POINT PLEASANT — The agriculture industry is very important to Mason County.

And the National FFA Organization helps keep the industry alive by getting students involved in agriculture at a young age.

Saturday will kick off National FFA Week, and local members are busy preparing activities to take place during FFA week Feb. 21-28.

The Mason County Career Center FFA chapter has a full schedule planned to celebrate the week. According to FFA adviser Sam Nibert, this is the first year for the chapter to have such a large number of activities.

This year’s theme is “Step Up and Stand Out.” Nibert said FFA members are working hard to adhere to the theme by getting the word out about what FFA does.

“We need to get more people involved,” Nibert said. “We are trying to get students and building a base. We are hitting hard to recruit members and letting businesses know that we appreciate their support.”

Among the many activities on tap for FFA week is a county-wide agriculture drawing contest for first grade students at each of the local elementary schools. Nibert said students will draw agriculture-related pictures such as a farm or animals, and FFA members will go to the various schools to judge the drawings.

On Saturday, FFA week will begin as members visit Southern States and Yauger Farm Supply to pass out buttons, bumper stickers and coffee mugs. On Monday, Feb. 23 there will be an FFA flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the week. Members will be in official FFA dress for the event. Commissioner of Agriculture Gus Douglass also will be the guest speaker for the ceremony.

“(Douglass) was the first (FFA) member from West Virginia to be a national officer,” Nibert said, adding that all the area agriculture agencies will attend the ceremony as well.

Also to promote the theme of letting the community know about FFA, several members will do a radio slot with Big County 99. In addition, members will visit area businesses to thank them for their support.

According to Nibert, other activities include presentations about FFA at Wahama High School, Roosevelt Elementary School and Point Pleasant Intermediate School. He described the presentations as a way to let students know what FFA is and encourage them to join when they are eligible. Nibert said he was particularly excited about speaking at Wahama because the school has not had an active FFA chapter since 1974.

Other activities on tap for the week include FFA members serving lunch for senior citizens at the Gene Salem Senior Center in Point Pleasant, visiting nursing homes after school and hosting an FFA advisory dinner. On Friday, members also will wear their FFA week T-shirt, which was designed by 11th grader J.C. Litchfield.

For 10th grader Ashley Ohlinger, FFA week looks to be very exciting.

“This is the first time we’ve celebrated FFA week,” she said, adding that she looks forward to the activities, especially the art contest. “FFA is fun and is a great club to get into.”

Chapter president Travis Bays, a senior, agreed that FFA week will be a good time, and he described his goal to get the message out about FFA to help the organization grow.

“(FFA week) is a chance for us to get out and get active and to let everyone know what you are doing in FFA and get them involved as much as possible,” Bays said. “(My goal) is to have a lot more members and be more active in the community and have more people support us and what we do.”

What is FFA?

The National FFA Organization is the country’s largest youth organization with more than 500,000 members in nearly 7,500 chapters nationwide. FFA prepares young people for success with a wide range of academic, leadership and career development activities.

The group’s name was changed in 1988 from Future Farmers of America to reflect the expanding career field of agricultural education.

FFA helps prepare students for careers in science, business and technology of agriculture. It functions as part of a school’s agricultural education program, helping combine rigorous academic instruction with relevant hands-on experience.

Annually, FFA awards more than $2.5 million in scholarships. Chapters participate in community service activities and the National FFA Day of Service in October. State and local FFA chapters plan community service activities, including outreach events to educate children and communities about the importance of agriculture.

Agriculture is a vast and complex industry. Students join FFA in order to explore their interests in many different career fields, from biology to business management, from mechanics to marketing. FFA members know they will receive the knowledge, hands-on experience and leadership skills they need to succeed in any career path they choose after high school. They go on to be chemists, veterinarians, policy makers, horticulturists, entrepreneurs, ranchers and teachers.

FFA chapters are found in urban and rural schools in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. More than 70 percent of members are from suburban/urban areas, and 30 percent are from farming communities.

Founded in 1928, the FFA organization represents a large diversity of more than 300 careers in the food, fiber and natural resources industry. Its motto gives members 12 short words to live by as they experience the opportunities in the organization: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.