“We aren’t just cows and plows. We are leaders and achievers, learners and servers, teams with dreams.” The FFA organization allows all kids to come together and learn lifelong skills that will help them throughout their lifetime. Although FFA is a year-long activity there is a specific week to celebrate this wonderful organization. President, Michael Myers was asked why FFA week is celebrated at Lewis Cass, and he said, “FFA week is vital to connect with the rest of our student body and show the impact we can have on our community. Along with this, our events are key fundraisers to help with our year-long trips and activities.”

This week-long event is long awaited for FFA members who look forward to this week for numerous reasons. During this week, fellowship is something that happens a lot. Fellowship is vital to a successful chapter. Mr. Plank shares the week’s plans, “This has been a long-standing tradition that the Lewis Cass FFA starts FFA Week by attending church together, or at least the officer team and advisors. After Churc,h the advisors and officers will go shopping together at Sam’s Club to get all of the items we need for FFA week and especially items for the Pork Chop Dinner. Mr. Appleton actually has a whole spreadsheet of items that we purchase every year to prepare for the week. Tuesday is Truck Tuesday and FFA members are encouraged to drive trucks to school and there are awards. Wednesday is Tractor Day, and FFA members are encouraged to drive Tractors to school. This day is also the students’ porkchop dinner as well as the volleyball tournament. Thursday is the Faculty Breakfast. FFA members wear official dress and arrive early to make breakfast for the faculty to show our appreciation for all the times they work with FFA members who miss class for FFA contests. Friday we will be cooking pork chops for the pork chop dinner and this day is spent finishing FFA Olympics which is a series of contests throughout the week.”

The volleyball tournament is also a long-awaited event for all Lewis Cass students, FFA members or not. The details on this tournament are as follows: teams of 6, on Wednesday, February 19, 6-10, you can sign up with Mr. Appleton.
A big part of Lewis Cass’ FFA week is the pork chop dinner. The pork chop dinner is something the entire community looks forward to. Mr. Plank shares details on the dinner, “Community Pork Chop Dinner – Tickets are sold ahead of time. FFA members cook and serve about 600-700 meals to members of the community to promote FFA Week beyond the school building and to provide our famous Pork Chops.” The tickets are $13 for a single chop meal and $15 for a two chop meal.

All in all, FFA week is an important and exciting week that allows FFA members to gather and enjoy each other’s fellowship. This week is full of fun activities including, the FFA Olympics, a volleyball tournament, as well as Bring Your Truck/Tractor Day. This week is celebrated throughout the entire country and is a long-awaited event.