Christy Tobola
Primary FFA Advisor
Room: 701
Email: ctobola@bellvillebrahmas.org
Craig Melton
FFA Advisor
Room 702
Email: cmelton@bellvillebrahmas.org
Jacob Diezi
FFA Advisor
Room 703
Email: jdiezi@bellvillebrahmas.org
Daniel Diezi
FFA Advisor
Room 700
Email: ddiezi@bellvillebrahmas.org
The Bellville FFA chapter gives students opportunities to develop agricultural knowledge, career skills, leadership, and responsibility through classroom instruction, hands-on projects, supervised agricultural experiences, competitions, and community service. Members may participate in activities involving livestock, plant science, agricultural mechanics, public speaking, judging, and chapter leadership. Contact an FFA advisor for membership information, competition schedules, projects, and upcoming events.
- Leadership Development Events and Career Development Events
- Livestock shows, judging contests, and student exhibitors
- Agricultural mechanics, welding, and construction projects
- Plant, animal, and natural-resource science activities
- Supervised Agricultural Experience projects
- Chapter officers and student leadership
- Fundraisers, community service, and school activities
- Competition results and student advancement
- Scholarships, degrees, awards, and certifications
- Conventions, banquets, and member accomplishments
Covering the FFA Beat
Start Here
- Introduce yourself to Mrs. Tobola and explain that you are covering Bellville FFA for the BVP Newsroom.
- Ask how FFA coverage should be coordinated among Mrs. Tobola, Mr. Melton, Mr. Jacob Diezi, and Mr. Daniel Diezi.
- Find out which advisor oversees each competition team, project area, livestock activity, and chapter event.
- Ask how each advisor prefers to be contacted and how far in advance interviews, photography, or video coverage should be arranged.
- Request the current FFA calendar, including meetings, competitions, livestock shows, conventions, fundraisers, banquets, and deadlines.
- Ask for the names, grade levels, offices, and contact information of the chapter’s student officers.
- Find out which Leadership Development Events, Career Development Events, livestock shows, and other competitions Bellville students will enter.
- Ask what agricultural projects and Supervised Agricultural Experiences students are currently completing.
- Ask which activities reporters may attend and whether any shops, barns, animal areas, practices, or competition materials have access restrictions.
- Check regularly with the appropriate advisor and student officers for updates and possible stories.
- Submit possible stories as pitches before beginning full coverage unless your teacher tells you otherwise.
Your Responsibilities
- Check for FFA updates at least once each news cycle.
- Maintain contact with Mrs. Tobola, the other FFA advisors, and chapter officers.
- Determine which advisor is the best source for each specific activity, team, or project.
- Track meetings, competitions, livestock shows, conventions, service projects, fundraisers, banquets, and deadlines.
- Watch for students preparing animals, developing agricultural projects, practicing competition skills, or taking on leadership roles.
- Follow important projects and Supervised Agricultural Experiences from planning through completion.
- Look for competition results, student advancement, degrees, scholarships, certifications, awards, and other accomplishments.
- Pitch promising stories to the newsroom.
- Arrange interviews, photography, video, and event coverage in advance.
- Confirm names, event titles, competition divisions, placings, sale amounts, awards, degrees, and advancement before publication.
- Follow up after events for official results, photographs, reactions, and information about what happens next.
- Include student voices by asking members about their responsibilities, preparation, challenges, career interests, and what they learned.
Important
FFA includes many different activities, and no single advisor may oversee all of them. Begin with Mrs. Tobola, but confirm which advisor is responsible for the particular competition, livestock project, chapter activity, or agricultural subject you are covering.
Participation does not necessarily mean that a student placed or advanced. Clearly distinguish among students who participated, students who placed, students who received awards, and students who qualified for the next level. Confirm all results with the responsible advisor or an official results source.
Livestock areas, agricultural shops, tools, machinery, trailers, and work sites can present safety hazards. Obtain permission before entering these areas, follow the advisor’s instructions, and never touch an animal, tool, machine, vehicle, or student project without permission.
FFA is more than livestock shows. Look for stories involving leadership, agricultural science, mechanics, public speaking, career preparation, service, and supervised agricultural experiences. The award or competition result may be the starting point, but the stronger story explains the preparation, responsibility, setbacks, and learning behind it.
Reporting Your FFA Stories
Possible Story Ideas
- Chapter officers begin their terms or lead an activity
- Students prepare for Leadership or Career Development Events
- Competition results and advancement
- Livestock projects, shows, auctions, and exhibitors
- Agricultural mechanics, welding, or construction projects
- Supervised Agricultural Experience projects
- Students earn FFA degrees or industry certifications
- Scholarships, awards, and member recognition
- Fundraisers and community-service projects
- State and national FFA conventions
- Chapter banquets and officer elections
- Students explore agricultural careers
- A member overcomes a setback with an animal or project
- Projects completed for the school or community
- Seniors reflect on their years in FFA
- The chapter reaches an important milestone
Signs There May Be A Story
Pay attention when:
- A major competition, show, convention, or deadline is approaching
- Students begin preparing animals or projects for exhibition
- A competition team begins intensive practice
- A student wins, places, qualifies, or advances
- An animal or agricultural project reaches an important stage
- Students complete a difficult mechanics or construction project
- A member earns a degree, scholarship, certification, or award
- Chapter officers launch a new activity
- FFA begins a fundraiser or service project
- Students encounter and overcome a significant setback
- A student tries an event or project for the first time
- FFA partners with another organization or community group
- An activity produces visible results on campus
- Members return from a convention with awards or new experiences
Questions to Ask: The 5 W's and 1 H
You will not necessarily ask every question below. Select the questions that fit your story and ask follow-up questions whenever an answer is unclear or incomplete.
Who was involved?
- Which FFA members participated?
- Which advisor supervised the activity?
- Which chapter officers or student leaders were involved?
- Who developed, raised, built, or presented the project?
- Were businesses, families, alumni, or community partners involved?
- Who judged the event or confirmed the result?
What happened?
- What competition, show, project, or activity was involved?
- What responsibilities did each student have?
- What skills were required?
- What challenges or setbacks occurred?
- What did the students accomplish?
- What award, placement, degree, or certification was earned?
- What happens next?
When did it happen?
- When was the activity or competition?
- When did preparation begin?
- How long did the project take?
- What deadlines did students have to meet?
- When were official results announced?
- When is the next competition or project stage?
Where did it happen?
- Where was the event held?
- Where was the animal raised or project completed?
- Where did students practice or prepare?
- Where will the completed project be used?
- Where can official information or results be found?
Why does it matter?
- Why did the student choose this event or project?
- Why was the activity important to the chapter?
- Why was the project needed?
- Why was a particular animal, crop, material, or design selected?
- Why is the accomplishment meaningful to the student?
- How does the experience relate to an agricultural career?
How did it happen?
- How did the student prepare?
- How was the project planned and completed?
- How was the animal selected, raised, trained, or presented?
- How did the competition team divide responsibilities?
- How was the project funded?
- How did the student overcome problems?
- How was the result determined?
- How will the experience influence what the student does next?
People You May Need to Interview
Depending on the story, consider interviewing:
- Lead FFA advisor Christy Tobola
- FFA advisors Craig Melton, Jacob Diezi, and Daniel Diezi
- The advisor responsible for the specific activity or competition
- Chapter officers
- Students who competed, placed, or advanced
- Students responsible for livestock or supervised agricultural experiences
- Students who designed, built, welded, or repaired a project
- Students earning degrees, scholarships, awards, or certifications
- Teammates who contributed to a group result
- Parents, alumni, businesses, or community partners involved
- Judges or event officials, when appropriate
- Teachers or organizations receiving a completed FFA project
Do not interview only an advisor or award winner. Include the students whose preparation, responsibilities, challenges, and teamwork explain how the accomplishment happened.
What You Need to Collect
Before writing or producing the story, collect:
- Correctly spelled names and grade levels
- Each student’s chapter office, competition event, or project role
- The responsible FFA advisor
- The official event, contest, show, or project name
- The date, time, and location
- An accurate description of the activity
- Official placements, scores, awards, and advancement
- The correct FFA degree, certification, or scholarship title
- Details about the student’s preparation and responsibilities
- Verified animal information, sale amounts, project costs, or fundraising totals when relevant
- Information about challenges, changes, and solutions
- Useful quotes from participating students and the appropriate advisor
- Photographs or video of both the process and final result
- Identification of everyone shown in photographs
- Relevant schedules, results, programs, or official documents
- Information about what happens next
- The name of the person who confirmed the information
Before You Leave
Ask yourself:
- Do I have every name spelled correctly?
- Do I know each student’s grade level and role?
- Did I speak with the advisor responsible for this specific activity?
- Did I confirm the official event or project name?
- Are all placements, awards, amounts, and results verified?
- Did I distinguish among participating, placing, winning, and advancing?
- Can I explain what the student actually did?
- Do I understand how the student prepared?
- Did I ask about challenges, setbacks, and solutions?
- Did I go beyond the award or finished product to tell the process behind it?
- Do I have strong student quotes?
- Do I know why the accomplishment matters?
- Do I know what happens next?
- Did I receive permission to enter, photograph, or record in restricted areas?
- Do I have usable photographs or video?
- Did I identify everyone shown in my photographs?