The Tyrone Area FFA Chapter earned the prestigious FFA Three Star Chapter Award at the 2021 National FFA Convention and Expo on October 28 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tyrone FFA was one of only four Pennsylvania schools to earn a national chapter award in 2021, and one of only two to earn the highest 3-star rating.

The National Chapter Award program recognizes outstanding FFA chapters from throughout the country that actively implements the mission and strategies of the organization.

Chapters that receive a gold rating by their state FFA associations are eligible to compete for National FFA 3-star, 2-star, or 1-star ratings.

Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership. All star-rated FFA chapters receive honors made possible by corporate sponsor John Deere.

Tyrone FFA submitted nine activities to support their application for three-star chapter recognition. The activities are as follows:

#TAHSGOAT– Tyrone’s FFA officers felt how COVID-19 was taking a toll on its members, so they developed a strategy to foster positive relationships and encourage good mental health and well-being for the chapter members. #TAHSGOAT was created to bring positivity to both the FFA members and the high school as a whole.

Parliamentary Procedure Basic Training – FFA Officers were concerned that many members did not know what Parliamentary Procedure (PP) was or its purpose. PP Basic Training was a leadership development event to encourage students to understand the purpose of parliamentary procedure and learn how to effectively participate in business meetings.

Climbing the FFA Degree Ladder – The FFA degree system is organized so all FFA members, no matter their backgrounds, have an equal chance to obtain each degree. The Climbing the Degree Ladder group was created to promote the degrees that members can earn and be recognized for their accomplishments.

Vertical Gardens – The Vertical Gardens Committee was created after students conducted a food drive and realized fresh produce is very limited at the food bank. The purpose of this committee is to provide local families in need of assistance with quality produce and fresh foods to supplement canned and non-perishable foods provided by food banks.

Service at a Distance – The Volunteerism Committee saw a great decline in members’ community service hours as a result of COVID-19, which resulted in the group researching ideas for community service activities at a distance. Thinking outside of the norm, the 10,000 Grains of Rice Challenge was selected for a spring challenge to assist members in continuing to serve others.

A Diamond in a Sleepy Town (State Convention) – Members felt the disconnect others were having with little face-to-face engagement with members from across the state. Tyrone hosted the PA state convention in the TAHS 1150 seat auditorium for the first live convention session since the pandemic commenced.

Fifth Grade Invasion Days- This activity was created to address a decline in enrollment and a stereotyping about Ag being only for farm kids. The chapter created the Fifth Grade Invasion activity to bring awareness to first -ear middle school students about what the ag program at TAHS has to offer.

Tales of the Dairy Godmother – Tales of Dairy Godmother activity conducted by the Ag Literacy committee heped second graders to understand how the agriculture industry works, its effect on the environment, technology, and lifestyles.

Quality Assurance – The purpose of the Quality Assurance Committee is to provide training to increase food safety awareness by educating members on their role in the process of earning certifications.