Director Tells FFA Members
(Continued from Page A3O) them, “When was the last time in
class you were dazzled?”
The GSPA director told the stu
dents that if tomorrow Steven
Spielberg, the famous Hollywood
Him director, would phone and
talk to him, Deen would be
“dazzled.”
“Celebrate who you are in light
of what you have been given,” he
said. “Give yourself away.”
As he steps down from teaching,
Deen told them, “Ninety-eight per
cent of the time I love what I
teach,” he said. “Do you know how
it is to leave what you still enjoy?”
Deen told a story of one student,
a boy who had a behavior problem.
He worked on a farm, day in and
out, from ninth grade until his
senior year. He was an FFA mem
ber. He went from misbehaving in
four years to being one of four gra
duation commencement speakers.
He learned to be an eagle. Deen
remembers the boy’s mother who
almost passed out from joy and
disbelief when she saw her son
speaking during graduation
ceremonies.
Deen told FFA members to treat
others like you want them to treat
you energize them. He told
them to keep mentally, physically,
and spiritually fit. Invest yourself
in the lives of other people. And
turn your weaknesses into
strengths.
let anybody make you old before
your time.”
He also told them to develop a
afrie of compassion. One student
dSLiUass of his was always chang
ing his hair color. One time it was
blue, then it was pink, then it was
yellow. The student came in with
earrings in all sorts of places: on
the lips, nose, ear, just all over.
Deen asked the student why he
wore so many earrings and the stu
dent replied, “just for fun.” While
Deen didn’tnecessarily approve of
the earrings, he never criticized the
student for wearing them.
FFA’ers should learn to develop
an inner strength, one that says, “I
know why I’m here. I know where
I’m gcjig.” Deen also told them to
“fingerprint” other people’s lives
as a leader and team player.
told them a story. One time
introduced to a blind person
learning braille. When she met
him, she asked Deen if she could
“feel” his face. Reluctantly, Deen
allowed her to slowly, she
worked her fingers over his fore
head, the eyebrows, down across
the eyelids, over top of the nose,
and down his face. She said to him,
“I can tell you are a kind person.
All the lines (on your face) go up.
With unhappy people, the lines
droop down.”
Deen said young people should
leant to celebrate life more. One
word has faded from general use,
he said: “razzle-dazzle.” He asked
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FFA Activities
A low ropes course organized
and operated by Ben Ehrhart, Nar-
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von, provided team challenges for
the FFA members.
Included in these group activi
ties, which help develop commu
nication, group planning, decision
making, goal setting, and other
important life skills, was the zig
zag, a method to use lumber to
traverse the ground. Also included
were the Amazon, where one indi
vidual walks a gangplank and uses
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a stick of wood to retrieve a pail;
the spider web, where individuals
must cooperate with the group to
successfully thread a difficult rope
maze; and magic boots, where
individuals work together to
traverse a distance.
Other workshops were held. In
one, Dan Kreider and Charles
Aurentz, both of Cedar Crest,
coordinated a reporter session on
how to submit stories for publica-
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don. Others included president and
vice president leadership dudes,
and secretary, treasurer, reporter,
photography, and other leadership
training sessions.
Career booths included the Pen
nsylvania Game Commission, the
Fish and Boat Commission, Mary
land University Institute of
Applied Agriculture, Pa. Bureau of
Forestry, and Cobleskill College.
LEADERSHIP
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