Collegiate FFA Meeting 9/23

At our latest meeting the swelled ranks of the FFA welcomed even more new members, some good news, and whole bunch of ice cream. Almost everybody brought toppings, and despite the fact that no one appreciates the dessert potential of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, we had a lot of fun and got to know each other a bit. We also managed to get a bit of business done before descending on the sugar.

• Greenhouse: Yes, at long last, the greenhouse has been planted! At least part of it. We now have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and cucumbers all set up for fall growth. We still hope to expand on that supply (maybe try some hydroponics) as the season progresses. In the mean time we'll be establishing a rotation of members to go in and check on things a few times a week. The lights and irrigation will be automatic, so for now members will just need to make sure everything is working, and healthy. This will be more important later on, when we have some produce to pick.
• Reminder of events:
• Hands of Hope- this Saturday, Sept. 28, 7-10:30 am. This is a really cool volunteer opportunity for us. If you need a ride, just ask. Carpooling is good for the environment, friends!
• Hike to the N- Oct. 5, 7 am. Don't be a sissy, hiking is fun. Crisp fall air, fun people...
• Ag in the Classroom- Oct. 10, 7:30-11:30 am. We may be needed to help with random stuff, or to run a booth. We get to expose young people to the wonders of  agriculture.
• Tailgating- Nov 16 & 30. Finally, an event that doesn't require setting an early alarm! This means that I expect everyone to be there!
• Dues need to be turned in at our next meeting.
• Next meeting, Oct 7, 7:30 in the usual spot.

Thank you, avid readers! Do all those things! As always, feel free to ask questions or offer suggestions. We are always looking for social and service events.

First Meeting, Fall 2013

Collegiate FFA had its first meeting this Monday, September 9. It was jolly good fun. Our ranks swelled with new recruits, and though we tried to scare them away with oddness and teasing, they seem to be tough. Which is good, since we have a lot for them to do.

• Greenhouse setup Sept 21 & 22
• We'll clean the place up, then plant. Don't worry, we'll let you go before the game starts. Sign up to help if you can.
• Community Service: Hands of Hope Food Bank  Sept. 28, 7:00 am
• Prepare boxes of food, bring them to the cars. It'll be a few hours only, and we can set up carpools if needed.
• Group events:
• Hike to the N- Oct. 5, 7:00 am. Just for fun.
• Tailgating- Nov 16th and 30th
• Other things in the works include pumpkin carving and bingo night.
• Urban roots job openings: you would plant greenhouses, work with the students, etc. Get contact info from Christy.
• Dues are $10 per person, we need them by October.

Next meeting Sept. 23, 7:30 in the Deans Conference room of FA. And...it's an ICE CREAM SOCIAL!!! We'll bring the ice cream, you bring the toppings. And enthusiasm. Not that it's hard to be enthusiastic about FFA at any time, but ice cream makes it easier still. So, yeah... Be there.

If you want to sign up for something, or if you are terribly confused by the content of this post, feel free to contact someone who knows what's up. You can comment here, or on our Facebook page, or send a message through email or text. Any complaints can be directed to the circular filing cabinet.

Thanks all!

And They're Off...

Hello all! Here we are again, sitting on the precipice of another year of FFA awesomeness. Awesomeness which you, lucky reader, can be a part of. Our first official meeting for the year will be on Monday, September 9th in the Dean's Conference room of the Fleischmann Ag building. Come, meet our new people, put your name down on some papers... Yeah. It'll be a party.

In the mean time, here are some things for you to consider and possibly help out with.

• ASUN Club fair on Friday, Aug. 30 in the quad. We could use a few people to come out and help us recruit new members. 4-7 pm.
• CABNR club fair on Wednesday, Sept. 4. 1-2:30. Same goes, come to help or look around.
• We'll be doing a fall garden in the greenhouse and setting up a market of sorts on campus. Just so you know. We'll talk about it more at the meeting.
• Bring your ideas for service activities or club events to the meeting. We'd love to hear your ideas.

Again, our first meeting is Sept. 9 at 7:30 pm. Be there!

Recent Awesomeness on the FFA Front

 

I have for you a few little announcements, then a really BIG one which will probably consume a whole bloated paragraph because it is just so exciting. But don't skip these first ones. An announcement's an announcement, no matter how small...

 

1) We have a meeting this coming Monday, the 29th, in Fleishman Ag room 214 at 7 pm. Please come if at all possible, we are going to be making some big plans and decisions for the coming year, including:
 

2) Election of Officers!!! We are electing a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter, Sentinel and Philanthropist Chair. If you are interested in any of these positions come to the meeting an tell us why. If you are curious what they involve, contact one of the current officers or go ahead and comment on here. If you want to vote (which you should, since this is America) come to the meeting.
 

3) We are trying to really nail down just what our club goals are. We need a nice, clean mission statement that can relate our purpose, our goals, our intentions, etc. to prospective members, sponsors, and other interested parties. If you have any insight into what that mission statement should say, write it down and bring it to the meeting.
 

4) The big one:

     We, being FFA members, love the idea of growing things. We also love the idea of selling these things to our fellow scholars to help pay for future club shenanigans. To facilitate these loves of ours Dr. Shintani, our new advisor, is letting us use some of his space at the University Farm to start planting a whopping big crop of delicious, all natural veggies. This morning a few of us went to take a look. We were joined by Paul, a very knowledgeable gentleman from Rail City, who has offered to donate some plants and materials to get us started. We were kind of expecting to get a corner, a little land, for a few vegetables... We were definitely not prepared for the fantastic layout we have been given. Dr. Shintani is granting us HALF of his room in a beautiful greenhouse to start a nice big crop of tomatoes and cucumbers. We may try hydroponically growing lettuce in there, too. In addition we have a BIG plot of land outside to grow corn, pumpkins, carrots, squash, and maybe some other things I forgot. This isn't your grandma's garden (unless your grandma is a super ambitious old lady with a giant veggie patch). It is a grand affair which we are all pretty dang excited about. And we are going to need your help to pull it off. We are making plans to prep and plant our garden, and there will be more precise info at our meeting on Monday. If you are interested in helping out, (which you should be, since this is going to be awesome) try to come to the meeting. We are going to need people to help water and take care of the garden this summer, then to harvest and sell/distribute the veggies when the time comes.

 

To sum up: Come to the meeting. Vote for officers. Formulate a mission statement. Gardens are awesome, and we have one now. Come to the meeting. 

 

Thanks for reading, stay cool. And seriously, come to the meeting.

Brrrr... Our First Spring Semester Meeting

Hello, members and random interested parties! Welcome to the awesomeness that is UNR Collegiate FFA.

We had our first meeting of the new semester on Wednesday the 6th and talked about a lot of great things we have coming up.

The club went bowling tonight at the Grand Sierra! I hope you heard about it in time to go... If not it is probably my fault (this post is a bit late). We try to have a club social activity a couple times a month to give our members a chance to get to know each other and hang out. Keep an eye out; more activities coming up soon!

As you (hopefully) know, one of Collegiate FFA's main focuses is volunteering in the community. If you're thinking, "Dang, I haven't done any of that volunteering stuff in a while," then we have opportunities for you!
   1) Ag in the classroom- March 1st and 19th
           Read to local elementary school students. This one should be fun. Just rooms full of bored 4th graders and free reign to use all your funny voices where no one you know can hear you... Yeah. Good times. Contact one of our executive council members if you are interested.
   2) Leadership Through Action- March 4th (I think)
          This is actually an ASUN event, but hey, volunteering is volunteering. And it sounds pretty fantastic. It will be in the Joe's theater and features speakers and representatives from a bunch of Nevada volunteer organizations. You will get the chance to hear what they are about, talk and ask questions, and sign up or arrange to join the ones you are interested in. There will be some other activities and FREE LUNCH. I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm becoming aware of the shallowness of my pockets and finding it difficult to ignore those two words... If you are looking for volunteer hours for a class or scholarship or your own personal satisfaction this is a great chance to find a "worthy" organization, plus you get an hour's worth of service just for going.
    3) State Convention- March 19-22
            This isn't really volunteering, as you will get paid for it, but should still be a great experience. We need members to sign up to help with booths, contests, judging, teasing high school children, etc. All vital rolls we need to fill. Did I mention you get paid? Contact your friendly council members to sign up.

On another note, I am aware that some of you joined this club because we promised to teach you to cook delicious things that would make your grandma faint with pride and awe. And we will. We are hot in pursuit of a kitchen big enough to fit us and cheap enough to have us. If anyone has ideas, please let us know. A church kitchen would be fantastic (any Mormons out there?) but anything is certainly worth a try. WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING SOON! Do not lose hope! The food (and company) will be worth the wait.

I will be posting updates here for every meeting and maybe sometimes other things worth sharing with you fine people. Please join our facebook page and make sure we have your contact information as well so you don't miss out on anything. 'Cuz really, who would want to miss this? Stay safe, stay awesome, and sign up for all of the above. Now.

Here are some photos of our last cooking session for your perusal.