Chapter History from 2009 to 2016

 I am sure you're wondering as much as I was about how the Turkey Valley FFA chapter started and who started it. I've had the opportunity to speak with the founders of the FFA Chapter Mariah (Schmitt) Busta and Terry Schmitt, to figure out how it all began! Below is our history.  

    2009: Mariah (Schmitt) Busta and Terry Schmitt worked with the Turkey Valley School Board and staff to start agriculture classes at the school. At that time, there were no agriculture classes offered. Prior to then, there had been some agriculture classes, but they ended in the 1980s. Mariah had her work cut out because she had to have a certain number of students interested in taking the classes before they could be implemented.     

2010 - Turkey Valley began offering agriculture classes again. They first partnered with South Winneshiek, and the FFA advisor/agriculture instructor came to Turkey Valley to teach. Over time, the classes switched to online courses due to the accessibility convenience. Students enrolled in the agriculture classes were welcomed to join the South Winneshiek FFA Chapter. The Turkey Valley students were limited on FFA opportunities because there was a lack of time caused by the distance and South Winneshiek FFA meetings being held during the actual class times. Because the meetings were held during school hours, Turkey Valley students could not make it to meetings, and they had a difficult time serving in officer positions.     

 2016 - In the spring, Jessica Schmitt and Terry Schmitt expressed their desire about having an agriculture instructor back in the school, which was then discussed with Turkey Valley administrators. The idea of having a chapter was discussed. In August, New Hampton FFA advisor/agriculture instructor Mr. James Russ and Iowa FFA Association President Elisa Russ held a meeting at the Turkey Valley High School Open House. This was the day before fall classes began. They wanted to see students' interest in starting classes and potentially a TVFFA chapter. Due to the growing demand for agriculture courses at New Hampton High School, New Hampton hired an additional agriculture instructor, Ms. Ashley Mattke. Ms. Mattke's time was split between New Hampton and Turkey Valley. During the fall semester, Ms. Mattke, Jessica Schmitt, and Codi Wurzer worked on creating By-Laws, a Constitution, and a Program of Activities with the help of local FFA advisors. At the same time, an officer team was established through an application process. The promotion of the classes and chapter was continued with the pursuit of trying to spark students' interest. The officer team reached out to students already involved in agriculture to fulfill the number qualification needed to be a chartered chapter. Additionally, the Schmitt family (Carl, Terry, Mariah, and Jessica) composed a letter and created a list of businesses to help with funding. The newly founded officer team visited those businesses to ask for assistance personally. Toward the end of the year, the  TVFFA chapter was officially chartered!