By ANN HINCH
Assistant Editor

STRAUGHN, Ind. — When it’s time to take down the calendar on Jan. 1, most go into the trash can. But for several central Indiana farmers, it’s likely that one has gone into a drawer or chest of favorites, to be saved.

One family featured in Shelley Davis’ FFA calendars even told her they considered it an heirloom. The 57-year-old grandmother from Milton, Ind., doesn’t mind admitting it makes her feel good – and doing the same for those families was the idea behind the calendars in the first place.

“A lot of farmers’ families around here were pioneers,” she explained. “That’s why I honor them; if we didn’t have our farmers, we wouldn’t have anything else.”

Several years ago, Davis, a photographer, collaborated with Patrick Redden, the ag teacher at Lincoln High School in Cambridge City, on an idea for a calendar to help the local FFA raise money. Davis took all the photos and paid the production costs for the 2004 calendar, which featured local farm families. Students sold them for $12 each – Davis split each one’s $2 profit with the FFA.

Tri Jr. Sr. High School ag teacher Dan Webb, who was friends with Redden, saw the calendar and contacted her about doing one for his Straughn FFA; in 2005, Davis photographed one for each school, as she has each year since.

That second year, Redden had the idea to find sponsors to pay the calendar’s production costs, lowering its sale price while leaving more profit for the FFA, though Davis sold most of the advertisements. The third year, she asked the FFA students to sell those ads, giving her a breather to focus on the part she really liked: Taking pictures.

Now she only takes a fee to cover her mileage and photo-related costs. The calendars sell for $6, thanks to 48 small ads – four per month – in each calendar. “We really appreciate our sponsors,” Davis said.

“It’s been a great tool for the community,” Webb said of the Tri High calendar, noting that “99 percent of the time” the sponsors his students approach agree to sponsor it. “They love it.”

The FFA raises some cash – “We hope to make a little money,” Webb said, admitting the calendar’s not its biggest fundraiser – but students also learn about the farmers in their community. Not all of his ag students or FFA members come from a farming background, so the calendar is an educational tool.

For example, the kids learn to identify different kinds and brands of machinery and what they do. One Spiceland woman was pictured with her sheep and llamas, giving Webb and her the chance to teach how llamas protect vulnerable livestock from predators.
“As a bonus, (the students) get to make friends with a lady in her nineties, with a great deal of energy,” he said, chuckling.

Of the 400 calendars each year, the FFA gives some to advertisers and club supporters, as well as the featured farmers. Most of the latter are tickled: “After all, in your whole lifetime, have you ever been on a calendar?” he pointed out.

The owners of Luellen Brothers, Inc. grain elevator in New Lisbon also asked to distribute some to their customers. These are free copies, but to Webb, the publicity is as good as gold – as is the chance for responsibility, since he puts students in charge of soliciting sponsors and scheduling photos.

To learn more about Lincoln’s or Tri-High’s calendars, contact Redden or Webb, at those schools.

If your FFA might be interested in this idea, Davis may be reached at 765-478-5873 or by mail at: P.O. Box 492, Milton, IN 47357.