Hard Work Brings Success To Top Two Pa. Teens LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Fanning Staff BESSEMER (Lawrence Co.) — Two friends, Robert Hodge and Edward Clark, were jubilant when named FFA regional winners, but when each achieved the State Star Award, ecstacy reigned. To have two state wins from the same FFA chapter is incredible. Larry Redding, director of the Department of Ag Education, said that 234 students who had received Keystone Degrees were eligible to compete for the State Star Degrees. Only three percent of the ag students received Keystone Degrees, for which students need to accumulate credit over a four year period. Both winners attribute much of their success to their Mohawk FFA advisor, Clifford Wellis, who is a stickler for keeping project records. “Keeping records is the secret to success in business, too,” said Robert Hodge, the State Star Agri business winner. Edward Clark, the State Star Farmer, emphasized that record keeping on die farm was also instrumental in helping him win. Robert Hodge Hodge had his start in the busi ness world while in sixth grade. He recalled that a neighbor gave him a bicycle in exchange for his help in building a livestock fence. The neighbor, who was in sales for a local fcedmill, encouraged Hodge to sell bird feed. At first, Hodge purchased the feed in 100-pound bags and repackaged them in 10-pound bags that he sold to friends and neighbors. Soon he realized that more money could be made if he mixed the feed himself. Hodge custom blended bird feed according to his customers’ wants. He said a higher Robert Hodge owns and operates Rob’s Feed and Supp ly, which he began In the sixth grade. Last year, he sold more than 20,000 pounds of bird seed. Robert’s skills Include shop activities. He built his own trailer for his lawn mowing business. quality bird feed, with sunflower seeds, millet, and cracked com, attracts song birds. He sold about 500 pounds of bird feed that fust year. Impressed with the marketabili ty of pet foods, Hodge decided to open up his own store. Nearby was an unused, dilapi dated township building. Hodge convinced township officials to let him use the building in exchange for painting it and mowing the township grass. In December 1986, Hodge opened his store with supplies for farm animals, pets, and birds. He also purchased a mower to do cus tom mowing for businesses. Soon he needed to purchase a truck and trailers to move the mowing equipment. The Hodge family has a 106-acre farm in Bessemer. Ron and Eleanor Hodge, the parents, own a farm supply company. The family does crop farming on about 200 acres. They buy and sell grain, fertilizer, beef cattle, and a few pigs. Hodge’s store took a change in operation when an orchard grower and Hodge combined apple sales with bird feed at local stores. Hodge talked to every grocery store in the area and sold 10 tons of bird feed last year. He would like to contact urban area stores where he believes sales would be consis tent year around. “Grocery stores look for an attractive package but cheaper quality,” Hodge said. He mixes com, wheat, and milo with a cement mixer. Hodge moved his supplies into his dad’s business and now con centrates more on wholesale sales to other stores. ‘The store' is not located in an area where most peo ple drive through every day, but most farmers know about the store,” Hodge said. Although farm responsibilities often prevent Ed from joining his friends for recrea tion, Ed said, “What I’m doing is more Important than having a good time. I never want to give up farming.” For the first time ever, two students from the same FFA chapter won both the State Star farmer and the State Star Agribusiness Award. Edward Clark and Robert Hodge will compete for the regional U.S. title, and If successful there, they will be eligible for the national title. Robert Hodge Is shown above. Hodge said that it is necessary for him to keep inventory. The problem he faces as a small busi ness is that he must order bags at least 3,000 at a time. Because he uses different size bags for bird, dog, cat, rabbit, chicken, horse and cow feed, it requires a large inven tory of bags. “I like dealing with people and store managers. The most fun is delivering and picking up feed, ” he said. Hodge has advertized his busi ness in the area’s small shopper paper, a local newspaper, and in the yellow pages. Like many businessmen, Hodge had a customer who ran up credit and did not pay. He took her to court over the $6OO bill, but said that it looks like she is not able to pay the amount owed, so he will need to settle for less. “Now my advice to anyone whc wants credit is to go to the bank that’s what they are for,” Hodge said. For those who want to start up their own business, Hodge stresses the importance of keeping good records, maintaining sufficient inventory, and keeping the store display attractive. “You’ve got to let people know that you are inter ested in selling. Be serious. If you Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 26, 1991-B3 aren’t, people won’t take you seri ously and they’ll go someplace else,” he said. “In business, you need a good personality, ability to work with people, ability to handle problems, and a sense of humor,” Hodge added. The 18-year-old enjoys observ ing people and getting a feel for the way he should present himself. He said that bird feed sales is largely dependent upon the weath er, He said, ‘This year, we haven’t had much snow, so sales are down.” In the past, Hodge has won FFA salesmanship contests in area and regional competitions where he was graded on his ability to organ ize, his knowledge of the subject, his ability to write a sales slip, and make change. wmestead tA/ofas “FFA is a great way to learn record keeping, parlimentary pro cedure, and leadership,” Hodge said. Now that Hodge has won state competition, he will compete for the Eastern U.S. region. For that competition, contestants from the U.S. are divided into four regions. The winners from these four reg ions will compete in Kansas for the national staragribusinessman title. While Hodge, who is chapter FFA president, is finishing his final year of high school, he is tak ing liberal art courses at the Beaver County Community College. He is working toward a degree in avionics. “I like to be busy. I hate to sit around,” Hodge said of his busy schedule. (Turn to Page B 5)
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