As summer ends and a new semester begins, the Cashion FFA Chapter is looking back on what a compact and exciting summer they’ve had.

Wyatt Collins began the summer attending FFA’s famous Washington Leadership Conference.

Collins and 104 other upcoming Oklahoma seniors attended Washington, D.C., for a week. The members toured some of our country’s greatest monuments while focusing on exploring, encouraging, advocating and serving.

“WLC was a life-changing event. Not only did I get to visit and learn about national monuments, but I also obtained lifelong leadership skills,” Collins said.

“Yet, I think one of my favorite things about the conference was all of the people I met. Meeting other people from my own state who share the same goals and achievements as me made the whole event even better. You truly leave WLC with the most amazing new best friends.”

Shortly after WLC, Kendra Bryant, Collins, Cathleen Hamil and Madison Westerhoff hopped in the Suburban to head to Oklahoma FFA’s 50th annual Alumni Camp.

The camp was held at the Tulakogee Conference Center in Wagoner.

During the three-and-ahalf- day session, the members focused on personal and group leadership.

Hamil said her favorite camp activity was the rope course.

“It’s something that challenges you, builds endurance and allows you to trust the people around you because they are helping you the whole time,” she said.

The ropes course was just one of the many thrilling events during camp.

In fact, Westerhoff said one of the most exciting moments from camp was “anxiously waiting to get in the conference doors in hopes of sweeping a front row seat.”

The members were a part of the camp’s biggest attendance in 50 years.

On July 12, the officer team (Collins, Hamil, Tyndal Fields, Grayson Stewart and Westerhoff) decided to put in their miles and begin their way to Cliffhangers Cabin in Broken Bow.

The team began its retreat by competing and collaborating with their version of the show Chopped.

The teams whipped together four impressive dishes, yet only one team could win.

Fields and Stewart made a scrumptious dish they like to call the “Infamous Fried Rice” and a superb dessert that made judges (Holly Drake and Teresa Karnes) place them first.

After the crew ate their backup dinner, they began brainstorming and planning all the fun for this upcoming school year.

The team is very excited to carry out their ideas and begin the year.

Later that night, the officers ended their day by participating in the recent tortilla TikTok trend and watching a movie.

The next morning the group woke up and headed to town to play a round of mini golf and get some lunch.

Later that day, pictures were taken, a few more memories were made and team building games began as the day ended.

The team headed back to Cashion the next morning, excited to make new things happen.

On July 19-21, Oklahoma State held one of the most time-honored summer field days in the

[See Cashion, Page 10] country.

The Big 3 Field Days event brings in around 1,900 young men and women to OSU in July to participate in livestock judging and other judging events.

The judging events range all the way from sheep and goats to cattle and swine.

Cashion’s Junior 4-H team was ninth overall on Sheep Day and Wyatt Collins was ninth out of 521 on Swine Day in the Senior FFA division.

Emerson Belt and Grace LaBlue represented the Cashion’s 4-H members.

FFA members attending included Jakob LaBlue, Dally Pedersen, Nolin Farrar, Sadie Weaver, Alex Jerry, Collins, Ryann Ball and Bella Ball.

The Cashion FFA Chapter was sad to wrap up its last event of summer, but truly excited to start another year.

The chapter is ready to apply their new ideas and goals.

On Aug. 2, Cashion FFA Adviser Holly Drake finished the summer strong when she was awarded the NAAE Teacher Mentor Award at the Oklahoma Summit Conference in Tulsa.

This award was developed to recognize individuals who have answered the call to mentor fellow agricultural educators in the profession.

Drake was also recognized for her 20 years of service teaching agricultural education.

She began her career in 2002 at Luther Public Schools, where she taught