|
Sectional Information - Section Seven
Anna Peissig - Reporter
Colby FFA Chapter - Section 7
apeissig@wisconsinffa.org
|
|
Last Fair
Aug. 24, 2010
On Sunday night I went to my last fair of the summer. It was the good ole Athens fair of Marathon County. I love this little fair and I’ve been going to it every year since before I can remember.
Sadly I missed the Athens Sunday parade, but I did get to work the Colby FFA ice cream stand with my favorite adviser Mr. Wirkus. It was really hot that day so it was nice to be surrounded by a bunch of ice cream and freezers. Since I worked the last shift of the fair I got to help clean everything up. I found at the bottom of the freezer a lonely 4 gallon pale of turtle ice cream. I couldn’t let the little guy sit there all alone, and I do love supporting the FFA so.... I bought the big tub for $20. Mmm...supporting the FFA tastes so good.
Back from Jag Lake
Aug. 22, 2010
This was my first time up north at the infamous FFA camp on Jag Lake. It was nice to get away from everything and just have the bare essentials. We were all a little cramped in the tiny cabin, which was ok because it allowed us to have a lot of hard core team bonding. I have so many hilarious quotes in my little notebook from this past week.
Most of the time the officer team and I were in the cabin having meetings and planning for the beginning of the school year. We worked on workshops, SLW speeches, chapter visits, and the FIRE skit. Normally I would hate to be cooped up in a cabin all day, but it rained almost the entire week at Jag Lake so no one really wanted to go outside. But one morning while Ethan was giving the invocation he prayed that it would be sunny, and it worked! So we took a break to go swimming. Sam, Cory, and I decided to race to the island in the middle of the lake. I’m proud to say that I swam faster than both boys and won!
On our way home from Jag Lake Mrs. Zimmerman and I went to the Wisconsin Livestock Breeder Association show in Wausau. Both her kids and my little brother and cousins were showing. I hadn’t seen my family in a couple of weeks so it was nice to catch up with them and enjoy the show.
Home from state fair
Aug. 16, 2010
After a long night of driving home from the state fair I finally made it back early this morning. The last day went really well. The weather was perfect, not to hot and not to cold. I worked the last shift of veggie races with Ethan and Julie. We had a lot of fun with our last races but it was sad when it was time to take everything down and clean up. Veggies were dissembled and thrown in the trash. Our station went from the extravagant fun-filled Veggie 500 to a plain table with a couple tubs.
But we had no time to sulk because we had to rush back to the dorms and change out of our polos and into our barn clothes to help clean up the Discovery Barnyard. A big thanks to Marshfield FFA who helped us at the Discovery Barn the last couple days and even stayed Monday to finish taking everything down. I also want to thank Mr. Zee and Mr. Heeg for buying us supper while we were cleaning up. Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and chocolate milk really hit the spot.
Now for my most exciting news from the state fair! I got to take home 2 ducklings and 2 chicks from the Discovery Barn! I am so excited! The chicks are probably going to my Grandpa Peissig’s but I’m keeping the ducks. I’ve decided to name them Philip and Millie and they are so cute! Today I bought some feed and got them all settled in cages in my green house. I was going to keep them in the barn but then I noticed our barn cats were starting to circle the cage like vulchers and I figured that probably wouldn’t be such a good idea. I’ll keep you updated on how they are doing.
Tomorrow I leave for our state officer retreat at Jag Lake. I’m excited to go swimming and enjoy the outdoors. It should be a good week.
Wrapping up at the state fair
Aug. 14, 2010
It’s my 11th day at the Wisconsin State fair and we go home tomorrow night! I had fun at the fair but the lack of sleep and hot weather is really starting to take its toll on me. But I’m very thankful to have such an optimistic and laid back officer team because they make it possible to stay happy and get through the long hot days of the fair.
Yesterday Corey and I were working the veggie races when the state FFA band started to play on the stage near our booth. The band is very loud in our little tent area, which makes it hard for us to talk to the veggie racers and tell them what to do. But we didn’t have any racers show up for 30 minutes so we decided to get up and enjoy the band. We got to dance around with the one....the only....Mr. Cream Puff!!! And got a few awesome pictures with him too!
I also got to enjoy my favorite fair food yesterday…twice! A Wisconsin grilled cheese sandwich. Mmmm…so simple, yet so delicious. I really should start making more of these at home.
This place is CrAzY!
Aug. 09, 2010
I arrived at the state fair in West Allis (which is right next to Milwaukee in case you didn’t know) on Wednesday with all the other state officers. We’re staying at the Tommy G. Thompson Youth Center and there’s a constant flow of random exhibitors running in and out of the building at all times. I’ve never seen so many FFA and 4-H members together in one place.
Here at the fair I get to work the Discovery Barnyard and DATCP Veggie Races. At the Discovery Barn we answer animal questions for all the fair goers and take care of all the animals in the barn. We also do many different activities to help educate the public about farm animals.
I’m having a blast at the veggie races where I get to work with kids the entire time! They are all so cute and so excited to be at the fair. I try my best to teach each veggie racer about vegetables and how they’re grown. This job is really getting me excited to be an elementary teacher some day!
Fair time is here!
Jul. 31, 2010
I’ve lived 20 minutes away from Medford my entire life and have several cousins that showed at the Taylor County Fair. This is why I can’t believe that yesterday was my first time ever going to the Taylor County Fair in Medford!
I helped out with the beef show and handed out ribbons. I had fun getting to meet so many nice people and learn things about their fair. It was awesome to see a lot of people there that were a little too old to show but came back anyway just to help out the younger 4-H and FFA members.
I also had some free time to hang out with two of my friends from college that I haven’t seen since May! They were Tiffany Langteau and Kendal Quandahl, who also helped out a lot at the fair. At night a bunch of my new friends and old friends went to the tractor pull and got to see my uncle Mark Peissig take 3rd place.
Yesterday got me pumped for fair time, and now I’m so excited for Wausau Fair on Tuesday and State Fair after that! Mmm delicious greasy fair food… all the livestock shows…exhibits…tons of people…yay! I can’t wait!
Such a great week!
Jul. 23, 2010
I was so excited for Pierce County’s Farm Technology Days and had such an amazing time!!!
Why? Because…
1) It was in River Falls which is where I went to college this past year, and I’ve been really missing this town lately.
2) I stayed with the most welcoming, fun, and sweetest host family ever (the Matzeks).
3) I got to meet and hang out with 2 River Falls FFA officers, Rachel and Kelly Matzek.
4) There was beautiful sunny weather all week (except for Thursday).
5) I got to mingle and meet many different people.
6) A lot of my relatives were there.
7) I got to look around at all the cool booths and get some free stuff.
8) I got to ride a tractor pulled wagon and give lots of tours of the Peterson family dairy farm.
9) I stopped at my first ever lemonade stand on the side of the road, ran by the 4 cutest little kids I had seen all week.
10) And the Westberg family washed my minivan for me right before I went home!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Farm Technology Days an amazing event.
The only downer of the week was Thursday, because we had to cut the show short due to excessive rain. The parking lot turned into a giant mud puddle and my poor minivan got stuck. Just as Kevin and his tractor were on their way to pull me out, I decided to give it one more try. I backed up a little bit, put it in drive and hammered the gas. Mud was slinging everywhere and I was fish tailing, slipping, and sliding the whole way but I’m proud to say I made it out of there all by myself! And I must say I had a fun time doing it too. :)
I can’t wait for next year’s Farm Tech Days because it’s at the Seehafer Acres farm in Marathon County, which is only 25 minutes away from my house!
FFA Foundation Golf Outing
Jul. 15, 2010
In high school I spent many Saturday mornings on golf courses, but it wasn’t to golf. I was in cross country and this was where all of our big meets were held. Other than the fact that golf courses have varying landscapes and make awesome cross country courses, I really do not know much about this sport. So when I took off towards the Wild Ridge Golf Course in Eau Claire Monday morning I thought to myself, hmm this should be interesting…
Amy and I were in charge of registration. It was a little ruff at times but thanks to patient participants and lots of laughter we got the job done. I spent most of the day taking care of the putting contest with FFA Foundation Executive Director Nicole Nelson. This is where I got to meet almost everyone in the golf outing as they drove by golf cart after golf cart, and stopped in to test their putting skills and donate more money to the FFA. It was a diverse group of people varying from CEO’s of large companies to small dairy farmers. But they all had one thing in common, and that was their desire to support FFA.
Thank goodness Samantha was there to help Amy and I with any golf questions we had. She works on a golf course and knows a lot about the sport and how golf outings work. If it wasn’t for her the day definitely would not have gone as smoothly.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the FFA Foundation Golf Outing. We are so lucky to have such generous and fun loving donators for our organization. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather that day, and I think everyone had a great time.
After a long day at the golf course Amy, Samantha and I decided to unwind with a good movie. We went to the theatre to see Toy Story 3. I absolutely loved it! It was one of those great cartoon movies that wasn’t just geared towards kids. It had a deeper life lesson to the story that most children would probably miss, and I’m not ashamed to say that it had us all crying at the end.
Wow it's humid in Illinois!
Jul. 11, 2010
This past week the officer team and I headed down to Springfield Illinois for the National Leadership Conference for State Officers, also known as NLCSO. Four other state associations were there including Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, and of course Illinois. It felt like the hottest weak of summer down there but it was fun to meet other state officers and learn how they run their associations differently.
National officers Chelsea Doss from Tennessee and Alex Henry from Michigan were the presenters for the week. There was only about 50 people total at the conference, so we got the opportunity to really get to know Chelsea and Alex. They were very real with us and shared a lot of personal experiences and great advice.
Throughout the week we were in many sessions and workshops where we learned how to write speeches, develops strong teams, address ag-issues, develop workshops, and a variety of other things. We also got to tour the Abraham Lincoln museum, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I learned that Lincoln had to overcome many tragedies and lots of ridicule in his life, and still managed to accomplish so much for our country. It was one of those moments that just made me want to be more optimistic and do more for the people around me! I love getting pumped up from random inspirational moments like that!
I also got to go to Sonic for the first time! The team and I decided to go for a late night ice cream treat. Did you know that at Sonic you only order outside via intercom? And then they come out and hand deliver your food to you!...mmm yum :) Amy and I made a list of restaurants we’ve never been to and Sonic is officially crossed off!
WAAE Conference
Jul. 03, 2010
On Sunday June 27, Amy Kringle and I headed East to Bonduel to meet up with fellow state officer Sam Tauchen before driving down to Madison for the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE) Conference. Instead of just picking Sam up and leaving for Madison, Amy and I decided to leave earlier in the morning so we could go to Shawano County’s Brunch on the Farm. Now Amy and I only have “Dairy Breakfasts” in our area, so we were curious to see what Brunch on the Farm was like. After getting a little lost from Sam’s directions we finally found the Brunch on the Farm. It was way bigger than we had expected. I have never seen so many people, cars, tents, and tours for a one day event. The Pulaski, Shawano, and Bonduel FFA chapters were there to work the event. The food was delicious but surprisingly different from our Dairy Breakfast. Instead of the usual pancakes there was cinnamon swirl bread, hash browns, pickles, and ice cream Sundays.
After we had our fill at Brunch on the Farm, we packed up Sam’s car and drove down to Madison. It was a hilarious trip filled with many detours and lots of laughter because the main highway that Sam usually takes to Madison was closed. But we eventually made it to Madison just in time for the officer meeting where we decided the state theme for this year, “Powered by Potential”. I really like our theme and I’m excited to help FFA members see all their hidden potential and all the opportunities they have in the FFA.
At the WAAE Conference we spent a lot of time in team meetings where we learned more about our organization and how it functions. We also decided on Sectional Leadership Workshop and FIRE Conference themes, discussed workshop ideas, and set team goals. The other state officers and I also got the opportunity to meet all the advisors from our sections. I’m excited to help Ms. Hubly from Gilman at the Taylor County fair where I’ll be handing out ribbons at the beef show on June 30th. If anyone else in section 7 needs my help with an event or just to come to a fun chapter activity please let me know! I’d love to help out and get the chance to meet more members.
On Monday I’ll be heading to Springfield Illinois for the Central Region National Leadership Conference for State Officers (NLCSO). I’m excited to get to meet more state officers from around the country! I’ll let you know how it goes, but until then enjoy your 4th of July weekend!
~Anna
BLAST Off Complete
Jun. 26, 2010
Phew what a week!
I’m proud to say the 2010-2011 Wisconsin State FFA Officer team has successfully completed BLAST-Off! It was a great week in Spencer where we went through state officer training, worked on creating a state theme, went through this year’s calendar of events, took some snazzy new official officer pictures, and best of all got to do some fun-filled team bonding! We have a great officer team this year and I can’t wait to show Wisconsin FFA what we can do.
There was only a slight bump in the road this week but it actually turned into a little adventure for me. On Wednesday my eye would randomly start hurting and watering but I couldn’t see anything in it so I assumed it was just a scratch. On Friday morning I finally decided to go to the eye doctor. This was a little adventure for me because I have never been to an eye doctor, and to be honest I was a little scared. But I’m happy to say the appointment went great! It turns out I had a brown piece of something stuck in the middle of my cornea. The doctor numbed my eye with a few drops and pulled out the mysterious speck. I didn’t feel a thing! Thank you so much Dr. Baldus for taking care of my eye and eliminating my fear of the eye doctor.
Now that my eye is clear and pain free, I’m ready to head off to the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE) Conference in Madison. I will have the opportunity to meet ag-teachers from around the state. My officer team and I will also be working together completing a variety of tasks to get ready for upcoming events. I’ll let you know how everything goes, but until than I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful summer weather. :)
~Anna
My First Blog!
Jun. 20, 2010
Hello everyone! I hope you all had the opportunity to go to Wisconsin’s 81st State FFA Convention this past week. It was a great week filled with a lot of nervousness, anticipation, and excitement while I ran for the section 7 state officer position. I am so thankful to have received this position and I’m really excited for a year filled with new adventures and amazing people!
Be sure to check my blog to find out where I am, what I’m doing, and what’s new in Wisconsin FFA!
View Blog Archive
- Aug - Jul - Jun -
|
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
