Christmas vacation is over, and while many can boast a trip to grandma's, others were busy making a difference at home. In tonight's Kids In Action, reporter Rick Carhart has such a story... about a group of dedicated ag students hoping to make a difference.
nats meeting
Six high school students from Butte, Glenn, and Colusa counties spent part of their Christmas vacation in class.
Las Plumas FFA member Jake Pickering says, "these are all my friends, we get together, have a meeting, plan for next year, should be a lot of fun."
These are the sectional officers for the area FFA, and they have plenty of motivation to spend their time doing this.
FFA Section Treasurer Jessica Cain says, "you can be a part of something bigger than you. By being an officer you can influence those that aren't to get more involved."
Part of their goal on this day is to spread the word about a new fund-raising opportunity. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has a new specialty license plate available. Part of the proceeds from the plates can fund events at local FFA chapters.
Jessica says, "it helps the ag industry. Helps promote ag education and fund ag education, so it lets us do our job."
A job that's demanding, but it's a labor of love.
Regional FFA Vice President Hank Henning says, "I was gone most of the summer, I was probably home 4-5 weeks. It was busy but a lot of fun."
In rural communities like Hamilton City, FFA is more than just a class, it's a way of life for many of these kids.
Hamilton High School Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor Janice says, "we can get over 100 kids at just one meeting at a small school, other schools get 300 kids just because that is the fun club to be in."
For these high schoolers, serving as an FFA officer makes them better students.
Hank says, "you have to have communication with other teachers to make sure they understand that you're going to be gone, and get your work done. You want good grades so you're going to work for it."
The skills they learn in FFA will stay with them their whole lives, but they can't do many of the things they do without funding, which is why they are working so hard to sell these plates.
Janice says, "it just promotes ag and California is a great state and a huge ag producer so we should be proud of that and promote that."
In Hamilton City, I'm Rick Carhart for Action News.
If you are interested in purchasing a specialty ag license plate, you can find a link to the California Department of Food and Agriculture web site on our web sites under "News Links".
