D4B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 9, 1998 hbh BUILDINGIHE FUTURE William F. Kirk, far left, senior vice president of the DuPont Agricultural Enterprise and FFA alumni, and Jim Borel, far right, vice president and general manager, DuPont Crop Protection Products, show their commitment to the National FFA Organization with a check for $250,000. Receiving the check are, center, from left, 1998 FFA officers Mark Wilburn, central region vice president, and Hillary Smith, president. ALEXANDRIA, Va. - DuPont Agricultural Enterprise recently awarded a gift of $250,000 toward the purchase of land and construction of the new National FFA Center in Indianapolis, Ind. The National FFA Founda tion has now raised $4.5 million, including $lOO,OOO plus gifts from American Cyanamid Company - Agricultural Prod ucts Division, Case Corporation, DuPont Agricultural Enterprise, Dow AgroSciences, Eli Lilly and Company Foundation on behalf of Elanco Animal Health, Farmland Industries, IMC Global, John Deere, The Lilly Endowment, Novartis, Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Purina Mills. "DuPont recognizes young people are the key to continued growth and effectiveness of American agriculture," said William F. Kirk, senior vice president, DuPont Agricultural Enterprise. "As a business, we are forced to look 5 to 10 years into the future to prepare busi ness systems and people compe tencies to meet the needs of the marketplace. American agricul ture also needs to be prepared with the right people in place with the knowledge and skills to meet the-growing agricultural demands. Programs like FFA's capital campaign provide avenues for young people to become farmers, scientists, com munity leaders and employees to provide leadership in the industry." James C. Borel, vice presi dent and general manger, crop protection, added, "I appreciate the value of programs like the capitol campaign deliver to young people and I have seen first hand how their leadership directly benefits the productivi ty of American agriculture and American business. It is the responsibility of all of us in the industry to help provide a foun dation for our leaders to grow from." Charles Fischer, vice presi dent of Dow AgroSciences in North America and 1998 Sponsors' Board chairman, explained, "Every dollar invest ed in the Capital Campaign does make a difference. Be assured that your gift as an individual chapter, company or foundation does help young people succeed. You will make a difference. You will change lives." The total goal for the cam paign, which takes its theme, "I Believe in the Future," from the FFA Creed, is $8 million. The funds will be used to provide for the land, building, move, tech nology and other elements need ed to make the center a reality. The National FFA Foundation, Inc.'s, goal is $5 million from corporate, foundation and indi vidual sponsors and FFA's goal is $3 million including the sale of the FFA's land in Virginia. Individuals or companies interested in learning more about the "I Believe in the Future" campaign should con tact the National FFA Foundation either by phone: (608) 829-3105 or fax: (608) 829- 3195. Kennard-Dale FFA Wins At Regionals On Tuesday, April 7, a group of nine FFA members from the Kennard-Dale chapter readied themselves for a competition at the Regional FFA Parliamentary Procedure and Public Speaking Contest held at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. The team would endure approximately 20 minutes of parliamentary procedure with FFA members from other com peting teams trying to catch them in a mistake. The one speaker would receive a subject, prepare a five to seven minute speech in a half hour time frame, and present it to a judge with as many as eight other FFA members from the regions. The Parliamentary Procedure Team was made up of nine students ranging from the ages of 14 to 17. Christina Cypriotis, Travis Moore, Kristina McElwain, Heather McElwain, Lacie Watkins, Brandon Webb, Joe Marslett, Susan Richardson, and alter nate Julia Hayes , prepared for this contest by practicing and winning the York County and Adams, Franklin, and York Area FFA competi tions. Kristina McElwain, the Elizabethtown FFA officer team. From left, Ali Boutorabi, Sean Harnish, Denise Bollinger, John Hess, Jessie Espenshade, Kelly Nichols, Nicole Eisenhower, Jason Wagner, Jenny Ruhl, and Amy Brandt. Elizabethtown FFA On Wednesday, April 15, the Elizabethtown FFA had its 39th annual FFA Awards Banquet. During this evening, mem bers of the FFA were recognized for their outstanding achieve ments throughout the past year. Some freshmen earned their Greenhand degree, which is the first degree an FFA member can earn. Two recipients earned the prestigious Star Greenhand degree for their extra efforts and dedication. Other members earned their Chapter degrees, the second degree a member strives for. One senior earned the Star Chapter Farmer and another earned the Star Chapter Agribusinessman for their outstanding efforts. Two seniors earned their Keystone degrees, which is the highest degree at the state level. All degree recipients possessed the necessary qualifications for their specific degrees such as leadership abilities and progres sion of an agricultural career. Awards were presented to the three highest salesman of this year's Holiday Sales. The Holiday Sale is the chapter's main fundraiser and items such as candles, fruit, and bologna are sold. Zach Germack has been the top salesman for the past three years. Many members were honored for their participation on the state and national judging teams. Members of the Poultry Judging team competed at Springfield, Mass., last fall, win ing first place overall. Members of the Dairy Food Team compet ed at Kansas City, Mo., earning gold honors. Also, proficiency awards were given to members who displayed talents in certain areas or who devoted a lot of time to one aspect of agriculture, such as wildlife, diversified ani mal production, and agricultural salesmanship. The new assistant principal, Dr. Donald Donley, presented the Dekalb Achievement Award extemporaneous speaker, also competed in these contests to receive an invitation to the regional contest. Kristina McElwain won first place in the Extemporaneous speaking contest. The Kennard- Dale team placed first after vying with four other teams for the honor. All of these students will be attending the Pennsylvania State FFA Convention in June to compete for an opportunity to attend the National FFA competition held in Kansas City, Mo. to a senior who plans on attend ing college for agriculture and who has had a good scholastic background. Every year the Elizabeth town FFA presents the Blue and Gold Award to an individual or local organization which has helped the chapter in various ways. This year Masonic Homes was presented this award for their continued support since the early 1980 s. One way they helped students was by offering non-farm agriculture students the opportunity to raise and show a dairy cow at the In the photo at Heidelberg Castle, Heidelberg, Germany are Pennsylvania State FFA officers, from left, Dale Thomas, Nick! Over, Kelly Horton (tour leader), Cathy Fyock, and Phil Eby. Local Youth Experiences International Agriculture Philip Eby of Gap recently spent two weeks in Germany learning about agriculture on an international level. Eby was one of 61 participants from across the nation to participate in the 1998 International Leadership Seminar for State Officers (ILSSO) coordinated by the National FFA Organization. The officers attended various agricultural events and tours in Germany. Some of the agricul tural experiences that the stu dents had were visiting an agri cultural cooperative and a vari ety of farms and agribusinesses and many chances to try new food. After sightseeing in the area, the seminar continued on to nearby Grossenhain, where many students enjoyed the high light of their program: a host family stay. Each FFA member gained knowledge and understanding of German life and agriculture, and made lifelong friends while staying with their host families. Participants had the opportuni ty to see how German farm fam ilies live and work, and explored the similarities and differences to American agriculture. They visited a "Collective Farm" in the former East Germany as well as other research and uni versity-related agricultural sites. A visit to nearby Buchen wald, a concentration camp dur- Elizabethtown Fair. More recently, Masonic Homes has helped the chapter with the Regional Career Development Livestock Judging Competition which is held at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds. The Homes provided the steers, lambs, and hogs, helped set up pens, and ran the contest for 125 eastern region FFA members. Frank Stoltzfus was present at the banquet to accept the award on behalf of Masonic Homes. The program closed with retiring officer awards and senior speeches. ing World War 11, was also a memorable part of the tour. The main focus of the ILSSO Seminar is the annual Greenweek Expo in Berlin, Germany. This world-class exposition draws more than 100,000 visitors per day, and features machinery, livestock, and agricultural products from around the world. Participants met and talked with young farmers from the European Community, met with the United States ambassador to Germany, and saw the sights of Berlin. The International Leadership Seminar for State Officers is offered each year for current or past state FFA officers who have a strong background in leader ship and agriculture, as well as an interest in expanding their knowledge of other cultures throughout the world. The 1999 ILSSO is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 5-19, 1999. If you are interested in participating in this seminar or any other agri cultural world experience pro grams, please contact FFA International Programs at (703) 360-3600 or visit our homepage at http://www.ffa.org and then click on International Programs. Free international participant information packets or interna tional hostiqg information pack ets are available on all interna tional programs by calling toll free (888) 332-7853.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers