Reusable Bag Collection

The Allentown FFA noticed that following the plastic bag ban in New Jersey, charitable organizations, such as HomeFront, lost a method of giving out necessary items to those in need. So, a reusable bag collection is provided to give the organization a way to distribute goods. Collection bins, placed in various locations, are used to gather these bags. Members of the school community are especially encouraged to participate in this collection. Bags are taken to HomeFront in Trenton following the collection. 

Sponsor's Breakfast & Open House

The annual Allentown FFA sponsor's breakfast and open house allows recognition to be given to sponsors, supporters and members of the program on the last day of FFA week. Attendees of this event range from members, family, friends, local farmers, business owners, community members, teachers, administrators, political leaders, etc. The event begins with a program led by the leadership team to provide thanks as well as give the attendees a chapter update. Following this is a breakfast and open house. The leadership team leads tours throughout the ag building as well as points out various displays. Displays include chapter scrapbooks, plaques and awards, items representing the ag classes, etc. Overall, this event allows the chapter to engage with important contributors to the chapter's success. 

Advocacy and Legislative Leadership Day 

The Allentown FFA will be attending the Advocacy and Legislative Leadership Day (ALLD), which is a one-day long leadership conference held on the Thursday of National FFA Week every year. ALLD is focused on the importance of advocacy and how to be a good advocate. It also celebrates National FFA Week with the signing of the FFA Week Proclamation from the office of the governor of the state of New Jersey. In addition to FFA member participation at the event, other attendees/invitees include the secretary of agriculture, the assistant secretary of agriculture, legislative representatives from each of the legislative districts that contain FFA chapters, representatives of various businesses and organizations from all aspects of the agricultural industry, foundation supporters, alumni members, and representatives from various agricultural colleges and universities. This day includes a career fair, a symposium (with special guest speakers and a panel discussion), as well as an advocacy leadership workshop.

Trampoline Park Trip

The Allentown FFA wanted to host an activity during FFA week that encourages members to get active and enjoy a recreational activity. So, a trip was made to a nearby trampoline park. During the trip, members had a great time interacting with one another and exploring all that the trampoline park has to offer. This will promote the physical well-being of members through getting active and the mental well-being by allowing them to participate in a fun activity. 

Teacher Appreciation 

The Allentown FFA hosts a teacher appreciation event during FFA week in order to give recognition to staff members for their support and involvement in our chapter. This events allows for positive relationships to be maintained between the chapter and members of the school community. During this activity, bagels are provided as the teachers walk into the main atrium, a thank you letter and FFA pen is placed in all staff member mailboxes and participating officers interact with staff members. 

February Board of Ag Meeting

The Allentown FFA chapter attends the Monmouth County Board of Agriculture Meeting every month. Board of Ag (BOA) meetings are typically held every third Tuesday of the month. The chapter sends two members of the leadership team to give an update of old and new business during the reports portion of the BOA meeting. By attending these meetings, chapter representatives can interact with supporters and members of the agricultural community in order to strengthen bonds and increase teamwork and cooperation in activities.

AG Class Jeopardy 

During one day of FFA week, two members of the Allentown FFA leadership team will go to each agriculture classroom and play an FFA/Agriculture Jeopardy game with them. This will allow students to learn more about the FFA and agriculture at a state and national level. Questions related to agriculture deal facts about production, distribution and impact of agricultural products. This will also be a competition to make it more exciting for the students and each winner will receive an FFA water bottle!

FFA Week Trivia & Raffle 

Everyday from Tuesday to Thursday during FFA week, the Allentown FFA will have a trivia question for anyone at the school to answer. This question will be asked during the daily announcements and there will be a form for participants to answer the question in. Those who answer the question correctly will get their name put in a raffle for a prize. The winner of the prize will be announced the day after the question was asked and the prizes will get bigger each day as the question gets harder. This activity is a great way to get the whole school involved in learning a little more about the FFA and some of the history behind it. A fun fact will also be shared everyday regarding New Jersey's agriculture in order to inform students about various aspects of agricultural products and processes. 

Winter Revival 

The Allentown FFA Chapter kicks off FFA Week by holding a Winter Revival for its leadership team. The purpose of the Winter Revival is the go over how we have been doing as a team thus far, and ways we can improve ourselves for the second half of the year. The officers take part in team-building activties, trust activities, planning for the rest of the year and more. This event also allows the team to honor the service and dedication of the first national FFA president, Leslie Applegate by saving a few words regarding his legacy. Overall, the Winter Revival is a crucial FFA Week event because it directs the chapter officers in the right direction and refocuses them for the second half of the school year. 

FFA Week 2/15/25 - 2/21/25

National FFA week is designated by the National FFA Organization and every year encompasses George Washington's birthday. This is a week to celebrate the accomplishments of our association and this organization and our members. This week also celebrates and helps FFA members thank and show their appreciation for the supporters and sponsors of this organization. Throughout the week our chapter will host various celebrations and events including sponsor appreciation breakfasts, handing out teacher gifts, officer winter revival and much more! FFA week is also when the state hosts it's own event for our legislative and congressional leaders to meet and interact with this organization. Depending on what the team decides, many times the state will also host some type of social media challenge for members to engage with as well. Overall the purpose of this week is to bring FFA members together to celebrate their accomplishments and their role in this organization and to thank those who support the purpose of FFA and to welcome in and educate any people who are not aware of all that FFA has to offer.

February Chapter Meeting

Every third Thursday of the month, the Allentown FFA holds a chapter meeting. Chapter meetings are held in the ag building of Allentown High School and run from 4:30-6. Typically the meetings follow this order; opening ceremonies, reports from the secretary, treasurer and committee chairs, old business, a demonstration of parliamentary procedure, new business, member of the month, door prize drawing, and then closing ceremonies. Following this, members enjoy an activity with a theme decided by the leadership team and snacks are always available. Chapter meetings give members a chance to interact with one another, as well as keep updated on what is happening within the FFA.  

State Officer Candidate School 

SOCS, or State Officer Candidate School, is run by the State FFA Officers. This workshop occurs at Stonebridge Middle School and is geared towards those interested in running for the state office or desiring to be part of the nominating committee. During the state officer portion, FFA members learn about how to facilitate workshops which is a vital part of state office as they do this a multitude of times. They also learn how to have positive interactions with members, and engage in conversations. During the nominating committee section, members learn about the qualities that the state is looking for in candidates. This is a great way to have an understanding of what it takes to be in either of those positions and to gain skills necessary for such positions of leadership. 

January Chapter Meeting

Every third Thursday of the month, the Allentown FFA holds a chapter meeting. Chapter meetings are held in the ag building of Allentown High School and run from 4:30-6. Typically the meetings follow this order; opening ceremonies, reports from the secretary, treasurer and committee chairs, old business, a demonstration of parliamentary procedure, new business, member of the month, door prize drawing, and then closing ceremonies. Following this, members enjoy an activity with a theme decided by the leadership team and snacks are always available. Chapter meetings give members a chance to interact with one another, as well as keep updated on what is happening within the FFA.  

SAE Awareness Day 

SAE Awareness Day is a event for Allentown FFA students to come to the ag building after school to get help from advisors and leadership team members in constructing and updating their SAEs in AET. This allows students to be prepared when it comes to filling out applications and for scholarship opportunities. This event will also allow the leadership team to connect with members. 

Pop Tab Collection

The Allentown FFA noticed an opportunity to support Ronald McDonald House through collecting and donating pop tabs. Ronald McDonald House provides a “home-away-from-home for families whose children require life-saving treatments for critical illnesses and traumatic injuries." When donated pop tabs are sold to a partnering scrap metal company, Ronald McDonald House receives money in order to support their mission of housing families with children in hospitals. The Allentown FFA supports this effort through the collection. 

December Chapter Meeting

Every month the Allentown FFA hosts a chapter meeting on the third Thursday of the month. Attendees are able to learn more about the FFA organization and the chapter's doing. This month, members and guests engaged in festive holiday activities. There was a gingerbread house building competition and updates on important FFA buisness. 

Holiday Floral Construction

Following the holiday floral sale, members are invited to come and help prepare the arrangements. They have the opportunity to learn how to construct arrangements as well as engage in a relaxing activity. Constructing floral arrangements can improve one's mental health and allow them to use their creativity. So, members can improve their well-being by relaxing and spending time creating floral arrangements. 

MLS Conference 

The Allentown FFA will participate in the Connect Conference hosted by the New Jersey FFA Association. This event is part of the National FFA Organization’s member leadership series. This event will be held at Rutgers University in the Cook Campus Center. At the conference, members will explore what makes them unique and learn strategies to become a more confident and capable version of themselves. The journey of leadership begins with self-discovery. This year’s FFA Member Leadership Series topic is Connect. Students at the Connect Conference will gain new knowledge and skills that they need to be confident and capable leaders in both their chapters and beyond.

Holiday Floral Sale

Winter-themed floral arrangements will be on sale for a week in December. Members, parents, school staff and community members will have the opportunity to purchase an arrangement. Arrangements available to purchase include single or double candle arrangements with either red or white candles or jar arrangements. Arrangments are available for pickup prior to winter break to be enjoyed for the holiday season. Profit helps the chapter with events and attending conferences and conventions. 

Thanksgiving Floral Construction

Following the Thanksgiving floral sale, members are invited and encouraged to help construct the arrangements. There are typically around seventy floral arrangements to be constructed between two days after school. Arrangements include cornucopias and centerpieces with fall colors and gourds or mini pumpkins! During construction time, alumni and experienced members are present to teach others how to arranage flowers and give them advice on how to be successful with there constructions. This is an opportunity for members to learn how to make floral arrangements and gain knowledge about the industry from alumni who have experience in the field. 

Fall CDE's

Fall Career Development Events are held in November every year at Rutgers University. The events held during this time include Fruit and Vegetable Identification, Turf Management, Land Judging, Forestry and Milk Quality and Products. Career Development Events are competitive events that members engage in that are focused around a particular career that a student involved in agricultural education may consider pursuing in the future. Prior to the competition date advisors help prepare members by scheduling practices throughout the week, and making sure the competitors have the necessary tools and materials to be successful. 

November Chapter Meeting

The Allentown FFA holds a monthly meeting every third Thursday of the month. This month, members engaged in festive Thanksgiving activities and learned about upcoming events and business of the chapter. 

November Board of Agriculture Meeting

The Allentown FFA chapter attends the Monmouth County Board of Agriculture Meeting every month. Board of Ag (BOA) meetings are typically held every third Tuesday of the month. The chapter sends two members of the leadership team to give an update on old and new business during the reports portion of the BOA meeting. By attending these meetings, chapter representatives can interact with supporters and members of the agricultural community in order to strengthen bonds and increase teamwork and cooperation in activities.

NHS Induction

The Allentown FFA was asked to make a number of arrangements for the Allentown High School's National Honor Society induction. The FFA created some centerpieces as well as two asymmetrical arrangements to be used to decorate for the ceremony. In addition, officers or members help out as ushers during the ceremony. 

Thanksgiving Floral Decorations

The Thanksgiving Floral sale is a fundraiser we hold where we sell fall-themed floral arrangements, cornucopias and centerpieces, that are meant to be decorations for the Thanksgiving season. All the arrangements sold are constructed by members with the help of alumni. Our leadership team has created a sign up sheet for chapter members interested in helping construct the floral arrangements or interested in learning more about floral arranging. Construction will take about 2 days after school from 2-4 which is also the pick up period for the orders.

Popcorn Park Refuge Collection

The Popcorn Park Animal Refuge is a animal refuge located in Lacey Township, New Jersey. This zoo is filled with rescued wild animals that have been taken in through the years. These rescued animals range from lions to tigers to bears. They also rescue animals such as cows, donkeys, horses, deer, squirrels, etc. Every year, the Allentown FFA Chapter hosts a donation drive for this zoo. During the drive, multiple items that the zoo needs to take care of its animals are collected from various local businesses including, Tractor Supply, Ricks Saddle Shop, school locations, etc. Some of the items include blankets, toys, treats, food, cleaning supplies, etc. At the end of the donation drive, the items are separated and organized before being loaded onto a school bus and being taken to the zoo. This year's donation drop off will take place on December 22. At the zoo, students and members that volunteered to come unload the bus into a supplies shed, and are given a free entrance into the zoo from the generous zookeepers. Students are able to learn about the rescued animals that are cared for at the zoo, as well as their backstories and why they were rescued.

National FFA Convention

National Convention is the largest FFA event held in Indianapolis Indiana. This convention is when chapters from across the United States come together in celebration of all their hard work, and compete at the National level after winning at their state level. This year the convention was held from November 1st through the 4th. Throughout the convention, they hold sessions to award members in their competitions, hear keynote speakers, and hear the retiring addresses of the National Officers. This past convention our chapter competed in Creed Speaking and Conduct of Chapter meetings, along with accepting our 2 star chapter and having 2 of our members accept their American degree which is the highest degree earned in the FFA. Our competitors in Creed Speaking ranked silver, and our Conduct of Chapter Meeting team ranked bronze. The convention has a whole expo hall full of FFA sponsors, supporters, colleges, and a whole shopping area. This is a great experience for our members to gain confidence, learn more about FFA, explore different opportunities around them, and overall connect with other FFA members from across the US.

Allentown Fall Festival 

The Allentown FFA participated in the Allentown Fall Festival. We had a booth and a station for cutting wandering travelers. We also showed off all the agriculture classes along with selling Allentown FFA alumni merchandise.  This is a great way to promote our chapter by sharing our fundraisers and overall what our chapter does for our community. This was held on the 14th and 15th of October and we set up a booth on both days with the help of members and alumni.

Lead

LEAD is a two day conference that took place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Somerset Hotel and Conference Center. The Allentown FFA is proud that multiple members could attend all three sections of the conference. The chapter's Leadership Team attended Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT), seasoned FFA members attended Leadership and Opportunities Conference (LOC), and the newer members of the chapter attended the State Greenhand Conference (SGC). Chapter members discussed local problems, some being in Allentown, and how they could develop a plan to fix said problems or form a group that will collectively fix said issues. LEAD was used as a tool that enhanced all members way of life, such as increasing their leadership skills, learning to work efferently, gaining confidence in themselves and others, and last but not least how to make lasting memories. Students engaged in multiple activities and workshops to help learn leadership skills amongst each other. Not only were students working on themselves and learning very valuable lessons, they also had time to mingle with others during breakfast, lunch, and dinners. They also experienced a dance at the end of the first day where they all enjoyed numerous songs and dancing but also getting to meet new and exciting people.

Apparel Sale

Allentown FFA will sell apparel, including short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, zip up sweatshirts, crew neck sweatshirts, and sweatpants. This year we are allowing members to input their designs to help us succeed in promoting the Allentown FFA. All proceeds will be going right back into the chapter balance. 

Roost Fundraiser

We held a dine to donate at the Roost restaurant. We created flyers for the fundraiser, to print and post about. This was to help fund our trip to the national convention on October 22-26. We communicated to alumni, members, teachers, and family members. We got 10% of the profit they made that night. We also got donations from family members of officers and members. 

Halloween Poster Contest for 3rd and 4th grade

 The Halloween Safety Poster Contest is an annual event held by the Allentown FFA with the goal of teaching 3rd and 4th grade elementary students how to be safe on Halloween, while also allowing them to be creative. Members of the FFA will first go to the elementary school and give a presentation on the details of the contest with some examples on how to be safe on Halloween that they can use on their posters. The students will be given approximately two weeks to create their posters. Once collected, posters will be judged by FFA members in 5 categories including, most creative, most eye-catching, most informational with imagination, spookiest and most related to C.A.R.E.S. After selecting the winners, prizes will be awarded and posters will be hung in the cafeteria to be a reminder on how to be safe on Halloween. This event is always enjoyed by the students and is excellent in teaching them how to be safe during Halloween while providing them with an element of creativity. 

September Chapter Meeting

Every third Thursday of the month, the Allentown FFA holds a chapter meeting. The chapter meeting is held in the ag building of Allentown High School and runs from 4:30-6. Typically the meetings follow this order; opening ceremonies, reports from the treasurer, secretary and committee chairs, old business, a demonstration of parliamentary procedure, new business, door prize drawing, member of the month and then closing ceremonies. Following this, members enjoy an activity with a theme decided by the officer team and snacks are always available. Chapter meetings give members a chance to interact with one another, as well as keep updated on what is happening within the FFA.  

Millstone Day

On Sunday, September 8th, members represented Allentown FFA at Millstone Day. We had tents that spread awareness about agriculture, games, and even live animals! This was a fun event that everyone enjoyed! 

Flower Bulb Sale

The flower bulb sale starts on Thursday, September 5th, and ends on Wednesday, September 25. This is a fundraiser our Chapter puts on to raise money for travel expenses for our trip to FFA Nationals in October 2024. This sale included bulbs for Daffoldis, Tulips, and many other flowers that will bloom in the spring! 

Summer 2024 Recap!

Allentown Officer Leadership Training (AOLT)

The leadership team stayed over at the Allentown Presbyterian Church after Freshman orientation to finish up our summer of planning and preparing. We spent the day working with our Committees to plan the year's events. In addition, there were various team-building activities to improve our teamwork. We ended the night with our sponsor's dinner to communicate with our sponsors and discuss ways to improve the chapter and better connect with the community!!

9th-Grade Orientation

On August 29, the leadership team gave presentations and set up displays to show incoming freshmen what the FFA was all about. We wanted to spark interest and introduce them to our agriculture program and its many opportunities. 

Canoe Trip

The newly elected leadership team participated in a canoe trip down a river to further their bonding. Officers learned how to work together better and create bonds that they will rely on throughout the year. This was a fun trip that everyone looks forward to every year!

Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) 

Allentown sent two members to Washington DC this summer on July 17 - 19. They were taught different principles, including exploration, encouragement, advocacy, and service. In addition, the participants learned how to become change makers and create "living to serve" plans that they can incorporate into their communities. This conference also allowed members to learn about the history of Washington DC and connect with members from all over the country. 

Summer CDEs 

 Over the summer Allentown FFA sent one team to compete in the Safe Tractor Driving CDE. This event took place at the Burlington County Farm Fair on July 16. The team represented Allentown very well! Two individuals placed in the top 5, with one placing 1st overall! 

AHS Graduation

On June 20th members of the Chapter assisted with Allentown High School Graduation. Members made flower arrangements for the stage and handed out pamphlets and water to families and guests attending. 

POW-WOW

POW-WOW is a performance objective workshop for all the newly elected officers. This activity happened across the span of two days during the summer and it is a requirement for all officers to attend. Some topics that were discussed include expectations, what it means to be an officer, how to set proper goals, navigating AET and SAE's, and team building. 

Ag Day

Ag day is another opportunity for our chapter members and ag students to teach elementary school students about agriculture through activities and presentations of animals. Our members, officers, and alumni brought their own pets and farm animals to exhibit agriculturalist values. At Ag day, there were ag-themed games such as Barnyard tag, lasso the bull, and a corn pit. It was a fun day for young kids and older kids alike!

June Cookout

On June 5th, our Chapter hosted a cookout to wrap up our school year. There were snacks, games, and some discussion of upcoming plans for the next year. Many people attended and it was a great way to kick off summer!

Thank you for keeping up with us!

Sincerely,

The Allentown FFA Chapter