FFA: Inside the Emblem, Marshfield

150 members
Marshfield, Wisconsin
Wood County

Tell us about your chapter. Marshfield FFA has been active since 1929, when Wisconsin FFA was established. Over the years we have grown into a large and varied chapter, with 150 members from both farm and non-farm backgrounds.

How does your chapter volunteer in the community throughout the year? We do several different community service activities during the year. We pack lunches monthly for the United Way’s Nutrition on Weekends program for needy kids in our community, clean up a stretch of Highway 10 twice a year in the Adopt-A-Highway program and rake leaves in the fall for families who need help in our community. We also help with the Rotary Winter Wonderland, a great Christmas light show in Marshfield that raises money and food donations for area food banks.

What fundraisers does your chapter do throughout the year? Which is the most successful? We hold two fruit and meat sale fundraisers each year, one with delivery in December and the other with delivery in March. Between the two of them, we sell over $70,000 in products. We also have smaller bedding plant and Poinsettia fundraisers.

What are the biggest events of the year? Describe. Our biggest local event is our annual parent-member banquet in May. We have over 225 members, parents and community members attend. Our members also participate successfully in many Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events each year with our forestry, wildlife, dairy cattle evaluation, parliamentary procedure and conduct of chapter meetings teams all winning state titles in the last few years. The dairy cattle evaluation team earned invitations to the International Dairy Cattle Evaluation Contest in Scotland for three of the past six years, a fantastic experience for the team members. Our members also have had lots of success in proficiency awards and State and American Degrees. Over my years here as advisor, 34 members were nominated as finalists for State FFA Star with 28 members ranked in the top five and five being state winners. Our FFA has also produced four finalists for American FFA Star with three out of the four awarded as the National Star. Marshfield has had 57 state proficiency winners over these years. We’ve also been competitive at the national level, having 51 state winners rated gold nationally, and 23 of those named national finalists with 10 selected national winners. Our members also participate in all the available FFA leadership conferences each year, including Connect, I Am, Fire, EDGE, fall leadership workshop, farm forum, and state and national conventions.  

What is unique about your chapter? One unique aspect of our chapter is that each summer, our chapter has sponsored a summer four-day officer retreat, hosting multiple other FFA chapters, which provides our members opportunities to collaborate with other FFA members, gaining valuable leadership and teamwork skills along the way. We also hold fun meeting activities each month including a casino night, a roller-skating party, a hayride and a fishing tournament, to name a few.

When was your chapter founded and how has it evolved? Marshfield FFA was chartered in 1929, the year that the Wisconsin FFA was established. What began then with a small membership made up of entirely farm boys has developed into the large program today with as many females as males, and members with interests as varied as the stars in the sky.