Sarah Judd
Pahranagat Valley FFA students made corsages and boutonnieres for the homecoming dance to raise money for their chapter.
The Pahranagat Valley FFA Chapter held a fundraiser, taking orders for corsages and boutonnieres for the Homecoming dance. They sold corsages for $24 and boutonnieres for $12, or you could order a set for $30. The choices of flowers were red, yellow, or pink roses or blue orchids. They also had several different ribbons to help customize with what people were wearing.
The Thursday before the dance, about twenty-five members of the FFA and students assembled the flowers. They were able to raise $375 after the cost of supplies. Teresa Mathews said they are hoping to be able to continue doing this fundraiser for each dance in the future and raise even more money now that they have all of the supplies.
When Paul Mathews, the new agriculture teacher, and FFA advisor, came up with the idea, he asked around for people who could help make this possible. He found Melissa Vincent and her mom Shari King, who would be able to help out technically for this particular project. A total of fifty-two boutonnieres and corsages were ordered. Thanks to a grant from a year ago, they already had a floral fridge to use when storing the flowers for assembling and then waiting for pickup.
Jaci Pritchett, a junior from Alamo, was chair over this fundraiser. This is her second year participating in FFA. Pritchett is an environmentalist at heart and loves floriculture. She expressed how fun it was and the good memories created while assembling all of them.
Pritchett also went on to say, “I loved getting to communicate with others as well as getting to know so many other people. It felt really good to help them out.”
When the vacancy for a new agriculture teacher came up at PVHS, Paul Mathews became interested in the position. Mathews, a long-time farmer in Lincoln County, had been working out in Nebraska at the time. Since his teaching license needed to be updated, he is going through the Alternative Routes to Licensure (ARL) program provided by the Nevada Department of Education.
Mathews said he cares a great deal about the agriculture program and FFA.
He related, “I like watching students become independent and do projects on their own and have the opportunity as well to do projects they otherwise might not be able to do financially on their own. I love watching them put skills together to create something bigger. It’s amazing.”
Oct. 9 was the Pahranagat Valley FFA’s opening social where over one-hundred people attended in the Multipurpose Room of PVHS. There was a lot of community support. The chapter officers introduced Mathews and his wife to those present. Project overviews for the year were then presented.
There is an Alumni Committee that has a fund where students can borrow money for agricultural projects. They can present business ideas or agricultural experience or work experience to the committee for approval and everything they learn in the process is tracked and journaled about.
There is always a need to fundraise for the different events the FFA participate in that cost money. Plans to further fundraise with flowers for future dances and then holidays with bouquets are on the horizon.
This weekend, ten FFA members will be attending the Park to Park Peddle at Kershaw-Ryan State Park where they will earn money by serving participants food. The event has bicyclists pedaling 100 miles through different national parks. It starts at Kershaw-Ryan and then goes to Cathedral Gorge, over to Echo Canyon, then Spring Valley and back to Kershaw-Ryan.
Helping out at this event raises another $900 for the PV Chapter. All money earned through fundraising helps the students attend various conferences and activities like the Greenhand Conference in Mesquite coming up for the freshmen to attend.
