MT. VICTORY, Ohio – When COVID-19 was beginning to subside last year, Ridgemont FFA instructors Stephanie Jolliff and Lori Romie asked their students what they missed most. Unanimously, chapter members said they missed interacting with elementary school students and wanted to perform school-wide projects with them that were meaningful and all about agriculture.

Their efforts of thoughtfulness and hard work didn’t go unnoticed as Ridgemont High School FFA was named the 2022 Premier Chapter: Strengthening Agriculture during the sixth general session of the 95th National FFA Convention & Expo held in Indianapolis. It marks the third time in the past 12 years the school has captured top honors at the National Convention.

“It was a brainstorming idea all their own,” Jolliff said. “They said that everything is made from a commodity and they wanted to teach younger students about that.”

Mt. Victory High School and Ridgeway High School had been around since the early 1920s. The two school districts in Hardin County merged in 1963 to become Ridgemont High School. Today, 97 percent of those in grades 7-12 (or 120 students) are involved in ag studies of some kind in the school district. Those at the junior high level are permitted to take one semester of ag studies. In high school they can take ag classes the entire year.

“We try to get the students to think outside the box, so when they go into the workforce they’re excellent employers, excellent business owners and excellent bosses,” Jolliff said. “We get our students to look at life and ask, ‘what the need is that we have’ and ‘how we creatively serve that need’. That’s how they create these ideas. It’s a fun process because we’re getting young minds churning, and that can help make a difference in our world.”

Chapter members brainstormed last fall and came up with the idea of mixing Christmas and agriculture to help spark grade school students’ interest in FFA. Chapter members created a Commodity Wall Map for students to look at, then members created and taught 42 different lessons about making Christmas gifts from agricultural commodities. They provided materials for students to make those gifts during a 30-minute class break. Under the guidance of the chapter members, the younger students made a product from a commodity and their new creation was given to a family member as a Christmas gift.

“Working with the younger kids was an awesome experience,” said Ridgemont FFA chapter vice president Weston McKinley. “We planned this event not to win a national award, rather we planned this event so the kids would have an opportunity to better themselves, increase their education and learn about things.

“During one of the lessons, for example, we talked about trees and eventually made ornaments for their Christmas trees. We also used this time to talk about trees and what they do for the environment.”

For chapter president McKala Grauel, FFA helped her step out of her comfort zone and opened up new opportunities. Grauel credits FFA with leading her to owning her own sheep and goat farm. She believes the lessons with the younger students might inspire them as well.

“The lessons allowed the students to be creative,” Grauel said. “We showed them how to make their own candles and showed some how to make and personalize their own glass plates.”

National FFA recognizes the top chapters with innovative activities in each of the three divisions: Growing Leaders, Building Communities and Strengthening Agriculture.