!!

5. Tuesday evening entertainment this year is Hypnotist Jim Wand and tickets are $8.00 per person. Wednesday evening dance tickets are available to order at $5.00 per person. Another good thing to do now is order these tickets so you don't have to worry about them at convention. They are available at the convention if you forget to buy tickets for some of your members. TICKETS CAN BE ORDERED ONLINE!!

6. Parking Passes...If you missed ordering an advance parking ticket, you can still purchase three-day and daily passes at the gate at the Alliant Energy Center. Those who ordered Parking Passes online MUST send payment to DPI before you will receive your passes. Parking passes are in the process of being mailed to chapters that placed orders by the May 2 deadline.

7. How do I register for the convention? Online is a registration card. You need to fill this out and bring it to the convention registration table and then receive the buttons and programs for your attendees. Make sure to register all of your students as well as parents, alumni and other special guests that will be attending from your chapter. Everyone needs a button to enter the convention hall. There is no additional registration fee unless you did not pay your 2007-08 Chapter Affiliation Fee for this school year.

8. Official Delegate Registration...Each chapter is to submit the names of their two official delegates to their sectional state officer by June 1. This is a constitutional requirement. The delegate registration form is online and outlines the requirements of students who can serve as official voting delegates.

9. OFFICIAL DRESS IS REQUIRED!! Make sure that your members have the proper official dress to wear to the State FFA Convention. Wisconsin FFA takes great pride in official dress and this is an important part of the convention. Don't let your members be put in a situation where they may not be able to go on stage to receive an award because they are not in complete official dress. Chapter advisors will serve as door checkers to the convention hall to enforce official dress.
*****************************************************************

State Proficiency Award Pins and Sectional Winner Plaques Now Available
The State Proficiency Award Pins and Sectional Winner plaques have arrived at the Wisconsin FFA Center. We are going to hand out the gold pins on stage at the State FFA Convention. However the silver and bronze pins and sectional winning plaques are available to you. If you would like these for any upcoming banquets or award programs, please contact the Wisconsin FFA Center to make arrangements for getting your pins and plaques. Otherwise, pins and plaques will be at the State FFA Convention for advisors to pick up. Pins and plaques that are mailed to FFA chapters will be invoiced for shipping charges.
*****************************************************************

Change Lives! Teach Agricultural Education Invitations Sent to Students
Official invitations have been sent to those students advisors recommended to attend the program at the State FFA Convention on considering a career in Agricultural Education. Please make sure to check with your student to make sure they received the invitation. Also please remind them that we would like an RSVP by May 15 so we know how many to plan for.
*****************************************************************

H.O. Sargent Diversity Award Applications - Due May 15
The H.O. Sargent Diversity Award is a special honor and recognition given by the National FFA Organization in celebration of the work and dedication of FFA members and non-FFA members advancing efforts to diversify FFA and/or agricultural education. The award program, initially established through the leadership and vision of Mr. G.W. Owens of New Farmers of America and Dr. H.O. Sargent of the U.S. Department of Education, was re-instituted in 1995 in commemoration of the contributions underrepresented groups and majority groups together have made to FFA and agricultural education.

Activities that qualify an individual for the award are as varied as the imagination and resources allow. This is in part because "diversity" is broadly defined to embrace any activity that has a goal of bringing balance between minority and majority groups within your community, school, chapter and more. Consequently, pen pal programs, community service activities, cultural awareness programs, membership recruitment campaigns, and a wide range of other projects make a nominee eligible for the award. It's all about accepting, connecting, developing. Both FFA members and non-members can apply or be nominated. The application deadline is May 15 (postmark date). For more details visit http://www.ffa.org/programs/hosargent/index.html. The H.O. Sargent Diversity Award program is sponsored by Monsanto as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
*****************************************************************

Members Can Apply to Be National FFA Delegates - Due May 15
FFA members who would like to serve as a National FFA Delegate with the state officers at the national FFA Convention in October, must submit an application postmarked May 15. Applications are located online at http://www.wisconsinffa.org/pg-applications.php. All applicants will be interviewed at the State FFA Convention, Wednesday, June 11. Delegates will be selected to join the state officers for a great experience working with the business of the National FFA Organization in Indianapolis, Indiana.
*****************************************************************

2008 State FFA Committee Members Needed
FFA members who are serving as official delegates from their FFA chapter can participate in State FFA Committees on Monday, June 9 at 4:00 p.m. These committees allow students to give input on FFA activities and programs and also address issues facing the State and National FFA Organizations. The application is posted online at http://www.wisconsinffa.org/convention.php This is a great opportunity to give feedback from your members and allow a student some leadership responsibility on the state level.
*****************************************************************

2008 Wisconsin Association of FFA Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contests
The following dates have been scheduled and confirmed for the Wisconsin Association of FFA Sectional Safe Tractor Operator Contests. More details will come from the State FFA Officer and their advisor in each section hosting sectional contests. Please note that several sections will be hosting together.

Section 1: June 19 - Location: Bloomer High School
Section 2: June 19 - Location: Bloomer High School
Section 3: May 10 - Location: Cochrane Fountain City High School - COMPLETED
Section 4: June 13 - Location: Markesan High School
Section 5: May 10 - Location: Mid-State Equipment in Janesville - COMPLETED
Section 6: June 13 - Location: Markesan High School
Section 7: June 20 - Location: Colby High School
Section 8: June 24 - Location: Pulaski High School
Section 9: May 17 - Location: Plymouth High School
Section 10: May 10 - Location: Mid-State Equipment in Janesville - COMPLETED

Encourage your students to get involved in this competition as it is an excellent opportunity for students who are skilled in operating tractors and through this contest helps them become more proficient in their driving and understanding of safe operation skills. More information about the contests will be sent to you from the hosting advisor and state officer. An updated Safe Tractor Contest Manual is posted on the Wisconsin FFA website http://www.wisconsinffa.org/pg-contests.php

A winner is selected in each section and those individuals move on to the State competition which will be held Tuesday, July 15 on site at the Farm Technology Days in Brown County.
*****************************************************************

Environmental Science and Natural Resources CDE at State FFA Convention
The official State Environmental Science and Natural Resources CDE will be held at the 2008 Wisconsin Association of FFA State Convention. The team that wins this competition will represent Wisconsin in the National Environmental Science and Natural Resources CDE in Indianapolis at the National FFA Convention. The CDE is currently scheduled for Tuesday, June 10.

Teams interested in the 2008 Wisconsin FFA Environmental and Natural Resources State Competition can send their registration information to Craig Kohn at ckohn@wisc.edu. Entry deadline is June 1.
Please include the following details:
Chapter and High School
Advisor Name, Phone, and Email
Chapter Address
Participants names and grades
*****************************************************************

FFA on the Hill Visit Opportunity during State Convention
The WAAE Promotion and Public relations committee is working hard to promote the importance of agriculture. Tuesday, June 10th from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m. WAAE is offering an opportunity for FFA members to participate in a "Hill" visit. They have organized a liaison to teach the FFA members how to present themselves to their legislative policy makers in Madison. This person will work with the students and provide them with educational training materials compliments of the WAAE PR committee and NAAE. We need to be active and involve as many people as possible. This is an opportunity to make our voices heard at the Capitol. There is a cap of 100 students for this above chapter level participation. It will be a first come first serve basis for those that reply to this e-mail. We are looking to have at least 10 people from each section attend to get overall state representation. We ask advisors to select FFA members bases on their leadership skills, speaking skills, attitude, and good people skills. Some criteria you can use is: officers, speaking contest participants, political interest and background, and the must have proper official dress. We truly encourage FFA advisors to take advantage of this opportunity and sign up some of your members. We are in tough times and we must do our part to continue having strong agricultural programs in Wisconsin. Entry deadline will be May 25th. If a section does not fill up their 10 seats we will assign other sections members based on the order of entries received to fill our quota. Any questions please feel free to call or e-mail Jenifer Bos or Linda Burton.

Agenda:
8:45 Registration (meet and greet)
9:00 Training Session (TBD)
9:30 Load Bus
10:00 Demonstration on how legislative hearings work
10:30 Meet with local legislator or staff member
****must be set up individually by the chapters/advisors
11:15 Load bus and depart for convention center

To register students e-mail Jenifer Bos at bosj@shelllake.k12.wi.us
*****************************************************************

NEW AWARD: Largest Percentage of the School Population Involved in FFA
This is a new award developed by the state FFA officer team to recognize chapters that have involved a large percentage of their school population in their FFA chapter as members. The new application is attached. For chapters that have involved such a high percentage of their school in the FFA and they don't have as much opportunity to keep increasing in number of members, this award can recognize those chapters. The application can be found at http://www.wisconsinffa.org/pg-membership.php Chapters MUST submit an application to be considered for this award.
*****************************************************************

Is Your Chapter A 100% Membership Chapter?
Special recognition will be given to FFA chapters who have 100% FFA membership in their FFA Chapter. What this means is that at least 100 percent or more of the students enrolled in agricultural education grades 9-12 are FFA members. When calculating your percent membership, you are allowed to count junior high FFA members and graduate FFA members in your total membership. Enrollment is figured on your total enrollment for grades 9-12. Applications are located online at http://www.wisconsinffa.org/pg-membership.php. Chapters MUST submit an application to be considered for this award.
*****************************************************************

FFA Flags Needed for the Convention Opening Session
As always we love to begin the State FFA Convention with the massing of the FFA flags. If your chapter could provide an FFA flag and stand and an FFA member who would like to carry that flag, please e-mail the Wisconsin FFA Center wiffacenter@tznet.com to let us know you will have some one participating. You can just bring your flag to the registration table on Tuesday morning, June 10 and then the students will practice at around 10:30 - 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning before the Opening Session.
*****************************************************************

FFA Scrapbook Competition
Don't forget about the Wisconsin FFA Scrapbook Competition. REMEMBER THE NEW RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR 2008!!! Bring your scrapbook to the State FFA Convention News Room to check it in for competition. One scrapbook can be submitted per chapter. Ribbons will be awarded to all scrapbooks in addition to announcing the state winner and runner up.
*****************************************************************

National CDE Certification Forms
State-Winning FFA CDE teams received National Certification and Waiver forms on e-mail from the Wisconsin FFA Center. Please make sure that if your chapter had a state winning CDE team that you received this e-mail and that you return the completed forms by the deadline May 15.
*****************************************************************

2008 American Degree Update
For those chapters who had American FFA Degrees in need of revisions before being sent to National FFA, please make sure to postmark the corrected applications by Friday, May 16 and send them to the Wisconsin FFA Center. Please note the changes suggested on your applications and make the changes as necessary. Make sure your applications are complete and ready to forward to National FFA when you return them to the Wisconsin FFA Center.

Verification of the American Degrees also needs to be completed by various assigned schools. Teachers who submitted American Degrees were asked to help verify American Degree applications of neighboring chapters to make sure applications submitted were correct, met the qualifications for the degree and were ready to move on to National FFA. A separate one page form is to be submitted with the verifying teacher's signature to the Wisconsin FFA Center.
*****************************************************************

State FFA Officer Mileage for Attending Local FFA Banquets
Just a reminder to all FFA advisors who have invited State FFA Officers to speak at their local FFA banquets...gas prices are high and the state FFA association does not reimburse state officers for their mileage to local FFA banquets. It is requested that local FFA chapters reimburse the state officers for their mileage. The current mileage rate for state officers is 32 cents per mile. Your cooperation with this is very important to assist the state officers in supporting their expenses to serve local chapters. Thank you!
*****************************************************************

Have You Signed up for WLC?
It’s time to start planning for the 2008 Washington Leadership Conference (WLC). The 2008 conference dates are June 3-8, June 10-15, June 17-22, July 8-13, July 15-20 and July 22-27. New registration prices are Student $600, Advisor Double $635, Advisor Single $830, Advisor Guest $1,025 and Room Only $525. Also new for 2008: The WLC registration process is online. Visit ffa.org today to register. Contact Crystal Hart, 317-802-4321 or chart@ffa.org, for registration questions.
*****************************************************************

Did You Know?
Lucas Oil Stadium Replaces the RCA Dome
National FFA is excited to use Lucas Oil Stadium, the brand-new home of the Indianapolis Colts, for the following 2008 National FFA Convention events:
State Photos, Concerts, Food Court, Stars Over America and American Degree Recognition and More...
You won’t want to miss these events in this state-of-the-art facility!
*****************************************************************

Quote of the Week
"Excellence is not a spectator sport. Everyone's involved." - General Electric
*****************************************************************

Have a great week!

Cheryl L. Zimmerman
Wisconsin FFA Executive Director
Wisconsin FFA Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 110
Spencer, WI 54479
Phone: 715-659-4807
Fax: 715-659-5865
E-mail: wiffacenter@tznet.com

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier
leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race,
religion, age, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status,
sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.