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| Spotlight on Youth - April 9, 2008 |
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Deadline nears for scholarships
DANVILLE, Ind. — Co-Alliance recently announced new $1,000 Solutions Scholarships for graduating high school seniors. Up to $20,000 will be awarded, but students need to act fast, the deadline quickly approaches at the end of the month.
The Solutions Scholarship is especially designed for high school seniors who plan to study agriculture at an accredited institution. Applicants should be children or grandchildren of shareholders within the four Co-Alliance partnering members (Midland Co-op, IMPACT Cooperative, La Porte County Co-op and Fronter Co-op).
Co-Alliance CEO Kevin A. Still views the scholarships as another example of the company’s commitment to community and also to rural youth.
Applications are available at or by calling Laurel Mann at 800-525-0272. Completed applications must be received in the Danville office by April 30, 2008, for evaluation. Awards will be presented to the students in May/June.
Miami East competes in evals
PLAIN CITY, Ohio — The Ohio State FFA Evaluations were recently held at the Tolles Technology Center in Plain City, Ohio, where several members of the Miami East FFA Chapter competed in various competitions. Members became eligible for state evaluations by placing at district evaluations earlier in February.
American FFA Degree – Tyler Church, Tyler Schindel, Taler Mumford, Brandon Lavy, Megan Bartel, Amber Johnson, and Jake Coverstone, graduates of Miami East High School, submitted applications to receive the American FFA Degree. Their applications were approved and will be submitted to the National FFA Organization for review.
State FFA Degrees – Juniors Chris Heiss and Amanda Werling submitted applications to receive the State FFA Degree. Their applications were approved, and they will receive their degrees in May at the State FFA Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Proficiency Awards – Jake Coverstone applied in the area of Small Animal Production and Care – Entrepreneurship. Coverstone provided 100 percent of the care of his Golden Retriever dogs. He developed a whelping box to help care for puppies needing to be hand-fed. He also developed a vaccination program and registered all of his dogs before selling them. Coverstone placed second in the district.
Michael Williams applied in the area of Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication. Williams started his own business, “FFA Cages,” in which he builds and sells custom rabbit cages to rabbit producers. He placed third in the district.
Eric Percel applied for the Agri-Entrepreneurship Award. Percel started his own business, Eric’s Honey Sales. He owns and operates 5 honeybee hives. Twice a year he collects the honey, processes it and sells it to his customers. He placed first in the district. His application will be forwarded to National FFA for evaluation.
Percel also applied in the area of Agriculture Processing for the processing of his bees. Percel constructed an efficient way to spin, strain, and package the honey he collects. Percel placed second in the district, earned a gold rating and will be recognized at the State FFA Convention.
Laura Colebaugh applied for the Agri-Entrepreneurship Award. Laura’s Pumpkin Patch is a self-serve roadside stand. Laura offered pumpkins, gourds, and other fall decorative items. Her application placed second in the district and will be sent for national evaluation.
Amber Schaefer started Amber’s School of Agriculture. Amber has elementary-aged Fletcher residents attend biweekly educational sessions where they explore the vast diversity of the agriculture industry. Schaefer creates her own lessons, which are based on her knowledge gained in her Agricultural Education classes. Amber placed 3rd in the district and will have her application sent for national evaluation.
Logan Pyers applied in the area of Emerging Agricultural Technology. Logan worked at Buckeye Ag Testing, where he helped conduct field trials on corn and soybeans with 15,000 experiments in various aspects of weed control, pollination, ground compaction, and more. He placed first in the district, earned a gold rating, 4th in the state, and will be recognized at the State FFA Convention.
Taler Mumford applied in the area of Beef Production – Placement for his job placement at Mumford Family Farms. Taler worked for more than 1,800 hours working with their feedlot cattle. Taler was responsible for bedding, feeding, hauling manure, and preparing the facilities for the cattle’s arrival. He placed 3rd in the district, earned a gold rating and will be recognized at the State FFA Convention.
Tyler Church was awarded a proficiency award in the area of Specialty Animal Production. Tyler purchased and cared for purebred and crossbred Boer goats. He sold his kids to fair exhibitors and to other goat breeders. He placed first in the district.
Star Award Applicant – Jake Coverstone was named the District 5 Star in Agribusiness. Coverstone is recognized for starting his own business, Coverstone Golden Retrievers. He will be recognized at the State FFA Convention.
Green jackets visit Capitol
FRANKFORT, Ky. — In the five years since its inception, 4-H: A Capitol Experience has introduced thousands of Kentucky’s youth to the inner workings of state government.
This year was no different as approximately 1,000 4-H’ers, representing 60 counties, got a chance to meet and speak with their state legislators, observe committee meetings and tour the Capitol and other historic buildings.
The event was developed by Paula Tarry, Barren County 4-H youth development agent with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. In its first year, 300 youth participated. The next two years, the number of participants doubled. During the past couple of years, the numbers have remained steady at about 1,000 youth. As the program has grown, Tarry said she is astounded by the number of youth, agents and adult volunteers that continue to make the trip to the Capitol an annual event.
State 4-H Vice President Jonathan Carman has always been interested in government, but he said 4-H has changed the way he views his leadership abilities. He hopes to have a future career that involves working on election campaigns as either a chief of staff or campaign manager. Carman said he already has been active on several campaigns, and while this was his first Capitol Experience, he has been to the Capitol on numerous occasions. He said the event helps build youth’s awareness of state government.
“I think Capitol Experience is very important because you can read charts and see stuff, but until you come and visit the Capitol, it’s really hard to have a concept for how big everything is, and the scope of exactly what happens here, and just how things work day in and day out,” he said.
Not only is Capitol Experience a positive experience for youth, but it’s also a treat for many lawmakers. State Sen. Joey Pendleton of Hopkinsville is a lifelong 4-H’er and recognized the 4-H state officers and the organization on the Senate floor during Capitol Experience.
This year 4-H partnered with the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives to make the event possible.
“We can think of no better way to invest our dollars than assisting these young people in learning about their government and building experiences that will make them better citizens,” said Dennis Cannon, KAEC vice president of member and public relations. |
| 4/9/2008 |
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