By Heather Ruenz
Editor
The Annual FFA Alumni Toy Show, held Feb. 23 at Whitewater High School, celebrated its 22nd year and was once again a huge success, thanks in no small part to the partnership the alumni have established with the local FFA.
“It’s a joint effort. While we organize the show, the kids are a big part of it and all of the money goes back to them,” Whitewater FFA Alumni member Tim Reid said.
One way the kids – members of the local chapter – are a great help is by assisting vendors that come to the show in getting the items they bring hauled into, and at the end of the show, out of the school.
That’s not an easy task, according to alumni member Tom Nielsen, due to the number of vendors the show draws in. This year there were 187 vendor tables set up along with 60 display tables.
And that’s not even touching on the number of attendees the show brings in each February. “The average attendance is about 800 but has been as high as 1,100,” Nielsen said, explaining that this year’s show brought vendors and shoppers from Illinois and Iowa as well as all over Wisconsin.
The show got its start 22 years ago when the alumni realized it needed a fundraiser to help out the local chapter.
“A couple of FFA Alumni members were toy collectors themselves and had been to shows. A little research revealed there weren’t any large venue toy shows in this area,” Reid said.
While it’s a lot of hard work, for alumni members and the FFA kids alike, Nielsen said it’s worth it.
“I grew up in FFA and know what it can do for the kids, so I help out,” Nielsen said.
The toy show is only one of several fundraisers the alumni and chapter partner on each year, according to Reid, who said they also hold a fall cookout in September and a spaghetti supper in April.
Whitewater FFA advisor Paul Majors said the alumni is a “group of adults dedicated to supporting the many activities of our local chapter.” In addition to raising funds to send members to workshops and to support scholarships, “they donate time and funds to help grow crops on land the Kachel family lets us use.”
The giving hearts of the alumni don’t stop with the local chapter. Every other year they hand out hot dogs they cook on a float – and several hundred dollars worth of candy – during Whitewater’s Fourth of July parade.
“This is a great community and is very supportive of the kids so it’s important to give back,” Reid said.
Money raised at the toy show is used for a specific purpose – to sponsor two FFA members on a trip to the Washington Leader Conference, where they gain direction for their local club.
Leadership conference
Bridgett Hoffmann and Renee Reid, Whitewater High School seniors and members of the FFA, went to the conference in the summer of 2012 where they met up with nearly 250 other members from throughout the country.
The girls, upon arriving, were immediately assigned to separate groups – one in the Patriots, the other in Secret Service.
“They put you in separate groups on purpose so that you meet new people and get new ideas because everyone looks at things differently,” Renee Reid said.
Hoffmann said the theme, Living to Serve, helps attendees “come up with a plan to make your chapter and community better.”
While they both agreed that everything they learned at the conference was important, one activity touched them deeply.
“They have what they call a poverty dinner with all of the groups split into high, middle and low class. The high class got served; the middle class got a buffet and the low class got a plate of rice that was passed around,” Hoffmann explained. “It was powerful.”
“They let those in the low class eat eventually but it changes how you look at people,” Renee Reid said, adding that she called her dad after the exercise, thankful for the blessings in her life and inspired at the same time.
At the end of the week, everyone at the conference packed 10,000 meals that went to Nicaragua, an activity that “meant so much more after going through the poverty dinner,” Hoffmann said.
“The kids learn a lot about themselves and how they can help others,” Tim Reid said.
“They bring ideas back to Whitewater and instill them in new projects or improve current ones,” Nielsen added.
Serving community
The local FFA, much like the alumni, is highly involved in the community, including the Kowalters Farm Tour, a Food for America trip to Washington Elementary School and the Adopt a Family program.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about agriculture so at all of the events we’re involved in we talk to people about it,” Hoffmann said.
Tim Reid said the chapter is very active in the community. “That’s why we support it.”
“The community, the FFA, the FFA alumni and back… it’s one big circle,” Nielsen added.
The Whitewater FFA Alumni currently has 53 members including 22 lifetime members, and is always looking for more people to join. Being a former FFA member is not a requirement to join.
“These are people who are dedicated to providing youth the leadership growth available through FFA membership,” Majors said.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Whitewater FFA Alumni should contact Nielsen at (262) 215-2464 or Majors at (262) 472-8177.
