PDF FFA New Horizons

FFA FEBRUARY-MARCH, 1992

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FFA Hits The Slopes

Is Winning Really Everything?

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"eamivorkisan Together,you

importantpart

11face high-tech

j the^.\'tii'\experience challengesevery day.

It's

not muscle that makes an F-14 capable of traveling at the speed of sound.

It's

brains. So,

^if

you want to develop your mind, the Navy may be just the place for you.

Whether you're interested in aviation, electronics, telecommunications or healthcare, the Navy offers state-of- the-art training. Imagine working on a day-to-day ^basis with some of the most technologically advanced equipment

in the world.

You'll be challenged. You'll be given responsibility. And

you'll grow. How far you go doesn't depend on whether you're a man or a woman.

It

depends on you.

If

this kind of opportunity appeals to you, talk to a Navy

Recruiter today. Or call 1-800-3 ₂ 7-NAVY.

Then get ready to enter

a

world that LI AW^^

utters you as many challenges as you're l\^^W I

willing to take. Because in today's YOU AND THE NAVY.

high-tech Navy, you only go one way: Full speed ahead. FULL SPEED AHEAD.

WhenyoujointheNa\^. valuableskills,you'llah

advancementfor:h

>ivtilyouacquire vequalpayand

.ills

FFA

NewHori2ons

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION

February-March, 1992 Volume40 Number3

FFA/CAREERS

12 22

Career Watch Who Are You?

Hubert

Von

Holtenworksto

make

physi-

Our Voyage

Into

The Working World

callydisabledpeople'slivesjustalittlebit helps youfindyourfavoriteskills, easier.

14

^{• •}

Room To Bloom

How

theMilton. Wisconsin.

FFA Alumni

affiliategavetheirlocal

FFA

$300,000.

28

Cash

In

On Your Mechanical

Skills

FFA members

Jeff Koontz and

Wesley

Barefoot tell

how

they profited fromre- pairwork.

COVER STORY 17

FFA

Hits

The Slopes

On

thecover.JimSchofield,oftheUtah State University

FFA

Chapter hits the slopes.

Photo by Kirsten Shultz

FEATURES 10

What A

Year!

Highlightsof 1991.

14

Is

Winning

Really

Everything?

You

canwinfirstplaceandstillloseinthe long run. Find out

who

wins and

who

losesinlife

when

thecompetitionisover.

26

The Ukraine Connection

Friendships

grow

outof an

FFA

chapter's visittothe Ukraine,intheformerSoviet Union.

DEPARTMENTS

4

Front Line

6 News

InBrief

7

Mailbag

8

LookingAhead

31

Chapter

Scoop

33 FFA

^InAction

37 ^My

^Turn

38

Joke Page

FFANewHorizons (ISSN 0027-9315).formerlyTheNationalFUTURE FARMER,^{ispreparedand}published bimonthly by theNationalFFAOrganization. 5632Mount VernonMemorial Highway. Alexandria,Virginia22309-0160.incooperation withthe U.S.DepartmentotEducation as a servicetostateandlocalvocationalagricultureeducation agencies.

s 8,000 Over ^{in Jtth}

Awarded ^Monthly

Draw Me

You

may

win

one

of five $1,495.00 Art Scholarships or any

one

of fifty

$10.00cash prizes.

Make

your drawing any size except

likeatracing.

Use

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Scholarship

winners

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Fundamentals

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home

study art schools. Our objective is to find prospective stu- dents

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tivated and have an appreciation and

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Your entry will

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One

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No

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Our students and professional artists not eligible. Contest winners will be

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THISCOUPONTOENTERCONTEST

Ah TRUCTION SCHOOLS

udio2F-3540 jthFourth Street Mini -.,Minnesota 55415 Please entermy^, inyour

monthlycontest (PLEASEPRINT)

Name

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Address City

County Zip

THE ^{FRONT LINE}

There

^isacommercial on

TV

thesedays thatsays something

like,"Foreverygeneration, thereisaGap."

Of

course, the

Gap

is

hawking

their line ofcasual clothes for all ages, so the catchy sloganworksprettysmoothfortheirpurposes. Butit

stuck in

my mind

for a different reason.

Anyone who

has ever gone to the movies or shopped with their

mom

or dad can testify that

what onegenerationmightthinkis"excellent." the other probably thinks is a "waste of hard-earned money."

A

^lot ofarguments with parents center aroundthegenerationgap.

So

whatcauses it?

Age

is probably the biggest reason. Having beenthrough a lot themselves, parentsand other adults often think they

know

what'sbest.

Butthereisanother,

more

specialreason.Ithas todowiththeevents thatunfold inyourgeneration.

This year, sitting infront ofyour

TV

sets,you've seen a violent, high-techwarfoughtina deserthalf-wayaroundtheworld.

You

saw themostly peaceful fall ofthe Sovietempire, easily themost feared nation since

World War

II. (See

"What

a Year!"on page 10.)

You

witnessedanation begintochange itsviews about

AIDS

because of aMagical sportsstareverybody likes.

On

the otherhand, yourparentsexperienced Viet

Nam,

theearly days ofrock n' roll and the space race.

A

different time, different people,different ideas.

The

historicevents,

mixed

together withthemusic,films,fashion andotherculturalmarkersofthetime

make

itdifferentthananyother inhistory.

What

youget^isadefinitionofyourgeneration.

The90's

is

already amazinghistoriansandwe'rejustgettingstarted.Staytuned.

Good Work

if

You Can Get

^It

Ifyoucouldhave anyjobyouwanted, whatwouldit be?Lawyer, musicstar,astronaut,fanner,teacher

—

^{there areso}

^many

^directionsto

go,

how

do you choose? Forstarters,checkoutthearticle

"Who

Are

You?"

on page 22. It is aquick worksheet that will help steer you throughthesometimes

murky

watersofsortingoutwhatkindsof jobs will challengeandsatisfy you.

Forwhateverreasons,

some

ofus are

drawn

tothecommunications

field, magazine publishing, specifically.

The

most recent person to join the ranks is

Lawinna McGary,

the

new

associate editor ofthis magazine. Afterafew yearsinthecorporatecommunicationsworld, shejoined ourstafflastDecember.Thisisherfirstissueof

FFA New

Horizons.Ifyou saw something in this issuethatyoureally liked,or didn'tlike, pleasedrop her a note.

Herjob isto sort throughallofthe different ideasthat

come

tous forarticlesandselectthe bestones.

Then

shetravelsallovertheUnited Statesphotographingandinterviewing

FFA members who

aredoing interesting and exciting things. Nextit'sjust amatter ofputting the picturesandstoriesonpaperand^sendingittoyou.It'snotallassimple as that,butit's good workifyoucanget it.

)y^&s\,

I

<p^Um^\

TelephoneNumber

FFANewHorizons

Self-confidence,

life-long skills

and new

friends.

They're

all

benefits

of

FFA that

will stay

with Sarah Lee Bartram long

after

she sheds her blue and gold

jacket

Sarah, from Guthrie, Oklahoma,

^is

the

1991

National FFA Home & Farmstead Improvement Proficiency Award winner As

part of

her

projects,

she planned and incorporated

a soil

conservation program

for

her

family's farm, built

an addition onto the family home and restored an abandoned

1800's

farmhouse.

That's

more than 4000 hours

of

work. And even though the jobs weren't

easy,

seeing the

results

made every one

of

those hours worthwhile

to her.

"Actually, ^I

was surprised

at

how simple some

of

the projects were, once

^I

got started; she

says. "I

learned

skills,

solved problems and achieved goals

that 1

never even imagined before

^I

joined

FFA."

The Upjohn Company salutes Sarah Lee Bartram and

all

the other industrious young people

that

make FFA what

^it is

today. Asa 16-year sponsor

of

the Home &

Farmstead Improvement Proficiency Award,

we

realizethat

the

future of

agriculture

depends on today's young

leaders, like

Sarah.

We think

^it's in

good hands.

Upjohn ^Animal

Health Division

The Upjohn Company

Kalamazoo,

^Michigan

NewHorirons

Magazine

Staff

Editor.AndrewMarkwart AssociateEditor.LawinnaMcGary ContributingEditor.John M.Pilzer Art&Production.Linda^Flint Director of Advertising.GlennD Luedke Publishing Assistant.Joyce Berryman Circulation FulfillmentManager,DottieM Hinkle Assistants.JanetMagill.SusanFernandes.Heather Simpson

National Officers

National President.LeeThurber,RR1,Box111-A,Roca, NE68430;National Secretary,MichaelStevenson.

StevensonEstate,Hobson.MT59452;National Vice Presidents.ChadLuthro,RR¹Box64,Moorland,IA 50566.ShaneBlack.Rt12 Box433. Athens,AL35611

;

WesleyBarefoot. Rt6 Box165,Dunn,NC28334; Louie Borwn,Jr.,12953 HoustonAve.,Hanford.CA93230.

Board

ofDirectors

Chairman.LarryCase;Membersof the Board.Jamie Cano,EverettHarris.HughMcClimon,BobbyMuller,

TomMunter,DeweyStewart.LesThompson, Rosco Vaughn

NationalStaff

National Advisor. ChiefExecutiveOfficer.LarryCase, ExecutiveSecretary.ColemanHarris;ChiefOperating Officer,BernieStaller,National Treasurer.CharlesKeels;

TeamLeaders

—

StudentServices.AndrewMarkwart;

TeacherServices,Marshall Stewart;SponsorRelations.

DougButler;Human&^FiscalResources. Lennie Gamage;Communication Resources,William Stagg;

DistributionResources. JanetLewisandJamesLong;

FFAVentures,Dennis Shater

Advertising Offices FFANewHorizons

P.O.Box 15160

Alexandria,VA 22309 703-360-3600

TheBrassettCompany 1737Fairgreen Drive

Fullerton,CA90036 714-523-2776

MidwesternStates

Karaban/LabmerAssociates,Inc.

333NorthMichiganAvenue

Chicago,IL 60601 312-236-6345

Pennsylvania,Delaware.NewJersey Karaban/LabmerAssociates,Inc 130West42ndStreet

NewYork,NY 10036 212-840-0660

RobertFlahiveCompany 22Battery Street

SanFrancisco,CA94111 415-398-4444

ADDRESSCHANGES:Sendbotholdandnewaddress to:CirculationDepartment.FFANewHorizons.P.O Box 15160, Alexandria. Virginia22309-0160.

CORRESPONDENCE: Address ^allcorrespondenceto:

FFANewHorizons.P.O.Box 15160,Alexandria. Virginia 22309-0160.OfficeslocatedattheNationalFFACenter, approximately eight milessouth^ofAlexandria,Virginia.

SUBSCRIPTION:$3 50peryearinUS.and possessions (FFAmembers$1 .75 paid withdues) Singlecopy$1 50, fiveormore 75eeach.Foreign subscriptions,$3 50plus

$2.00e* icrpostage.Copyright1991 by the National FFAOrga. -or.

NEWS ^{IN BRIEF}

%

^{TheAuditBureau}

Alice

Moore

"The Leadership Edge"

A

statevicepresidentofthe

New Hamp-

shireAssociation

was

thefirstsubscriber toa

new

au-

diomagazine

from FFA,

"TheLeader- ship Edge."

Alice

Moore

received a subscription asa giftfrom her

mother

and

FFA

ad- visor, Jean Eichorn.

"It's a great investment," says Alice.

"Some

of us listened to the tape on the

way

to a basketball game. It keeps you motivated."

"TheLeadership Edge"hasbeendis- tributedtoall

FFA

chapters. Furtherpro- ductionofthe leadership-orientedaudio cassetteseriesdepends on whetheramini-

mum number

ofthem areordered. One- year subscriptions are $29.95.

You

can orderby phoningthetoll freehotline, ^1- 800-582-5323.

National

FFA Contest Scholar- ships Set

Gaining skills isn'ttheonly reason to set yoursightson competing innational contests.

You

might also earn money.

Scholarships will beawarded in 1992 to those listedbelow.

Each member

of First

Place Teams

^-$1 ,000

1st

High

Individual-

$900 2nd Highest

Individual ^-

$750

3rd

High

Individual^-

$600

In

some contests

4th thru 10th

High

Individuals^-

$500

New

thisyearare$^l,000 scholarships for the 1st place team and the 1st

—

3rd high individuals in the meatsevaluation andtechnologycontest.

For

more

detailssee thelatestContests Bulletin.

FFA

Official

Jacket Designer Dies

Mr. Walter

M.

Tolan,94,of

Van

Wert, Ohio, diedrecently.

He

wasinstrumental inthedesign ofthefirst

FFA

jacket. Itall

began

when

J.H. Litner.

FFA

advisorfrom Fredericktown, Ohio, asked

him

todesign a jacket forhisband.

The

Fredericktown

FFA

bandappearedⁱⁿthejacketsin1933

atthe national convention.

Delegatestothe '33convention voted toadoptthejacket as theofficialonefor

FFA. The

designis still usedtoday, and, until twoyearsago,

was

manufacturedin

Van

Wert.

In 1979.Tolan

was

given anhonorary degree bythe

FFA

and had attended40 consecutive National

FFA

Conventions.

Get Ready To Tune Up Your Sprayers

DuringSprayer

Tune-Up Week,

Feb.

17-21,

FFA

chaptersandindustry leaders will promote safety checks and sprayer -— calibration be-

jfijgfet

^{fore the ap~}

JiVisMfedl^

_plication

S&wl season

'

m

_begins.

ii

T

h e

IBFg

Sprayer Tune-Up

Week

\

^K^r

^{message is}

simple.

Com-

,r^:^;{3'-'r,

plete cahbra-

Ih:.. tion takes

only

about an

Sprayer Tune-Up Week

^hour:

h

February

^17-21 ^can im^"

prove re- turns on investments in crop protection products, save valuable time during ^the plantingseason andprotect theenviron- ment.Accuratechemicalapplicationdue to proper calibration can save approxi- mately $1.25 peracre foreach chemical applied,accordingtoaUniversityof Ne- braskastudy.

"It's cheap insurance to be sure you get the right

amount

^ofchemical

down

when

you need it," says University of IllinoisagriculturalengineerLorenBode.

fiZ7

M A

^I

^L B A G

To Drink or Not

to

Drink

Withregardstothearticles intheDe- cember-January¹991-92issue,"TheLes- sons ofLosing"and

"To

DrinkorNotto Drink"...abig

THANK YOU!

Iappreciate thecourage it tooktoad- dress such issues in a truthful manner.

Thank youfor notriding thefence.

Rex

Zenger Morrowville, Kansas

I thought the articles on losing and alcohol inthe December-January, ^1991- 92

FFA New

Horizonswere excellent.

As

an

FFA

sponsor in North Dakota, I'm always impressed with

FFA

^'s"whole- some, gung-hoimage."Butifyourimage cannot withstand a confrontation with negative,troublingissues,itdoesn'thave

much

ofafoundation.I

am

gladtoseeyou dealing with these issues in a positive way,with practical suggestions and ^les- sonsfromreal lifeexperience.

Gayle Highness Fargo,North

Dakota Great Adventure

My

greatestadventurethispast

month

wasthe

FFA

conventioninKansasCity.It

was

somewhat

unbelievable...1

mean

the concern with which Americans handle and

manage

agriculturaleducation.I was able to learn a lot about Americans and aboutthe

US

A.1thinkthatEastEuropean nationsshould have formeda similaror- ganization. It'snottoo lateyet!

MiklosThuranszky

Work

Experience

Abroad Hungary

New News

FFA

was

news

to

me when

1entered

my

sophomoreyearinhighschool.Inever thoughtI'dlearnso

much

insolittletime.

Within oneyear I

was

on ourchapter's dairy judging team; I

was

preparing an animal for our local fair; I

became

our chapter's reporter,andIwenttoourstate

FFA

convention.

I

am

grateful to

my

ag teacher for helping

me

tounderstandthis:"Learning to do. Doing to learn. Earning to live.

Living toserve."

Melissa Wikris Wheatland,California February-March, 1992

No Promises

The

"LessonsofLosing"article inthe December-January,199¹-92 issuebrought backmemories; bothhappy andsad.

The

bestexperiencethe

FFA

gave

me

wasthe opportunity to run for a national

FFA

office.Ilost;but, itwasaturning pointin

my

^{life.Igainedas}

much

fromlosingthat

day as Iever

would

have if Ihad won. I

will always be thankful to the

FFA

for that.

Our

simple, elegant pledge; Learning to Do, Doingto Learn, Earning toLive, Livingto Serve,neverpromisesthatyou

willeverwinacontest or a ribbon.

How-

ever, ifyougivethe bestofyourself,you

will havethe opportunity toenrich your

life by learning

how

to win andtolose.

VinceVerbeke UniversityPark,Pennsylvania

Friends Forever!

Retiring as a state officer last

May

gave

me

thechancetosee

how many

lives I'd touched and to see

how

the

FFA

has changed

my

life.

Irarelyspent adaythis lastyearwith- out remembering and drawing from

my

experience at the Washington Confer- ence Program.

My WCP roommate

andI

have stayed in close contact for three yearsandshe haseven visited

my

home.

My

challengetoeveryoneistogetout.

get involved and meet people because theytrulyare thetypeofFriendsthat will last Foreverand Always!

KristiRightmire Ferndale,Washington Sendlettersor noteswithname,addressand chapterto

MAILBAG. FFA New

Horizons.

P.O.Box 15160. Alexandria, VA 22309.All lettersaresubject to editing.

This ^Is AH ^{ftlakesTo Stop}

A ^{Plow In ItsTracks.}

Eight

ounces

ofdirt

and dust

^is allit takes to ruina tractor's

engine* Which

^is

why you need high

quality

WIX

^filters.

We make

over

2,000

farm,fleet

and

light-dutyfilters. Oil. «, air, fuel

and

specialty filters.

And our

sales forceisdedicated to

one product

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so

you can depend on them

for

what

you

need, including

equipment wwlJ\ riLfCnO

surveys.

So switch

to

WIX.

<s*^>

We're

the bestin thefield.

A Change For The

Better.

'Resultsojlaboratorytestusmj;ACFineTestDust.

LOOKING AHEAD

U.S. Cattle

Belch The Best

Agricultural sources are blamed fora large partofthemethane emissions con- tributing to the "greenhouse effect," but just

how much

^{ofthat are cattle respon-}

sible for? Well, less than producers are often led tobelieve.

AccordingtoDr.KathleenHogan,chief ofmethane programsfor theEnvironmen-

tal Protection Agency, no single source releases themajority ofmethane. About 60percent originatesfrom

human

activi- ties including coal mining, rice cultiva- tion, landfills, biomass burning, oil and gas systems, livestock production and wastes and wastewater treatment.

The

other40percentisproduced byhydrates, bodies ofwater,wetlands and. believe it

ornot. termites.

Cattleproduce methane through their digestive process.

Between

15 percent and20percentofannual emissions world- wide

come

from cattle and that

number

increases ascattlepopulationsgrow.

Com-

paredtoother developed, beef producing countries,however,theUnitedStatespro- ducestheleastmethaneper

pound

ofbeef.

What

puts the United States ahead in

generalisefficientproduction.Cattlelive shorterlivesand produce

more

beef.Al- though feedlots are often targeted as the greatestcattlesourceofmethane,thecow/

calfsegmentactuallyproducesmore.

When

productivityandefficiencyim- prove,methane producedperproductde- creases. Interestingly enough, the

EPA

suggc>tsimproved reproduction, disease control. -d efficiency and waste han- dlingtech. lestodecreaseemissions

—

options in li /ith industry goals.

EPA

interest coula i government assis- tancetoreachth

(DroversJ, ember1991

)

Wood Crops For Energy

Energy from

wood

crops

may

be an important fuel in the future. "Depending on which experts you listen to,

woody

biomass has the potential of providing roughly 20 to 30 percent of the energy

consumed

intheUnitedStates,insteadof the current 4 percent. Half ofthis could

come

from woody, short-rotationcrops."

says,JamesR. Fazio, directorof

The

Na-

tional Arbor

Day

Institute.

Estimatesfrom DepartmentofEnergy researchers

show

that approximately 75- 100 million acres of cropland could be committedto fuelwood production with- out significantly cuttingintoproduction of agricultural commodities. These acres could

more

than doubleifalleconomically marginalorenvironmentallysensitivecrop and pasture lands were included. Fazio saysonestudyindicatesthat in

many

cases farmerscould

make more money

by grow- ingtrees.

Test

Tube Tomatoes

Cherrytomatoesthatripenedina U.S.

Department ofAgriculture laboratoryhint at apossible

new

source oftomatopaste, catsup,soupandsalsa forthe 21st century.

Without the usual steps of planting, growing and harvesting a crop, growers would skimtastytomatocellsfromindoor vats forquick processingintofoods,says biologistBettyK.Ishida of

USD

A'sAgri- cultural Research Service. Only cells of the ^fruit

—

not the plant itself

—

^{would be}

grown

invats.

She says this type of indoor fanning mightbeafutureoption, especiallywhere land and waterare atapremium. But for that tohappen,"you haveto

know how

to

make

thecellsripen asifthey'repartofthe fruit,"says Ishida.

That'swhatIshidawantstolearnfrom oddly ripening cherry tomatoes growing

in testtubesinherlab.

The

tomatoesboast tiny"leaves"thatweren'tsupposedtoripen likeatomato,butdid,she said.

She isseeking thegenetic

mechanism

thattriggered the unexpectedripening of thecalyx

—

a star-shaped, leaflikecluster thatencircles thetopofthetomato where

itjoins thestem.

"Calyxes on

commercially grown

cherry tomatoes are usually faded green.

dryandshriveledbythetime they reach the supermarket," saysIshida. Hertest- tube tomatoes, though,haveripenedca- lyxesthat areredandjuicy.

Ifthe ripening triggercan be found, shesays,fruitandvegetable producers of tomorrowmight beableto raise "just free- floatingcellsofthe ediblepartofa plant, without havingtogrow unneededleaves, branches,stemsandroots.Thisplant-free approach to food production would re- quire less land and fertilizers thantradi- tional farming,andnopesticides."

On

^theotherhand,beingabletocon-

trolripeningcouldhavepayoffsforout- doorgrowers.

They

^couldkeeptomatoes orotherfruitsandvegetablesonthevine ortreelongertoenhanceflavor,shesays.

Those growers

may

alsoavoidover-rip- ening, over-softening and costly spoil- age of perishable produce.

Computer Guarded Grain

A new

computer programbeingdevel- opedwillestimatethe

amount

ofenergy and chemicals needed to control stored grain pests, says James E. Thorne of

USDA's

Agricultural ResearchService.

"What

we'retrying todo ^is improve the cost-effectivenessofstored grain pest control and reduce the

amount

ofpesti- cidesusedinstored grains,"says Thorne.

aresearch entomologist. "This program predicts the best storage conditions for keeping the populationofinsects below the level requiring treatment."

Throne and fellow researchers have studied the living, breeding and eating habitsofthefivemajor enemiesofstored grain for the past three years.

Once

allof the information is collected and added, theprogramwilluse mathematicalcalcu- lations to determine under what condi- tions insects arelikely to infestgrain.

"We

stillneedacouple

more

yearsof data before

we

can

come

upwith a pro-

gram

^{that can be}useful ⁱⁿ predictingin- sect activity," Throne says. "If

we

can predict insect growth,

we

can lower ^the amount of pesticide needed to control these pests."

The

programcouldbe used by indus- try, grain elevator operators, and in the future by farmers toproperly administer controlsthatdeter insectgrowth.

New

A New ^Twist

To FFA Week

By

Saundra Campbell

New

and improved!Special formula.

Betterthaneverbefore!

No

matter whatyoubuy,yousee thesewords, or similar ones,onpackages

—

^fromcereal

totoothpaste.Withthesepromises ofextra ingredients or

new

benefits,those

who

sell products try to convince you to try their brand...or ifyou'vetriedtheirproductbe- fore, to try

more

ofit.

And why

dothese manufacturerskeepmakingtheirproducts justalittlebitdifferent?Because^itworks.

Itcatches yourattention.

You

^can't help but be curious.

And many

times you do decide to try "it", whatever the product

may

be

—

^atleastonce.

Just as peaking peoples' curiosity works for consumer goods, it can also work forNational

FFA Week,

Feb. ^15- 22.

Your

key to keeping other students and^the

community

involved isnew,ex- citing ideas.This doesn't

mean

you have

toplan atotally

new

eventeachyear. If

youalready havea successful program,

just

make

sureyou keepadding

new

twists toyourold plan,and thatyou letpeople

know

aboutthese

new

activities.

How To Get Maximum Impact

-Don't assume your

community

al-

ready

knows

whatyou're upto. Prepare press releases and radio public service announcements,postersandsigns,tohelp get and keep

community members

in- volvedand informed.

-Find outwhat your

community

needs.

Folksare

more

likelytosupportaproject they

know

willhelpthemdirectly.

(Some

chapters hold Resource

Days

in which

FFA members make

surethey savewater, fuelorelectricity.)

-Haveactivitiesforpeople ofall ages and backgrounds. Forfarm and non-farm adults and teenagers you can have an agriculturalforumwithtopicsthataffect yourlocal

community

such as pesticide use,ensuring asafefood supplyand wa-

terquality; oryoucould hold anagricul- tural "Olympics". For youngerkids you can organize petting zoos or education programs onrecycling.

-Buildtoacrescendo.It

may

helpget intothespiritandbuildexcitementifyour

activities startsmallandget bigger.After afewdays of

FFA Week

activities,you

will be

more

comfortable _talking about and promotingagricultureand

FFA.

...

February-March, 1992

H

What ^is a

BUCK

Knife?

Most

people

who

love theoutdoors

know

the

name Buck

Knives. Happily,they

seem

tolikeourknives.

And

yet,notallof

them

realize

how many

differentkinds of knives

we

actuallymake.

Some

equateustofixed-bladesheath knives,such asour 119 Special. Othersthinka

Buck

knifeis

any

foldinglockblade. We'veeven seenitspelledwitha lower case"b"(buckknife) in

some

stories,asifit

were ageneric term.Infact,it'sourregisteredtrademark,

and

ourattorneysdon'tliketoseeour

name

misused.

They

sendoutwarning letterstoprotect our

name

because

we want you

to

know

when

^it'sagenuine

Buck

knife.

Truthis,

we make

so

many

productionknives, plus

custom

knives

and

collectibles,it's hardto

say exactly

how many Buck

modelswillbe availablebythetime

you

readthis.

-^yK Take alookat the drawingshere.

They

typify athewide range

we

make:fixed-blades,pocketknives

•

w

^\

^r

^{\(includingourexciting}

^new

^familyofSwissBucks.

lockblades,fish filletknives (both fixed

and

folders), lightweightknives,kitchenknives, survival knives

and

lots

more.In fact, itgoes

beyond

knives.There'sSawBuck,a double-edged

camp

saw;

and

our

new

mini-lights

(called BuckLights),the brightest

com-

pactflashlightsaround.

And Buck

Darts, too! See

them

at

yourfavorite dealer'sstore.

So...

what's new?

fyou're interestedinwhat's

new

fromBuck, feastyoureyesonthis

new

Vanguard™Model 192.

Ithas a smoothly curved4VS"drop-point bladeanda handsome

wooden

handle, with brassbuttandguard,tike everyBuckknife,it's

made

ofourspecialsteel,famousforholdingan edge. Vanguard'"alsocomeswith a rubberized handle, soask yourdealer.

Forfree "KnifeKnow-How"booklet, write:

BUCKKNIVES,Dept.NH-292,P.O.Box 1267,ElCajon,CA92022

BUCK ^KNIVES

_{Famoustorholdinganedge!}

a ^Year!

Like every year

before, and every year to come, the world and FFA

changed ⁱⁿ 1991

By Andrew

Markwart

It

was

a yearthatstartedwiththe rockets red glare overBaghdad.The UnitedStatesandothercountries beganchiseling

away

atIraq's defense to freeKuwait and "drawthe line inthesand"for

Saddam

Hussein.

The

Gulf war

was

overbyFebruary28.

Many

past

FFA

members, including formernational officerMartyCoates anda

number

of

FFA

advisorsserved theircountry inOperation Desert Storm.

In the Philippines.

Mount

Pinatubo erupted,blanketingthe islandwith a thick layerof ash

—

^{enoughtoclose}

ClarkAirForceBase forgood.

A

^few

hundredmilestotheeast,youngpeople onthe tropical Micronesian Islands started gettinginvolvedin

FFA. The

islandof

Guam

^receivedits

FFA

state charterin

November.

Americansweren't spendingas

much money

in 1991 asthey didinpast years,sendingthe

economy

intoa recession.

Even

though U.S. corpora- tionsfeltthe pinch,they stillcontrib- uted arecord$4.4million for

FFA

and agriculturaleducationprogramsthrough theNational

FFA

Foundation.

It usedtobe

when

yousaid theword

"superpower"twocountries

came

to

mind —

theUnited Statesandthe SovietUnion.

As

ofDecember,thereis

noSovietUnion, onlyagroupof very different republicsheld togetherloosely by a

commonwealth.

Thirty Soviet youngfarmerswatched the historic eventsintheir

home

republics from farmsandagribusinesses here inthe U.S.

The

youngfarmers werehereona

programarranged through

FFA

andtheNational

Young

FarmerEducational Association tolearnabout ouragricultural technologyand marketsystem.

The

Hubbletelescopeorbiting the Earth

was

finally broughtintofocusthispast year. It

now

^sendsback astonishing imagesofthestarsto researcherswhichwill helpthem exploretheheavensin

more

detailthan has everbeenpossible. In September, ^theNational

FFA

Centercastasideitsold divisionsanddepartments, and formedintoteamsthatfocusedon students, teachers,andothercustomersin

FFA. Itisn'trocket science,butit'sanexciting

new way

ofdoing business.

Although movie attendance

was down

overall in 1991,millionsflockedtosee Terminator2,starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A

record27,000 members,advisors andguestsattendedthe64th National

FFA

Conventionin KansasCity, Missouri,

lastNovember.

The

convention includedavisitfromPresident Bush andaphone

callfrom Mr. Schwarzenegger.

The Minnesota

Twins

went fromworsttofirstin 1991.winningthe

World

Series against theAtlantaBravesinan action-packed competitiveseries.

FFA

introducedtwo

new

competitionsat thenational level in '91: theSales Contestand theParliamentary Procedure Contest.

W

^k

^^v^H

jJKD ^IT

^B Ut ^£ m

»^old Soviet Un,on.DuringtheartempeJ

tataw _{major step}back

,0^

tonalFFA_Convention

inNovember._prais.

'"9 theFFA and_American

agriculture

Themovetowarddemocracy,arepresentationofthepeopleingovernment,swept throughmanyparts of theworldlastyear,including theSovietUnion.Forthefirst timethisyear,475delegates, nearlydoublethenumberofdelegatesfrom1990, represented FFAmembersinmaking key decisionsfortheFFAatthe national convention.

PresidentGeorgeBush wascriticized forspending toomuchtimeoverseasandnot attendingtomatters athome.Youcouldn'ttellbythenumberoftimeshemetwith theFFA. PresidentBushmetwith the 1990- 91nationalofficerteam,hadhispicturetakenwith thegroupattending State Presidents'Conferenceand spokeatthe1991NationalFFAConvention,wherehe receivedtheOutstandingAmericanAward. Photo byOrlinWagner

February-March. 1992 11

Von

Holten's "Versalift" helps his physically disabled

customers

get in boats, tractors

and combines

by themselves.

There

^are

^more

^{than 140,000 dis-}

abling farm injuries each year,*

andabout560.000Americanfarm- ersandagriculturalworkershave physical disabilities that hinder their work.**Thesedisabilitiesareduetoany- thingfromfarmorautoaccidentstoaging.

Hubert Von

Holten.

owner

of AmeriPower, Inc., helps

make many

of these folkslives justalittlebiteasier.

The

formerFrancesville, Indiana,

FFA mem-

ber designs and builds equipment that allowsthephysicallydisabledtobe

more

independent.

The wheelchair-bound

Von

Holten

knows how

importantthisindependenceis.

As

a farmer,hefoundinnovative waysto

mounttractors,andto

manage

hisbusiness.

He

says in

many

caseshistwo prod- ucts

— Freedom

1, an all-terrain wheel

chair, and Versalift, a device that

me-

chanicallyliftsfanners ontotractorsand combines, can

mean

the difference be- tweena recentlydisabledfarmerlosingor keeping the farm.

"One

farmer couldn't getacross a graveldrivewayinhiswheel- chair,"

Von

Holtensays."WithourFree-

dom

1, he could be just as active before...justdoing hingsinalittlediffer- ent way. Without it, he would probably

stillhavethehandwheelchair.

He

would havemigratedintothehouse andthefarm wouldbeslipping

away

fromhim.

You

just

^JM

IffT^

V »S

^At

'

Vf

AT'~-

M

E*35 fcr-

"ISbC

^-

^

«>n

^3lfc.'

w ^J*^

•m

Von

Holtenwithhis

Freedoml and

Versalift.

can'trun afarmunlessyoucangetout there and lookatit."

Von

Holten saysa typicaldaystarts at 7 a.m.andendsat8:30to9 p.m.

He

does anythingfromsettingmachineryup,solv- ing

management

problems, servicing equipment and answeringtelephonecalls.

"I'vedoneblueprints,engineered,and beenjanitor,"hesays.

What

It

Takes

Being involved in

FFA

and 4-H, he says, helped

him

get the experience he needed to besuccessful. "It [Supervised Agricultural Experience]

made me

think andtake responsibility. Ikept recordson

my

calf and hog, which is something a

non-FFA member

doesn't understand.It

was

likebeing inbusinessformyself."

Other skills needed in his field, says

Von

Holtenare:creativity...being ableto

make

anexistingpieceofequipmentbet- ter; paying attention...looking at things wherever you go; curiosity...constantly comparing yourideaswith

someone

elses to check out different applications of equipment;andanalyticalskills.Butmost ofall, hesays,you musthave, "determi- nation, a goal and desire...If you don't havethose,itreallydoesn'tdo

much

good

todream."

Rewards

Von

Holten says he doesn't

own

his business strictly for the money. "It'sso

much

funto

work

withthesepeople," he says. " Ijust sold a chairtoparents ofa little 5-year-old girl. She

was

inan auto accident

—

^{paralyzedfromthe waistdown.}

To

see the smile on her face

when

she finallycouldgetinhersandbox,

makes

it all worth it."

"According to National Safety Council's publication,AccidentFacts 1989. "Figure from Breaking

New

GroundResourceCen-

ter,PurdueUniversity

r ~~

Professional

Profile

Name:

Hubert

Von

Holten

Career: Designs and builds equipment forphysicallydisabledpeople Education: High School graduate,

Francesville, Indiana

Career Outlook: Fundingandinterestin thisfieldisgrowing.The 1

990

farm

billprovidesforeducationandassis- tanceforfarmers withdisabilities.

States providingassistancesofarare:

Vermont, Indiana, Wisconsin, Loui- siana,

New

York,Illinois,Iowa,

Mon-

tana,

Wyoming

andIdaho.

TypesOfJobs AvailableIn Field:

•Occupationaltherapist.In

many

cases, this is an engineer

who

evaluates disabled farmer needs and finds equipmentthatwillmakethingseasier

and moreaccessible.

•Entrepeneur—todesign and/orbuild equipment.

^J

*•

^-

:

'Xw m

How would

it

feel to be an Army Cavalry Scout,

maneuvering across terrain to gather intelligence? To be£w

master of field craft, map and navigational skills? To ^ui^^

your senses; your vision, hearing, even your s^n^ofcy

smell as never ^before? To move boldly on yo^oWjuSg-

ment, track your objective and relay the crit^a^i^rmation back to your command?

It

feels like nothing else you've ey^ experienced.

Because

it's

the learning and growth e^ppfenee ^of a lifetime.

And

^it

may be just what you're lookihgfor.

See your Army Recruiter Or ^call 1-80Q-USA-ARMY:

ARMYBEALLYOUCAHBE.

Winning...lt's Hot Fudge

Back

_icecream^beforeflavors, there^{therewerezillions}

was

va-^of nilla.Ifyouare adouble choco- late chip crunch person, you

may

disagree...butonahot

summer

day thereisnothingfinerthan a perfect

moun-

tainofcreamywhite

homemade

^vanilla.

Ifyou're honestyouwilladmitthatyou don'treallyneedanythingelse.

Now,

a giantglob ofhot fudge ^is awonderful addition, butit'spurely anextra.

What

doesthishavetodowithwin- ning?Everything!

Winning

is the hot fudge on your sundae.

You

hear your

name

called, accept your plaque, shake hands and smile for the folks. In a complicated world,winningissomethingthatkeeps youmotivatedandgivesyouconfidence.

It'stherewardthat

comes

afterthework.

Butthere'sfar

more

tothe winning experience thanafewsecondsinaspot- light.

To make

themostofit,you needto

know how

winningaffectsyou andthe peoplearound you.

Most FFA

winnerssaybeinginfirst

place n'tthe bestpart.Itmightbethe mostex ng,but

someday when

your jacketisfu ing inagarment baginthe backcoiner loset,you willfind thattherealvu asin thejourney.

A School

of

Success— Not

Violence

Luis

Chavez

wasn'tnervous that Friday morning in

November.

Al- thoughhewasa finalistfor the

BO AC

AchievementinVolunteerismaward

atthe64th National

FFA

Convention

inKansasCity,he kept cool

—

^until

another finalist told

him

where to be seated, that is.

Chavez' stomach

filled with butter- flies.

He grew more and more nervous

as he waited to take his placeon the huge stage in front of thousands of

FFA

members.

The

announce- mentfinallycame.

Chavez

wasn't fourth.

He

wasn't third.

He

wasn't second. First place

was

his. "I felt a sudden chill run through

my

body," hesays.

For LuisChavezandhis

home

chap- terofYsleta,Texas,this victorywas morethan a national award,it wasa

message tothecityofElPasoandto other studentsinthelargelyHispanic schoolsystem:

FFA

givespurpose and unity,confidenceandpride.

Only one

week

earlier, Chavez'

campus

had been the site of gang violence.

One

person

was

dead and anotherwounded.Chavezsayshiswin helped boostthe school'simage,and adds, "it says

we

are not a school of violence.

We

areaschoolofsuccess."

Advisor

Steve Forsythe sees Chavez' winas the perfect opportu- nity to get theword out about FFA.

"Luis hasbroken

some new

ground,"

hesays. "Iwantstudentstosee

FFA

as aplacewhere theycan belong, espe- ciallyif

home

isan unpleasantplace.I

wantkidstosay,'Ican belikeLuis.'"

New and Risky Business Chad

Luthro has an

FFA

resume

likeyou've probablynever seenbe- fore.

He won

thestatecreed speaking contest and two state proficiency awards in his native Iowa.

He

was secondinthestateagriscience student recognitioncompetition.Plus,he took

home

thenationalComputersinAgri- cultureawardin 1988,was American

star in agribusiness in 1990and was elected national

FFA

vice president fromthecentralregioninNovember, 1991.

Whew!

Hisjacket must have beensoheavy hecouldn'twalk.

On ^{Your Ice Cream}

But^getthis.Beforethecreedcon-

test, he tried tobe

named

alternate, because "I was afraid to fail."

And

onceuponatime,Luthrodidn't think his Supervised Agricultural Experi- enceprogram was "worthadarn."

As

acomputerconsultant,he didn'tthink he could compete with traditional programs.

When

he

won

thenational computers competition, he discov- ered a

new

confidence that had a dramaticeffectonhisbusiness.

"It gave

me

credentials," says Luthro,"and it

made me

feel like I

had the right to conduct business."

The nod from national judges also pushed Luthro full-steam into the computerbusiness.First,^itwashard- waresales,thenopeningastore.Next hestartedassemblinghis

own

brand of

IBM

compatible hardware and opened a second store. Not bad ^for

someone who

wondered ifhe could compete.

Didsuccessgoto hishead?Luthro saysthatwhile he has gainedenough

selfconfidence throughhis

FFA

ex- periencesto

"power New York

City for years," he tries to view himself through humble eyes. "Confidence doesn't

mean

you'rebetterthanoth- ers. Itjustgivesapersonthemotiva- tion to try

new

andrisky things."

Chosen When a Friend

is

Not

Sarah Abel loves her jobas trea- surerofthe

Ruby

Mountain,Nevada, chapter.Whiletheannouncementof her election at the chapter banquet wasexciting,she did notenjoy one aspect of competition: going up against friendsandclassmates.

Abel,

who

hascompetedinhorse showssince theage offour,saysshe has never gotten usedtothe ideaof beingchosen

when

afriendisnot.It's really important to go out ofyour

way

to stay involved with those people,shesays. "I

know

that

some FFA members

laugh

when

theybeat someone.I'veneverbeenlike that...I

treatthemthe

same

asbefore.Idon't

feel superior, but I don't pity them.

That's

how

^Iliketo betreated."

Hungry

to

Win More

"Winning

makes

you ready for more, hungry to win more," says ColetteMarkovichofNorthNewton, Indiana.

"You

like the feeling.

The more

you win,the

more

youbelieve thatnothingisimpossible.That's

mo-

tivation. I'm excited

now

about go- ingon toother things outside

FFA.

likegoingtocollege."

Good Sports

Before he

was

elected 1986-87 national

FFA

secretary. Kevin Yost took part in the freshman football program at the University of Ne- braska.

He was

ahigh schoolathlete.

too,andthinksthat

FFA

couldlearn somethingfromtheworldofsports,

wherethedignityofeach competi- tor is precious, win or lose. In athletic

games

youoftenseeteams

lineup and file pasteach other to shake hands right after a

game.

"Do

youeverseethat

happenin

FFA?"

asks Yost.

He remembers

the feel- ingsthatwashedover

him

right afterhe

was

elected to a national office."

The

lightsarebright up on that stage,^"

he says, "but not so bright that I

couldn'tsee the candidates

who

were left."

The

elation

was

bit- tersweetforYost because he had run for national office once before and

knew how

the unchosen candidates werefeeling.

"On

theone hand, yourheart isjump-

vOL*

Continued on Page 16..

February-March, 1992 15