In 2017, Mr. Joe Proffitt approached Principal Jason Campbell with a vision for a WMS agriculture class. The first year Mr. Proffitt taught one ag class that included about twenty students. Together that first year, the first class propagated plants from seeds and cuttings, built twenty raised beds, and took over two large existing beds on campus.
From there, the ag program grew, thanks to a gracious sponsorship from The St. Joe Foundation and Farm Bureau. Mr. Proffitt added hydroponic towers, chicken pens, rabbit cages, and tools for his students. The students also ventured to Moultrie, Georgia, and other professional conferences to learn all they could.
Last summer, Mr. Proffitt attended the Future Farmers of America (FFA) State Conference in Orlando and came back ready to begin an FFA Club at WMS. Relying on the experience and expertise of Mrs. Susie McDaniel at Paxton, Mr. Proffitt has successfully dived headfirst into the FFA world and all that it offers his students.
Now, nearly six years after Mr. Proffitt launched his agriculture vision to Mr. Campbell, the WMS agriculture program boasts over 120 students selected from 620 applications last year.
Just this school year, the ag department and FFA have accomplished the following:
With all the successful busyness outlined above, Mr. Proffitt still hopes to add an aquaculture team, a livestock evaluation team, and an ornamental horticulture design team next school year. With the addition of these teams, FFA will need more community volunteers, so help is tremendously appreciated!
Mr. Proffitt could go on and on about the tremendous knowledge and skills his students have gained and the powerful relationships the program has built. He acknowledges, “FFA and community relationships go hand-in-hand […] It’s really about building awareness and linking people with expertise and experience together through our Career and Leadership Development events.”
WMS looks forward to all FFA will accomplish in the future.
We are one tribe, on one mission, preparing students for lifelong success.