By KEVIN WALKER Michigan Correspondent SPRINGPORT, Mich. — The Michigan FFA Alumni Assoc is alive and well, and gearing up for its annual meeting, which promoters hope will be both fun and help it meet the group’s fundraising goals. The annual get-together will take place March 24 in Springport, a small town about 30 miles southwest of Lansing, at the local high school. Ticket prices to the half-day event are $20 per person for pre-registration, or $25 for a ticket at the door. The event will kick off at 2:30 p.m. with alumni workshops, followed by a past state officer meeting at 3, said Ken Bollinger, board member of the Michigan FFA Alumni Assoc. and event coordinator. At 4, registration, reception and social time will happen until 5; alumni silent auction bids will also start at 4. Dinner begins at 5 p.m., featuring speaker Darrin Rockcole, chief meteorologist at WILX-TV in Lansing. Bollinger said he doesn’t know the title of the speech, but presumes it “will be about the weather and how it affects agriculture.” Rockcole has been at WILX since 1989 and became chief meteorologist at the station in 1996. Dinner will be followed by an alumni business meeting, at which new officers will be elected. The meeting will only last a short time and will be followed by a live auction and door prizes. In a way the auction is the main attraction and purpose of the event, Bollinger explained. The auction helps the association meet its financial goals for the year, which are primarily to contribute to the Michigan FFA Alumni Assoc. Scholarship Fund. Last year the auction raised $5,000. “We really want to give people value for their money,” Bollinger said. “It’s really not that different from any other auction; I think for a lot of people this is really the big draw for the event. I think it’s going to be a really fun dinner.” The auctioneer this year will be Kevin Laethem of Laethem Auctions and Appraisals out of Midland. Bollinger said he’s hopeful for the gathering, which in the past has been well attended. Since not everyone likes to get their information online, Bollinger has so far sent out about 900 postcards advertising the event. He explained that, somewhat like the situation with the former Future Farmers of America, FFA alumni members are drawing from a smaller population. As is the case with farmers themselves, alumni association members are getting older. “A lot of our members are in their sixties and seventies. We’re calling it the Michigan FFA Alumni and Friends; the reason is, a lot of people think you have to be an alumni member in order to participate. That isn’t true.” To register for the event and get more information about it as it becomes available, go to the Michigan FFA web page at www.michiganffa.org/alumni Organizers are asking people to RSVP online by March 4. The address of the Springport High School is 300 W. Main St., Springport, MI 49284. Bollinger can be reached for any questions by email at kabollinger1964@hotmail.com |
