Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

South Dakota 2008-2009 state FFA officer team, left to right: Josh Johnson, reporter; Shane Gross, treasurer; Shad Christman, vice president; Maria Skoglund, sentinel; Wyatt DeJong, secretary; Brian Gottlob, president; and Marie Jaacks, executive secretary; put on three State FFA Leadership Camps in July. Tri-State Neighbor photo by Lura Roti

New friends, personal goals, self confidence and service to others are just a few things the 2008-2009 South Dakota state FFA officer team hope FFA members take home with them after attending one of three State FFA Leadership Camps this July.

“Whether a chapter member or chapter officer, FFA camp can bring a student a lot of things. It's their choice to grab what they can,” said Maria Skoglund, 18, state FFA sentinel from Canova, S.D. “As officers we do our best to prepare and develop materials that teach goal setting, chapter involvement and writing personal mission statements, that students can keep with them throughout the year. FFA camp doesn't stop after three days. What you learn here stays with you.”

Skoglund is one of six state FFA officers selected this spring to serve a one-year term serving South Dakota's more than 80 FFA chapters and 3,500 members throughout the state.

She and her team developed the camp curriculum to encompass personal growth, leadership development and community service in a fun and hands-on way that high school students can relate to.

The three leadership camps were held at Camp NeSoDak, Waubay, S.D., July 1-3, and Camp Bob Marshall, Custer, S.D., July 9-12 and 13-16. More than 225 FFA members attended the three camps.

“Camp has been an excellent experience. Just meeting all the people and learning excellent leadership skills to take back to my FFA (chapter),” said Bradley Cihak, 16, Bon Homme FFA Chapter sentinel.”

Cihak says that although he lives in town, he joined the FFA because ever since he could walk he spent as much time as he could at his grandma's and uncle's farm.

“You don't have to live on a farm to be in the FFA and be successful,” said Olivia Siglin, 15, Webster FFA Chapter secretary. “FFA is really diverse. There is different things for different people. Some people are interested in cattle, others are into flowers, nursery and landscaping - basically you can do anything that interests you.”

Siglin adds that although she came to FFA camp with several friends from her high school, she enjoys the breakout groups where she gets to know FFA members from high school agriculture education programs throughout the state. Each breakout group is led by one of the six state officers.

Shane Gross, 18, state FFA treasurer from Tulare, S.D., says that the small groups give him and his teammates the opportunity to really get to know FFA members. He says that when he was a member, getting to know the state officers helped him become more confident.

“I was the shy kid. When I came to FFA leadership camp, I just sat there and went through the motions,” Gross said. “The FFA and state officers helped me become more comfortable with getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people - just to be a more outgoing person. As a member, I remember the state officers would always come and talk to me ... as a shy kid that meant a lot to me.”

Marie Jaacks, state FFA executive secretary, says that helping high school students find out who they are and discover their potential, are two important goals of FFA leadership camp.

“One thing that is very important here at leadership camp is for them to find themselves and find their leadership niche in their community and in their state,” Jaacks said.

To accomplish this goal, the officer team helps walk FFA members through personal development projects, like developing their own mission statement and writing SMART goals - goals that are specific, measurable, action-orientated, reasonable and timely.

“At FFA leadership camp, we really work on personal development, not only leadership skills, but also different skills in terms of what they can actually do with the FFA program and career development events,” said Brian Gottlob, 18, state FFA president from Salem, S.D. “We want to teach them about the different opportunities that are possible through the FFA and about themselves.”

Service to others and their home communities is also a large focus of the three-day camp. Members were encouraged to work with their local chapters to develop ideas on how they can serve their local communities, then they shared these ideas with members from other high schools and developed a plan of action to implement their ideas once they return from camp.

“The big thing we are focused on right now is community service,” said Josh Johnson, 17, state FFA reporter from Harrisburg, S.D. “If we all do community service and take it back to our home chapters, we can start a ripple effect that will impact our community, state and entire country.”

Johnson says that when he and his team developed the curriculum for leadership camp, members were the motivation behind everything they did - from fun activities and the camp theme “Band Together Start a Revolution,” to workshops and reflections.

“Camp is for everyone. Not just for officers. It is for every FFA member to get to know who they are as an individual and how as an individual they can impact their chapter,” Johnson said. “Every member has a special role whether they know it or not. We want to make sure that every member finds that role.”

Putting their words into action, all camp attendees worked on a service project during their time at camp. Some groups cleaned up the grounds, while other made repairs on cabins and weeded gardens.

“I believe that service is one of the very important parts of the FFA,” said Shad Christman, 18, state FFA vice president from Lemmon, S.D. “We are an ag-focused organization. Community service helps us establish that connection with our community that allows our communities to better understand what we do and that we are more than cows, sows and plows - we can extend a helping hand to others.”

Previously known as the Future Farmers of America, the National FFA Organization has more than 500,000 members nationwide. To be involved in the FFA, students must be enrolled in agriculture education classes at a junior high or high school.

When members head back to school this fall, the state officer team will continue to inspire personal growth and leadership development among the state's FFA members by visiting all schools with FFA chapters in the state and hosting workshops.

“The FFA has so much to offer students,” said Wyatt DeJong, 18, state FFA secretary from Kennebec, S.D. “As a member, the FFA opened so many opportunities for me as far as leadership positions and what I learned from the career development events I was involved in. I want to help members discover their own opportunities.”