Banquet
As the school year comes to a close, local FFA chapter often hold a banquet to recognize members’ accomplishments and celebrate their successes. The chapter banquet is an opportunity for members to work together to plan and present the highlights of the year. It is also a way for FFA members to recognize those who have provided guidance, wisdom and a helping hand to them throughout the year.
Many chapters have special traditions during their banquet. One of those traditions may be a flag ceremony, a slide show or a special award. Whatever your chapter has planned for the banquet, be sure that you remember to plan ahead and thank those who help make your FFA chapter successful.
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Chapter Constitutions
A chapter’s constitution is an important document that provides structure for the chapter’s activities and business. Each chapter should have a copy of their constitution on hand in case questions arise regarding the operation and administration of chapter activities.
The Texas FFA Board of Directors requires all chapters to submit a copy of their constitution and bylaws to the state office in pursuant to Article VII of the Texas FFA Association Bylaws which reads:
Each Active FFA Chapter shall submit the following information to the Texas FFA Association:
1. A list of current Chapter FFA officers.
2. A complete list of the names and addresses of all active FFA members.
3. A total of all students enrolled in the local Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources program.
4. A report of any changes in, or amendments to, the chapter constitution and bylaws.
5. Other information as may be requested by the State FFA Board of Directors.
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Program of Activities
Successful FFA chapters understand that success is the result of planning carefully, then carrying out the plans. They organize their plans through a written Program of Activities (POA) that defines chapter goals, establishes functioning committees and outlines the steps students will take to meet the goals. The POA must be tailored to meet the unique needs of the local chapter, members and community.
The Program of Activities is more than a calendar of events. The POA sets specific goals for the entire chapter that encourage members to work together to build a stronger chapter, better community and develop leadership within themselves. With specific goals, the POA provides an organizational structure for a chapter's budget as well.
The National FFA has established guidelines to help chapters meet the mission and strategies of the FFA. This document is posted below for download.
Chapters should develop activities that address each of the quality standards listed. There is not a standard format for a POA. While chapters may choose use a word processing program or spreadsheet to develop their POA, Texas FFA has partnered with The AET record keeping system to create an online strategic planning function to create a POA. This allows the chapter to develop each of the divisions simultaneously, creating the document as an aggregation of committee goals, plans and budgets, rather than attempting to create the document in a linear fashion.
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National FFA Chapter Planning Resources
Looking for ways to summarize your chapter activities? Utilize the Chapter Planning Sheet to help your chapter officers ideate about potential chapter activities. Once chapter officers have completed the chapter planning sheets, use the Summary Page to summarize the activities your chapter will do.
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