Langford Area’s FFA Advisor has had a busy summer. AnnaMarie Sachs was one of 62
candidates chosen, out of 10,000 applicants, to attend a FFA Teacher Ambassador’s training in at the National FFA Headquarters in Indianapolis this past June. While there, she enjoyed networking with other FFA Advisors, attending workshops about hosting FFA events, lesson planning techniques and organization.
When asked what her favorite part of the conference was, Sachs replied, “I connected with other teachers, who have now become great mentors to me. They really made me feel like I was doing my best.”
Only two other South Dakota FFA Advisors have ever been selected to attend this prestigious training. Sachs was the third. She looks forward to using what she learned heading into her third year of teaching and advising at Langford Area.
After getting home and resting up for a couple of weeks, Sachs planned a retreat for her
FFA Officers. The group spent two nights at Goose Lake Lodge near Watertown SD. While there, they discussed ideas for fundraising, new events, and talked about how they can get more community involvement.
Sachs broke the kids up into two groups while on the retreat. Teamwork and team building was a huge part of this and the FFA’ers even had to make their own meals while staying at the Lodge. Each group was made to come up with a list of food needed to prepare the meals. Sachs purchased the ingredients, and the students took care of the rest.
One evening they signed up for an Escape Room event. Sachs stated, “It was a good way to pick out some good leaders of the group who took charge, who pitched in to help and which ones weren’t afraid to lend a hand.”
Regan Bruns, a soon to be junior at Langford Area, is this year’s Vice President for the Officers team. “My favorite part of the retreat was the bonfire we had the last night of our stay. We had many memorable conversations and an overall fun evening,” Bruns said. She looks forward to getting the younger Langford Area kids involved next year and is hoping to make a positive impact, so they’ll want to join FFA as well.
The group has some fun new events that they are looking forward to rolling out this fall and next
spring. Be sure to check them out and follow along on Facebook at Langford Area FFA and
Instagram at langfordareaffa.
