BCJ News

Every year around the first weekend of November, pheasant hunters congregate in Blaine County to support the Chinook Chapter of the FFA. Frank Overcast, Tim Wynne, and Mark Velk organize the event, which this year was held November 2-3. Part of the money raised will support FFA members who earn their American FFA Degrees.

While the hunt is not of the same caliber as the Legends for Lights Jamboree-a Havre-based event that brings together former NFL, NHL, MLB, and other professional legends along with locals and outdoor enthusiasts from across the country for opening day of pheasant season-the FFA Pheasant Hunt Fundraiser ranks as a time-honored tradition.

According to Chinook FFA Alumni Association President, Ashley Liddle, the hunt brings in out-of-town as well as out-of-state hunters. Whether they come for the meals, return for the birds, or just because they believe in the cause, many of the hunters return year after year.

The hunt is the Alumni Association's biggest fundraiser. Velk sets up the hunt details, securing landowner permission and organizing the two-day event, while Liddle prepares lunches on both Saturday and Sunday as well as Saturday's dinner. This year, she served 24 hunters for lunch on Saturday, and 27 hunters feasted on a prime rib dinner with cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, yeast rolls, and desserts made by the FFA families. Later that evening, many of the hunters played poker; some donated their winnings back to the FFA. The event also included a few informal contests among hunters, such as Longest Tail Feather and Biggest Bird. The awards ceremony featured some tall tales, as well.

Adding to the coffers, Wynne wrote a check, matching monetary donations for the night. Another individual donated a pair of binoculars, which was auctioned off by Overcast. The purchaser donated the binoculars back to the Alumni Association, and they were sold again.

The pheasant hunt began as a way to fund the Justin Overcast Memorial Scholarship, but eventually, Don and Judy Overcast offered the event to the Alumni Association to take over.

The monies raised support Chinook FFA members. "We supplement the funds that the Chapter raises with fair concessions and fruit, chocolate, and jerky sales so that the members can attend contests or make the trip to National Convention," President Liddle said.

She added that a couple of years ago, the Alumni Association decided to split the money made through the hunt, with half going to the Chinook Chapter and half going to the Austin Bucklin Memorial Fund. "Austin helped to get an FFA Chapter going in Washington," Liddle said, "and we wanted to continue his legacy."

Liddle further reported that, when compared to previous years, the 2019 pheasant hunt generated the most revenue.

As a way to incentivize other FFA members and encourage them to persist in the degree acquisition process, this year, the Alumni Association voted to fully finance Colton Liddle, son of Travis and Jolene Liddle, on his trip to the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Liddle, who earned his American Degree, received his award at a special Awards Presentation during the Seventh General Session on November 2.

About her son's achievement, Jolene Liddle stated, "I am very proud of my 2019 American FFA Degree recipient. He has worked hard to get here and has been fortunate to have amazing high school teachers and college instructors who support and encourage his achievements. Thank you, Robin Allen and alumni, for all you do for our Chinook FFA students!"

The American FFA Degree is awarded at the National FFA Convention and Expo each year to less than one percent of FFA members, making it one of the organization's highest honors. Requirements to secure the honor are lengthy. Liddle had to not only earn the Greenhand FFA Degree, the Chapter

FFA Degree, and the State FFA Degree but make significant accomplishments in his supervised agricultural experience, beef production.

Before being eligible for the American FFA Degree, Liddle had to clock hours as a volunteer and share evidence of his leadership ability. The Chinook Community was the recipient of much of Liddle's service, as he collected food for the food pantry, cleaned buildings to prepare for the Blaine County Fair, picked up trash after the Sugarbeet Festival, and collected money with the Chinook Community Chest, which funds community youth activities. With the Chinook FFA Chapter, he also put tin on the Ag Hall at the fairgrounds, picked up trash at the fairgrounds, and built planter boxes for the Community Garden. In addition, Liddle performed as a judge for the welding contest at MSU-Northern, the host of the Montana Skills USA competition.

After auditing his application and verifying his eligibility for the American Degree, the National FFA Board of Directors considered Liddle's level of commitment to the FFA before approving him for the award.

In addition to his degree certificate, Liddle received a gold American FFA Degree key. The gold key is emblematic of the award's status as the gold standard.

As the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization, the American FFA Degree represents a testament to an FFA member's dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association while also demonstrating outstanding leadership ability and community involvement exhibited through their FFA careers.

Hailey McMaster of Chinook also earned her American Degree, but she was unable to attend the ceremony in Indianapolis. Her award will be presented at the Chapter's banquet in May.

"This is the highest award an FFA member can earn. It's based on invested/earned income, community service, scholastic record, and FFA involvement. I am proud of both of these young people because American FFA Degree recipients show promise for the future and demonstrate an ability to achieve excellence," Chapter Advisor Robin Allen said.

"Colton and Hailey work hard to accomplish their goals. I have enjoyed watching them grow in their work experiences as they gained skills for their future careers. I'm so proud of their accomplishments and their drive to excel," she added.

Liddle also wished to thank his college instructors for allowing him to miss class for a week so that he could travel to Indiana to accept his degree.