july newsletter

By Ashlyn Tomlin – West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter

This summer 65 students from Jack-son County FFA chapters learned that it only takes One Step to change the world and become a better leaders! They were part of more than 2,800 students who attended the 2015 FFA-FCCLA Summer Leadership Camp at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center in Covington. In addition to learning leadership skills, these amazing students en-joyed swimming, fishing, horseback riding, zip lines, a giant slip and slide, the Blob, and more! On Tues-day, campers had the opportunity to traverse through over three miles of obstacles known as the Udder Mud Run. On the last day of camp they even participated in an exciting dry and muddy obstacle course. First time camper from East Jackson Mid-dle FFA, Sara Saliba stated that camp was, “very memorable and it has a lot to offer to everyone with all dif-ferent personalities”. When asked what her favorite part of camp was, Sara said, “riding horses and making new friends”.

With over 650 FFA and FCCLA mem-bers at Summer Leadership Camp, Jackson County students proved to be competitive. Campers entered contests like archery, crafts, softball, essay, fishing, speech, and many

WJMS FFA Members Attend Summer Leadership Camp

West Jackson Middle FFA Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Camp continued 2

State Convention 3

Convention continued 4

Area Banquet 4

Meet the New Officers 5

Officers continued 6

Officer Retreat 7

World Pork Expo 7

Officer’s Message 8

August Meeting 8

Area II Rally 8

Joining FFA 9

FFA Points 9

FFA Day at the Fair 9

July 2015 Volume 4, Issue 1

more. Some highlights for Jackson County members included West Jackson Middle FFA member Noel Plunkett winning the craft shop’s

Jewelry contest. At the Wednesday afternoon’s swim meet, WJMS FFA member Jackson Harvin placed first in both the Freestyle and Backstroke contests, Doug Evans of East Jackson High FFA won the Biggest Splash Contest, and Katelyn Gary, East Jack-son Middle FFA member, placed first in the Smallest Splash. Also at the swim meet, Cassie Jones, Savannah Van Buren, Samantha Manley, and Sam Yurco placed second in the Freestyle Relay. EJMS FFA member, Haley Harrison, and JCCHS FFA member, Allie Duck placed 2nd in the Basketball Shootout while Anslee Stephens of WJMS FFA placed 3rd in Ping Pong. The JCCHS FFA team of Antonio Strickland, Grant Strickland, Easton Tuggle, and Derek Stone won the one mile relay while Tanner Hart of EJMS FFA placed 3rd in the Skeet Shooting event. Lexie Reynolds of East Jackson High FFA placed first in the Speech competition.

(Continued on page 2)


West Jackson Middle FFA Members included Noel Plunkett, Summer Howington, Kate Schultz, Anslee Ste-phens, Megan McDowell, Marin Da-vidson, Savannah Van Buren, Kyra Collier, Hannah White, Cassie Jones, Alex Rainwater, Jackson Harvin, Dale Vickery, Zach Clifton, Trevor Slaick, Ethan Bowen, Caden Carlyle, Charlie Brooksher, and Colton Moon.

Jackson County High School FFA members included Katie Fife, Rachel Baker, Rachel Hardgree, Morgan Da-vidson, Maggie Archer, Cindy Cooper, Allie Duck, Samantha Miller, Kennon Swain, Drew Standridge, Easton Tug-gle, Grant Strickland, Antonio Strickland, Lane Sharpton, Derek Stone, Walt Palmer, Miguel Gutierrez, and Mitch Mershon.

East Jackson Middle FFA members included Sam Yurco, Lexi Dalton, Haley Harrison, Colbie Fulcher, Katelyn Gary, Austin Hill, Tanner Hart, Dalton Ogle, Cale Howington, Grant Wright, Sabrina Livingston, Grace Hill, Emily Edwards, Sarah Delay, Sara Saliba, and Shelby Scranton.

East Jackson High School FFA members included Doug Evans, Justin Lyons, Jacob Davidson, Austin Varner, Joseph Terry, Jordan White, Lexie Reynolds, and Samantha Manley.

“Summer Leadership Camp provides a chance for FFA and FCCLA students from around the state to grow and learn critical life skills while having excit-ing experiences that only happen at camp. We have many great activities, but the ultimate goal is to change lives,” says Russel Towns, Camp Manager.

The Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center is lo-cated near Coving-ton, on the banks of Lake Jackson.

Camp continued

Ashlyn Tomlin – West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter

MACON, Georgia – The State FFA Convention was held at the Centreplex in Macon, Georgia on April 23-25, 2015. The State FFA Convention is a time for more than 6,500 FFA mem-bers, advisors, and guests to come to-gether to celebrate state level accom-plishments, receive scholarships and State FFA Degrees, enjoy retiring ad-dresses from current State FFA Officers as well as other keynote speakers, and elect the 2015 -2016 State FFA Officers. Six West Jackson Middle FFA members traveled to the State FFA Convention – Caden Carlyle, Madyson McDaniel, Kate Schultz, Ashlyn Tomlin Kevin Velez, and Hannah White. These members enjoyed their time during the convention sessions and career show as they were introduced to the many opportunities available to them in the FFA. First timer Ashlyn Tomlin stated that “state convention was a very fun and enjoyable experience. I also learned a lot of agricul-tural skills along with some life skills as well. It was one of my favorite ag experiences!”

The Georgia FFA’s 87th annual convention kicked off on Thursday, April 23rd, with a powerful kickoff message from Mr. Harvey Alston, an educa-tional leader, public speaker and author of Be the Best. Other speakers on the Convention docket in-cluded National FFA President Andy Paul, President of Georgia Farm Bureau, Mr. Zippy Duvall, and Geor-gia’s State School Superintendent, Mr. Richard Woods. youth speaker Josh Shipp. Opening night also included the recognition of FFA Foundation Sponsors and the naming of the 2015 Stars over Georgia.

West Jackson Middle FFA Ends the School Year With Great Accomplishments

Volume 4, Issue 1

Day two of the convention brought the presentation of state proficiency and career devel-opment event (CDE) awards; state level CDE com-petition; and the official delegate business session. West Jackson Middle FFA was recognized during the Fourth General session for being the Area II Winner

in the National FFA Week Observance. Moreover, WJMS FFA was chosen as the State Winner for the National FFA Week Ob-servance Award – an amaz-ing accomplishment as WJMS FFA was one of only two middle school chapters contending for this award. In addition, West Jackson Middle FFA was recognized as the Area II Winner and the State Winner in the Na-tional Chapter Award com-petition. Only chapters that were ranked as Gold Em-blem Chapters could com-pete for this award, and

there were only nine middle school chapters in the state in contention. All 28 Gold Emblem chapters will go on to be judged on the national level in the summer. By winning both the area and state awards in both the National Chapter Award and National FFA Week Observance, West Jackson Middle FFA also was awarded $1250 in prize money for these accomplishments.

(Continued on page 4)

On Saturday morning, day three of the con-vention began with the awarding of the prestigious State FFA Degree to 682 deserving students, the business meeting of the FFA Alumni Association, and the election of the 2015-2016 state FFA officer team. The awards for 100% FFA membership were also given during this time, and West Jackson Mid-dle FFA received a plaque for this accomplishment as well.

Ben Lastly, the Executive Secretary of the

Georgia FFA Association states, “We are very excited to bring the FFA Convention back to Macon for a tenth year; and excited to announce that we expect a record crowd of nearly 7,000 to attend. Our Con-vention is a wonderful opportunity to feature the success of so many students from across our state.” Lastly goes on to say, “Agriculture is the number one industry in Georgia, and our young people are the greatest commodity in our state. Bringing these young people together to celebrate their success in both leadership and agriculture is good for the fu-ture of our state.”

The mission of the FFA is to develop premier leadership, personal growth and career success through Agricultural Education. Georgia FFA is the 3rd largest state association with more than 37,000 student members and 290 chapters engaged in agri-culturally based activities throughout the state. For more information FFA, visit http://georgiaffa.org.

State Convention continued from page 3

Volume 4, Issue 1

Ashlyn Tomlin—West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter

COMMERCE, GA – The Area II FFA Banquet was held

on May 14th at the Commerce Civic Center. This an-

nual event serves as a time for FFA members from

schools in Area II to come together to receive

awards from throughout the year as well as electing

Area FFA Officers. West Jackson Middle FFA mem-

bers attending the Area II Banquet were Peyton

Puckett, Hannah White, Madyson McDaniel, Kevin

Velez, and Charlie Brooksher. Madyson McDaniel

and Charlie Brooksher were both awarded Gold

medals for their Livestock Care Recordbooks. Kevin

Velez received a plaque and $25 reward for placing

second in the Area II Reporter’s Book competition.

In addition, the WJMS FFA Chapter was also recog-

nized for winning first place in the Area II FFA

Week Observance Award which also went on to be

chosen as the State Winner at the State FFA Conven-

tion in April.

WJMS FFA Members Honored at Area

FFA Banquet


In May, interviews were held to elect the slate of 2015-2016 West Jackson Middle FFA Officers. These offic-ers were chosen based on their application, interview, overall appearance in FFA Official Dress, and in-volvement in FFA. Since these officers were chosen at the end of the school year, we would like to take this time to introduce these leaders and give some information about them so that everyone can get to know them better.

President: Savannah Van Buren

Grade: 8th

Hobbies/Interests: Play instruments, draw

Favorite FFA Event: Discovery Confer-ence

Something people might not know about Savannah: She had open heart surgery when she was a baby

Vice President: Hannah White

Grade: 8th

Hobbies/Interests: Writing, painting, traveling, and FFA

Favorite Food: Tacos

Something people might not know about Hannah: She is afraid of snakes

Secretary: Alyssa Bradley

Grade: 7th

Hobbies/Interests: Horse jumping, learning to barrel race

Favorite FFA event: Horse judging

Something people might not know about Alyssa: She knows Luke Bryan and Brantley Gilbert

Reporter: Ashlyn Tomlin

Grade: 8th

Favorite food: Pizza or macaroni and cheese

Favorite FFA events: Georgia National fair

Something people might not know about Ashlyn: She can wiggle her ears without touching them

Volume 4, Issue 1

Meet Your 2015-2016 WJMS FFA Officer Team


In May, interviews were held to elect the slate of 2015-2016 West Jackson Middle FFA Officers. These offic-ers were chosen based on their application, interview, overall appearance in FFA Official Dress, and in-volvement in FFA. Since these officers were chosen at the end of the school year, we would like to take this time to introduce these leaders and give some information about them so that everyone can get to know them better.

Volume 4, Issue 1

Meet Your 2015-2016 WJMS FFA Officer Team

Treasurer: Madyson McDaniel

Grade: 7th

Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese

Favorite FFA event: State Convention

Something you might not know about Madyson: On her first year of showing cattle, she fell and had to get stitches on her knee.

Sentinel: Charlie Brooksher

Grade: 7th

Hobbies/Interests: Showing cows, hunting, and fishing

Favorite food: Dove

One thing Charlie is looking for-ward to doing this year: Livestock judging

Jr. Representative: Garrett Bryson

Grade: 7th

Favorite food: Pizza

Favorite FFA events: SAE

Something people don’t know about Garrett: He plays the piano


WJMS FFA Officers Attend Leadership Retreat

By: Ashlyn Tomlin – West Jack-son Middle FFA Reporter

The 2015-2016 West Jackson Middle FFA Officer Team partici-pated in a leadership retreat on June 22nd-25th, 2015. The retreat was organized by WJMS and EJMS FFA Advisors, April Davis and Kate Wooten, and took place at Kate Wooten’s family lake house on Lake Hartwell in Mar-tin, Georgia.

The 2015-2016 West Jackson Middle FFA Officer Team in-cludes President – Savannah Van Buren, Vice President – Hannah White, Secretary – Alyssa Brad-ley , Treasurer - Madyson McDaniel , Reporter – Ashlyn Tomlin, Sentinel – Charlie Brooksher , and Jr. Representa-tive - Garrett Bryson.

This was the first event of their

year of service, and while at the retreat, the WJMS FFA Officer Team completed the year’s cal-endar of events, organized the Program of Activities, participat-ed in team building initiatives, and set goals for themselves and the WJMS FFA Chapter.

“The officer retreat is the first time the new WJMS FFA officer team had the opportunity to work together, and it is essential for planning the upcoming

year’s events”, according to WJMS FFA Advisor, April Davis. President, Savannah Van Buren, stated “My favorite thing about the officer retreat was water tubing. It was very fun and slightly terrifying.”

Any student at West Jackson Middle School can join FFA! Con-tact April Davis at [email protected] for more information and details.

West Jackson Middle FFA mem-ber Savannah Page recently ex-hibited her swine projects at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa on June 1st through 6th. Each year, 20,000 pork produc-ers and other professionals make World Pork Expo the world's largest pork-specific trade show and swine show. There were nearly 1,000 junior exhibitors (who have not reached their 21st birthday as of January 1) that exhibit-ed nearly 2500 head of purebred and cross breeding gilts and mar-ket barrows.

With all of that competition, Jackson County’s own Savannah Page received Reserve Grand Champion Hampshire Breeding Gilt honors and went on to be named the Fifth Overall National Junior Swine Association Pure-

WJMS FFA Member Competes in National Show

bred Gilt. Savannah also re-ceived first place honors with her Yorkshire Breeding Gilt and second place honors with her Crossbred Breeding Gilt. Moreo-ver, Savannah was on the Re-serve Champion Junior Live-

stock Judging Team and placed 9th Over-all in the NJSA Sweepstakes Compe-tition which com-bines all of her activi-ties and placings throughout the week.

Savannah is the daughter of Phil and Christy Page of Jef-ferson, GA

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Volume 4, Issue 1

The Area II Rally will be held at the FFA Camp in Covington, GA on September 10th & 11th.

The Rally is a fun way to kick off the new year of FFA activities. While at the Rally, FFA members will get the opportunity to experience the Blob, the Muddy Obstacle Course, the BIG slip and slide, leadership opportunities, and much more that the camp has to offer.

In addition, the event will end with the Chapter of the Year Program and highlight the middle school and high school chapters that excelled during the 2014-2015 school year.

The cost for the Region Rally is $40 which in-cludes an overnight stay at the camp and meals. Any FFA member interested in attending the rally needs to get a packet from Mrs. Davis ASAP! Forms and money are due back by Friday, August 21st. We can only take 15 FFA members to Re-gion Ral-ly, so be sure to sign up early! Please see Mrs. Davis for more de-tails.

What: FFA Meeting

Who: ANYONE can attend! (even if you have not joined FFA yet)

Where: Meet in the Ag room

Time: 3:30 to 5:00

Cost: $3

What to bring: Swimsuit with shorts & shirt to wear over it and towel and your permission form!

The first FFA meeting of the year will be held on Thursday, August 20th from 3:30 to 5:00. This meet-ing is different than any meeting we have had before because we will have an INFLATABLE WATER SLIDE and other water games!

Anyone can attend (even if you have not joined FFA yet). The cost for this event is $3, and you MUST have a permission form to attend!

August FFA Meeting: Back to School Bash!

Area II Rally—September 10th & 11th Advisor’s Message

***NOTE: You MUST have a signed permission form and

$3 to attend this event!

Hi! I’m Mrs. Davis, and I am the Agrscience Teacher and FFA Advisor for West Jackson Mid-dle School. The other officers and I met for a summer plan-ning retreat in June, and we made lots of exciting plans for the upcoming school year. I hope that you will be as in-volved in participating in these events as we were in planning them!

Step one of being an involved FFA member is being there! You have to start by joining FFA. FFA membership only lasts one year, so if you were a member last year, you will pay again this year. Dues are $12 just to join or $20 to join and get the new WJMS FFA Tshirt!

Step two of becoming an involved FFA member is to get informed! Check out our monthly newsletters, an-nouncements at school, follow us on Instagram @wjmsffa, and like us on Facebook! There is no excuse for “not knowing “ about something because we aim to keep you very informed. :)

Step three is finding something you like and running with it! There is something for everyone in FFA! Wheth-er you’re into plants, animals, helping others, leader-ship, or something equally as awesome, FFA has a place for you! See me or any of the FFA officers for help choosing your place in this wonderful organization!

West Jackson Middle FFA FFA Membership—How to join

Any student at West Jackson Middle School is able to join FFA! You do not have to wait to be in an agriculture class before you join. Example: You can join FFA on the first day of school and not have agriculture class until Janu-ary. Stop by the Ag Room to pick up a membership form. If you were an FFA member last year, you must join again for this year. Your dues pay for 1 year of membership.

FFA Dues are $12 or you can pay $20 to cover dues & get the NEW WJMS FFA Tshirt! The new Tshirt design will be available on the next newsletter, so stay tuned!

West Jackson Middle School

400 Gum Springs Church Rd

Jefferson, GA 30549

Phone: 706-654-2775

Extension: 503

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: wjmsffa.wix.com/wjmsffa

WJMS FFA Participation Points and Awards WJMS FFA members will earn points for every event and activity they partic-ipate in. Members can earn points for attending FFA meetings, participating in Career Development Events, taking part in community service projects, attending leadership conferences, participating in FFA Week festivities, and more!

Members can earn points through the month of April. At the WJMS FFA Ban-quet at the end of April , the members of each grade level with the highest amount of participation points will earn an Outstanding Member plaque and cash award.

Important: members should be sure to sign in at every FFA event they attend in order to get credit for participating. Please see our Secretary, Alyssa Brad-ley, if you have any questions.

Checkout West Jackson Middle FFA online!

Website: wjmsffa.wix.com/wjmsffa

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wjmsffa

Instagram: www.instagram.com/wjmsffa#

FFA Day at the Georgia National Fair—October 13th

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct 13th ***BUT you must have your permission form turned in and a project registered by Sept 16th!

WHERE: Georgia National Fair in Perry, GA

HOW: Only students with projects registered at the Georgia National Fair can attend

COST: $25

Minibooths (informational booths about plants, forestry, natural re-sources, or wildlife; can be individual or with a partner)

Ag Mechanics Projects (could include metal projects, woodworking, or PVC and MUST include a project plan and materials list)

Floriculture Contest (practice after school with Mrs. Davis and the floricul-ture team to learn to identify common plants)

Want to earn an invitation to FFA Day at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, GA??

GET INVOLVED!

If you would like to attend the FFA Day at the Fair trip, you must be involved in one of the contests that go on there.

The FFA Day at the Fair trip includes a leadership rally and a day of rides at one of the largest fairs in the southeast!

All events for the Georgia National Fair MUST be registered online (by Mrs. Davis) by September 16th, and if you are inter-ested in competing minibooths and ag me-chanics projects MUST be completed by October 1st so that they can be delivered before the fair starts).

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