Fairfield school board hears about FFA, esports

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield School Board learned Monday night about the accolades recently bestowed on students in the district.

Fairfield High School students Nick Kaska and Nate Smithburg gave a report on the activities of the Fairfield FFA Chapter. They talked about attending the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, the first that was held since the pandemic began. It was Smithburg’s third time and Kaska’s second time attending the national convention.

Kaska said he and Smithburg are members of FFA’s parliamentary procedure team, which placed third in the subdistrict contest earlier that day. That means they will advance to the district competition on March 12 at Pekin. Fairfield’s welding team placed in the Top 2, so it will be moving on, too.

This week is National FFA Week, and to honor it, the Fairfield FFA members are holding dress-up days each day of the week. Smithburg said the group would normally hold its “Tractor Day” on Wednesday of FFA Week, where members drive a tractor to school. However, because the predicted high on Wednesday morning is just 8 degrees, Tractor Day has been postponed to March.

Kaska said Friday is the “big” day of the week, when the club will hold its annual pancake breakfast in the ag shop at the high school. The group will be serving pancakes, sausage, eggs, milk, juice, and coffee from 6-8 a.m. All school staff, FFA families and community supporters are all welcome to attend.

“We encourage community members and you board members to attend,” Kaska said. “It’s a really good cause, and it’s one of the bigger things for our FFA Chapter. And the food is free.”

Smithburg and Kaska added that there will be a donation box for those who wish to contribute to the chapter.

John Grunwald gave the board a report on the esports awards ceremony the high school hosted Saturday night. Grunwald is the director of the FHS Esports Team.

“In a way, this will sound very dramatic, but at the same time, it’s very true. This weekend, we made history,” Grunwald said. “We hosted the first ever national high school esports awards ceremony, backed by the International Video Game Hall of Fame, to honor high school esports athletes, coaches and programs.”

Grunwald said he is collaborating with the International Video Game Hall of Fame to help with next year’s ceremony, too, so it can take care of livestreaming the event.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com