Putnam Schools Celebrate National FFA Week

It’s National FFA Week and schools across the region are celebrating.

One of those being Putnam County’s Upperman High School. FFA Chapter Instructor Wes Shanks said he has seen the Upperman chapter grow in membership over his three years as instructor.

“These students are getting leadership skills, personal soft skills that they won’t get other wise,” Shanks said. “That really prepares them for the next step from high school on into college or the career field.”

Shanks said the school has created a theme each day to recognize the week. Shanks said so far, students have participated in environmental appreciation day, teacher appreciation day, farmer appreciation day, wearing the FFA colors blue and gold and lastly, drive a tractor to school on Friday.

“We park them along the main drag here at Upperman High School and Upperman Middle School, and they get to show off all their fancy tractors and items they are proud of,” Shanks said. “We are really excited about that as far as ending our FFA week.”

Shanks said the development of Baxter has made for healthy student participation and funding. Shanks said students learn more than just leadership skills with several competing in yearly agricultural events.

“There is more students,” Shanks said. “The community is larger thus everybody is getting more involved and that’s a great aspect to it. The funding is doing great. We’ve got some great community support as far as funding and purchasing money from our governmental entities. Those things combined with the student activity, the excitement, the competitions that we go to. We got one coming up, the agricultural mechanics in our Highland District.”

Shanks said FFA remains the largest career technical student organization in the country.