By Karringten Castro
Special to The PREVIEW
National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Week is coming upon us soon, as it starts on Feb. 17 and goes till Feb. 24.
National FFA Organization organizes a theme every year for the National FFA Week. The week will consist of sponsoring the agriculture education. The FFA mission is: “FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”
FFA in my words is a new learning experience for students who are interested in the agriculture business.
Earlier in December of 2017, our FFA chapter got the privilege of meeting two of the state’s FFA officers: Cassie Franks, who is the vice president, and Dillion Roesch, the state sentinel. They really brought into perspective about getting out of our comfort zone and trying new things when they came. I believe that FFA is overlooked and thought of as just a club. It’s more than that; it’s about meeting new people and making a difference in the world.
This year, the theme for FFA is, “I can. We will.” This message really jumps out to me and makes me realize how much you can do by yourself, but, if everyone works together, how much more we can really do and make a difference.
I, Karringten Castro, am the secretary for our FFA chapter here at Pagosa Springs High School. We all know how small our town is, so our FFA chapter is pretty small. FFA is something that I have always looked forward to. I couldn’t wait to be a part of it. As a student, I am a junior at PSHS. The FFA organization has changed me and given me different perspectives on different things. I have learned and seen new information. Most people think of agriculture as just farmers, but it is a lot more than that. Being in FFA has shaped me to be a better person and a better leader. I have learned and seen new skills that I haven’t used before.
I have always wanted to be a leader in something that means a lot to me. I learned from fellow FFA leaders about being a district officer. As I heard about this, I thought about it and I am interested in running for one of the offices. Running for one of the positions as a district officer will be a new experience for me.
My FFA group has been talking about going to the National FFA Convention for a while now. This year, we are going to make it happen and we couldn’t be more excited. It isn’t a easy process to get there, though. We have to raise about $3,000 to get us to nationals. That is just the cost for one person. The convention is in Indianapolis. We would get to listen to many speakers, meet the new FFA officers of 2018 and get to see many new sites.
Pagosa Springs is a small town and many of us kids in FFA have not been far out of Pagosa. Getting the chance to go to an event this big will be a great experience for my FFA group. There are students from all over that attend the convention. There will be around 60,000 people or more. By that number, you can tell how big this is.
My FFA group has started a chicken dinner. Last year, this dinner was a big hit and many people are already asking about it. This year, we will also have fish. The fish that we will be selling are from our greenhouse that we have put together. However, there is a limited amount of fish. We do a pre-order form on how many people want chickens. We then prepare all this food for you to have a yummy dinner. You get a choice of two sides that will come with your chicken or fish. The sides that you can choose from are a bag of chips, beans or potato salad. We will have a certain date for pick up of your order. We have set a date where and when you can pick up your dinner.
The pickup will be on Feb. 17 at Ponderosa Hardware. It will start at 2 p.m. and go until 5:30 p.m. Thank you for giving me your attention.
