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The Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Accross Iowa, also known as

RAGBRAI took place July 24-30, 2011. Hundreds of participants spend the week riding from each location to the next. RAGBRAI travels across the state of Iowa, totaling 472 miles. Riders average 68 miles every day. The State Officers of the Iowa FFA Association decided to run a lemonade stand along the Bikers route. Riders could stop and rest where the stand was stationed and they could enjoy a nice glass of lemonade. The Iowa FFA Association was only one of many stands that set up along the bikers route. This is only one of many ways that the Association stays active in communities within the State of Iowa

@SE_District

Important Dates Fall SLCDO – Sep 26-27

District Soils – Oct 4th

State Soils – Oct 8th

National Convention - Oct 16-23

Greenhand Fire up - Nov 1st

212/360 Conference–Nov 11-12

Discovery Conference - Nov 11-12

Table of Contents RAGBRAI p.1

State Fair Grandstand Usher p.2

Livestock and Meats CDE p.3

Meet the Officer p.4

Iowa State Fair p.5

Southeast Stream

2011 September Issue

RAGBRAI

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Every year about a hundred FFA

members from across the state apply, are

selected, and flock to the Iowa State Fair to

serve as Grand Stand Ushers. Whether they

are first timers or returning veterans they are in

for an experience that will last them a lifetime.

The first thing they do when they arrive at

the state fair grounds is to sign in, and chose a

Military style bunk (The boys stay at the

Hillcrest Dorm and the girls stay at the Youth

Inn.) Where they will be staying for the next

two weeks. They then have a full day to get

acquainted with their fellow Ushers and Group

Leaders, before they begin there first day of

work at the grandstand and fair entry gates.

Theirs duty's as grandstand ushers include;

directing patrons of the grand stand to their

seats, making sure the grandstand stays a

smoke free area, handing out fair programs at

entry gates, and also volunteering to help out

with various activities throughout the state fair.

If any member is at all shy when they first

come to the state fair, they soon get over it.

Spending two weeks with a bunch of kids you

don't know forces you to come out of your

shell, and working at the grandstand will teach

you to be assertive and professional. When the

members are off duty, they are given plenty of

spare time to explore the fair and make new

friends. Though walking all day and standing

all night at the grandstand will tire you out, so

you might resolve to sitting at a table on the

Hillcrest porch playing cards (Egyptian Rat

Screw is a favorite game amidst the Ushers)

and getting to know your fellow FFA members.

By the time the ushers leave the state fair at

the end of their two weeks, they have made so

many new friends and memories that it’s

almost like leaving home. And for the next

couple of months they will experience a natural

anxiety of missing their friends and saying "I

want to go back" A lot! They will also miss all

those inside jokes that no one back home

understands, like the "Toga Party" for

instance... Don’t ask. In the end, all the

friendships made and the experience gained

will prove invaluable to those chosen FFA

members, as they grow in leadership and

character. Article by Eric Weirup

State Fair Grandstand Ushering

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Livestock and Meats CDE 2011

By Matt Foley

On August 27 FFA members convened for Meats judging in 4 separate divisions. The various classes

were as follows:

1- Five beef grading- contestants are asked to rate 5 beefs as prime, choice, select, standard, and

commercial

2- Four Lamb, Pork, and Beef Classing- contestants are asked to rank separate lamb, pork, and beef

carcasses from 1 (best) to 4 (worst)

3- Wholesale Cuts- contestants are asked to rank sets from 1 to 4

4- Retail Cuts- contestants are asked to identify 25 store-like cuts and determine where they are from

The 2010-2011 officers would like to congratulate all the members that participated this year! By: Matt Foley

Livestock & Meats CDE 2011

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NAME: Heidi Andresen OFFICE: South-East District Secretary SAE's/ABLITYS: Equine entrepreneurship and Ag placement. Horse judging, Parliamentary procedure, conduct of meetings, and chapter secretary. WEAKNESSES: Is very opinionated, and lacks the ability to buy toilet paper. FAVORITE MOVIE: "Transformers" SUPER POWER (if she had one): I would be Flash from the Incredibles.

NAME: Eric Weirup OFFICE: South-East District North-East Sub-district Vice-President SAE PROGRAMS: Beef Enterprise OTHER FFA ACTIVITYS: FFA Parilimentary procedure team, Trap shoot, conduct of meetings, creed speaking, grand stand Usher, and Chapter Vice pres. HOBBY'S/INTERISTS: Enjoys working with his Dad, thinking deeply, and participating par-core everywhere he goes. FAVORITE MOVIE: Star Wars SUPER POWER (if she had one): Being Super Awesome!

Meet the Officer

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The Iowa State fair has endless opportunities

for fun. But when it comes to FFA, some members don’t

even know what all the state fair offers for students in

FFA. FFA members can show just about anything at the

state fair. From animals to plants to a picture they took

that year. They don’t have to show anything at the state

fair to get active.

There are many ways of working or

volunteering. Students can apply to be grand stand

ushers. They help with gate duty and lead people to

their correct seats during the grand stand shows. You

get to stay and hang out for the entire duration of the

fair. You can meet new friends and see some pretty

awesome grandstand shows for free. You could also be

a stage attendant. You would work on or near the open

air stage on the fair grounds and help with whatever

entertainment is being showed. But you don’t have to

stay the whole fair just to volunteer. If you just wanted

to work one day for a couple hours you could do and Ag

Demonstration. For an Ag Demo you would set up in the

FFA booth in the Agriculture building and do an active

demonstration with people passing through our booth.

This is a fun way to get involved because you can show

people that don’t know much about FFA how easy and

fun it is to get involved.

Now if you love to show than the state fair is

the place for you! You can show cattle, goats, sheep,

rabbits, swine, poultry, tractors, plants, farm crops,

flower arrangements(one of my personal favorites),

and photography. If you don’t usually show anything

that doesn’t mean that you can’t. Showing animals can

be an easy thing to start and you could ask your advisor

or other FFA members for some help.

Getting involved at the state level is an

awesome way to meet other members from across the

state and meet new friends. When members from

chapters shows a the state fair, they get points

depending on how good they do. Those points add up

near the end of the FFA shows and the chapter with the

most points is given the title Supreme Chapter. It takes

many members to get a lot of points and those

members put a lot of dedication into what they show.

But all of that hard work pays off with all the fun they

had and the people that they met while at the state

Fair. I have met people in FFA that I will call friends for a

lifetime. It is a very worth-while event to get involved

in and you want more information you can contact me

or go to our district web page

www.iowaffa.com/southeast. I hope to see many of

you who now know what there is and what you can do

at the state fair to get involved.

Iowa State Fair