By Isabella Cortez
Gustine FFA Reporter
Gustine’s FFA Week
February kicks off with the excitement of Gustine’s FFA Week, running from February 5th to 9th. Throughout this vibrant week, Gustine FFA hosts different dress-up themes and engaging break activities. FFA Week is a time for the chapter to come together with their shared passion for FFA. Participating in the dress-up days and break activities awards members with FFA Points.
Monday (2/5): Predator Vs. Prey (Wear camo); Break Activity: Hay Bale Toss.
Tuesday (2/6): BBQ Dad Day; Break Activity: Pig Calling Contest.
Wednesday (2/7): Dress as an Ag Teacher; Break Activity: 3-legged spoon race.
Thursday (2/8): Dress as a Career in Agriculture; Break Activity: Roping Contest.
Friday (2/9): Western Wear/FFA Colors; Break Activity: Tape an Aggie to the wall.
On February 7th, the Gustine FFA Ag Boosters Club provided free pizza for the members during lunch. Thank you to Mr. Baffuno and Mr. Sanchez for allowing the chapter members to tape them to the wall during break on Friday.
MFE & ALA
February 9th - 10th, 12 Gustine FFA members had the opportunity to join conferences hosted by the state officers. Second-year FFA members attend the MFE conference which stands for Made for Excellence. Third- or fourth-year FFA members attend ALA, the Advanced Leadership Academy.
Both conferences hold multiple different sessions throughout the two days of the trip. The California State Officer Team hosted the two conferences. The weekend at these conferences is spent learning about your core values and how to genuinely connect with other individuals. The Gustine FFA members who attended these conferences connected with new people all from different chapters.
Member Achievements
Farm Power Judging Team: Over at Chico State the Gustine FFA Farm Power Judging Team participated and placed 2nd overall in the competition. Auggie Nunes placed 5th high individual and Baylor Bloom placed 2nd high individual in the competition.
Mikayla Silveria: This month was a huge win for Mikayla Silveria. She is the Central Region proficiency winner in Dairy production Placement. During the Project competition banquet, Ms. Silveria was awarded the senior merit award and received the Merced County Farm Bureau and the Nutcher Memorial Scholarship.
With much determination from Mikayla Silveira, she has been recognized by the state and has been selected to join the Sacramento State Leadership Experience. There she experienced first-hand how the government system works and took on the role of an assembly member. During her experience, she met Assembly Member Juan Alanis and talked to him about a bill for her government senior project.
Out of the countless California FFA members who were eligible for the Zenith Insurance Scholarship, only four were selected as state finalists. Gustine FFA’s Mikayla Silveria is one of those four. The winners will be declared during the state convention.
Congratulations to Mikayla for her impressive achievements, earned through dedication and hard work.
Gustine FFA Rally / Gustine FFA Sweetheart
This year’s Gustine FFA rally was hosted on February 26th. There Gustine FFA members participated in rally games like milk chugging, sheet-drag race, hungry hippo, and more. In the end, the sophomore class got 4th place, the freshman class got 3rd place, the junior class got 2nd place and the senior class got 1st place.
At the rally, the Gustine FFA Sweetheart winner was announced. The four candidates, Melina Razon, Cheyanne Verissimo, Michelle Nunes, and Josie Nunes, all have been working non-stop selling and making balloons. The money raised from these four ladies will contribute to Gustine FFA’s members by sending them to conferences, field days, and more.
Your 2024 Gustine FFA Sweetheart is Josie Nunes.
The First Runner-up is Cheyanne Verissimo.
Congratulations to all of the ladies who ran for Sweetheart and sold balloons for the Gustine Chapter!
Here is a message from Josie Nunes, the 2024 Gustine FFA Sweetheart, “I am very grateful to be able to hold the title of 2024 Gustine FFA Sweetheart. It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to accomplish it. I hope to be able to serve this title and chapter proud. I would also like to give a special thanks to everyone who helped me through this journey. Especially my mom for pushing me to do this and always helping me during this time.”
