Left to Right
Front Haley Carlson, Emily McDermott, Marshal McDermott (seated), Adam Freund, Clayton Saeugling. Back Row Eric Miller and Representative Jack Drake.

Five Atlantic FFA Officers attended the 30th Annual FFA Legislative Symposium on January 27, 2015. The Legislative Symposium is a chance for Iowa FFA members to advocate to their district senator and representative. Atlantic members arrived at the FFA Enrichment Center for a layout of the day. After opening ceremonies, FFA members listened to two guest speakers, Craig Hill from Iowa Farm Bureau and Libby Crimmings from the World Food Prize. The next activity was a breakout session to learn about approaching their legislators and what to advocate to them. The day continued as the FFA members traveled to the capitol building to seek out their senator and representative. Atlantic FFA members got the chance to speak to Representative Jack Drake about the impact of FFA on their lives. They also got the chance to listen to Drake talk about what he does and see some interesting parts of the capitol building. Unfortunately, Atlantic FFA members did not get the chance to talk to Senator Tom Shipley. Atlantic FFA ended the day with a lunch stop at Legends before heading home. Junior Clayton Saeugling said, “It was an extraordinary opportunity for our FFA chapter to meet with our local representative and see our state’s capitol in action. We also got to connect with other FFA members and friends by advocating for agriculture together.”

Atlantic High School welcomed Logan Bauer, the Southwest State Vice President, Michael Tupper, the Northeast State Vice President, and Zoie Shook, the Southwest District Vice President to a chapter visit on January 23, 2015. While at AHS, the officers lead interactive workshops for the agriculture education classes. These workshops incorporated teamwork, listening skills, patience, and problem solving skills. They challenged the agriculture classes to put their knowledge to use in the classroom and in the field. The officers also talked with the agricultural education instructor, Eric Miller and the Atlantic Officer Team about what the future of Atlantic FFA looks like. Freshmen FFA member Josh Rossell said, “I thought the activities that taught us about leadership and teamwork were fun. It was a good experience overall.”

Haley Carlson
Atlantic FFA Reporter

FFA Leadership Conference

Left to Right
Emily Saeugling, Clint Hansen, Haley Carlson

Three members of the Atlantic FFA to the 212/360 Conference at the FFA Enrichment Center January 10, 2015. Freshmen Emily Saeugling attended the 212 Conference. This was for freshmen and sophomore FFA members. The conference focused on six topics: passions, virtues, decision making, character, setting goals, and action. It was held by the Iowa FFA State Officer Team. Saeugling said, “I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to others.” Junior Haley Carlson and senior Clint Hansen attended the 360 Conference. This Conference was for junior and senior FFA members to help create a vision for their future and the future of their FFA chapter. During this conference members got to interact with others from around Iowa and learn about what they think needs improvement in chapters and what success stories they have. The 360 Conference was facilitated by Josh Earll and Rachel Kagay. Each conference had a total of six sessions, along with lunch. Advisor, Eric Miller always has an assignment for each FFA event, and it is to make a new friend each day of the event. All three members walked out with many friends and great ideas for the future of the Atlantic FFA.