South Gibson Star-Times

$1.00 16 PAGES Tuesday, FeBRuaRy 28, 2023 VOLUME 68, NUMBER 33 NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������������������812-753-3553 Email ��������������� editor@sgstartimes�com INSIDE Classifieds �������������� B6 Sports ����������������� B1-3 Opinion ������������������ A3 Church ������������������� B4 History ������������������� B5 Two Sections Fort Branch 47648-0070 (USPS #205-620) FFA Week: Past, Present and Future By James Rae, Jr. editor@sgstartimes.com National FFA week runs from Februar y 18-25, 2023 and this week-long celebration has a rich histor y. The first National FFA week took place in 1948 when the National FFA Board of Directors chose a designated week to celebrate and recognize farmers na- tionwide. FFA week was originally inspired by the first President of the United States, George Washington, and formed due to his legacy and example as a farmer and leader. FFA, as a whole, goes back even further than 1948, so it's safe to say that the roots run deep. "Future Farmers of America was founded by a group of young farmers in 1928. Their mission was to prepare future genera- tions for the challenges of feeding a growing population. They taught us that agriculture is more than planting and har vesting – it's a sci- ence, it's a business and it's an art," https:// www.ffa.org/about/. Gibson Southern High School in Fort Branch, Indiana is carr ying on the tradition of Future Farmers of America and FFA week in stellar fashion. This special event proves to be a memorable and exciting time for many GSHS students and FFA members. FFA Ad- visor and Agriculture teacher, Jessie Scher- merhorn-Mraz spoke about her experience with FFA at GSHS and what her role means to her. "I have been an FFA advisor for over 10 years now and six years of that time has been at Gibson Southern. To be an FFA advisor is an amazing experience because the students walk in as freshmen, and I get to watch them grow into leaders and amaz- ing, well-rounded adults in our community. Getting to know that I helped them on their path to success is an amazing feeling to me. It's extremely meaningful when my former students come back to visit and reach out. I have been able to see many of my students over the years go to college or go to trade school and come back home and have a great career in our community." Speaking in terms of key takeaways for students during FFA week, Jessie added, "I want them to be proud of our agricultural roots in our community, which many of them are. I also want mem- bers to be appreciative of the opportunities afforded to them by having an active FFA and agricultural education department at Gibson Southern. Not ever y school can say they have a quality agricultural program that meets all of the 13 quality standards set forth by the national FFA. There is a shortage of agriculture teachers in the United States, and unfortunately many programs close across the nation ever y year due to not being able to find a qualified agriculture teacher. I also want students to appreciate ever ything that goes into the agricultural products they use ever y day in their life. Without agriculture, they would not have food, they would not have clothing and their basic needs would not be met." Gibson Southern High School engages students with a fun and educational approach to FFA week. GSHS lays out themes for each day of the week making the FFA experience even more appealing for students. Monday, Februar y 20, 2023 was President's Day, but students were encouraged to post a picture wearing his or her favorite FFA t-shirt or jacket. Continuing on in the week, Tuesday was "FFA Jacket and Jeans Day", Wednesday was "Camo Day", Thursday was "Drive Your Tractor to School Day" and "Battle of the Tractor Brand Apparel" with a Chapter meet- ing and Friday was "Flannel, Petting Zoo and Milkshake Day". GSHS offers an educational and interactive approach toward learning more about FFA week and its importance to the community. Looking ahead to the future of FFA week at Gibson Southern High School, Jessie Schermerhorn-Mraz had this to say, "We will continue to celebrate FFA week in future years as our program continues to grow due to increased enrollment we have seen over the past five years. With the increased FFA membership and being 116 members strong, we have seen our chapter grow significantly. With tractor day bringing in 22 tractors, our largest number, we decided to add more categories for our tractor day trophies to recognize more members. As I reflect upon my time as FFA advisor at Gibson Southern, I feel blessed to have a ver y supportive school administration, FFA parents and community supporters. I am sure, no matter what we choose to do in the future, FFA weeks will have all the support needed to make any event possible. We will continue to apply annually for the National chapter awards program through National FFA. We do have a few community partnerships that are defi- nitely going to be benefiting our chapter that are currently in the works in regards to our Test Plots. 2023 has been an exciting year for awards and firsts. We currently have 10 state FFA degrees to be awarded in June. We have four state bound, proficiency award appli- cations that highlight students super vised agricultural experience. This is the most proficiency awards we have had completed in a year. We had one member earn $1000 grant to grow their SAE from the grant program with National FFA. We also have a member with a state star application, the first one in several years from Gibson Southern." The seeds of knowledge have been planted as students at GSHS understand the sheer impact Future Farmers of America has on them. Gibson Southern High School is heading in the right direction when it comes to the future of FFA week. As FFA and FFA week grows stronger each and ever y year, GSHS will continue to pave a path of success for generations to come. GSHS closes out another successful FFA week for 2023 where education and agriculture unite. Future Farmers of America Special Edition GSHS Theater Treats Middle Schoolers to Teaser sophomore sawyer McKimmy plays ringmaster in this year's performance of "Big Fish." Photo Credit: scott Walden. By: Elizabeth Elpers Fort Branch- South Gibson middle school students were treated to a teaser for this year's Gibson Southern High School spring musical "Big Fish". Students from Haubstadt Community School, Fort Branch Community School, and Owensville Community School descended upon the high school theater to view what was sure to be a fantastic perfor- mance. For many students, this is their first taste of stage performance, and for some, this is when they claim to have been first bitten by the acting bug. Numerous high school students have said it was while attending a performance at a young age that they first dreamed of performing themselves one day. Not only that, for whatever reasons, for some students this may be their only opportunity to see the spring play. And finally, this is a won- derful opportunity for the high school theater students to work out some of the kinks in front of a live audience. Several of the high school performers even took time to sit and answer questions from their curious audience members. Gibson Southern High School is well- known for its spectacular theater performanc- es, and this year's spring musical "Big Fish" is sure to be a hit, with its elaborate displays and backdrops, along with the use of stilts by one of the actors. This year's show will be sure to inspire the next generation of theater actors and actresses. Don't forget to check out the show March 17-19, at Gibson Southern High School Theater. aaron Meny (as the Giant) hovers over fellow performers Jake decker, Noah Wage- ner and Cassie Reeves. Photo Credit: scott Walden. (from left to right) Luke stroud, Jeffrey Long and Cassie Reeves take time to an- swer questions from middle school students." Photo Credit: scott Walden.

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