Pateros FFA mixes community service with chapter projects

PATEROS – If you have taken a trip to Alta Lake State Park recently and enjoyed an outdoor meal on one of the parks many picnic tables, you might want to say a silent thanks to the local FFA chapter for having any tables to use at all.
Following the 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire, at that time the state’s largest such event, the Pateros FFA chapter under the guidance of Ag instructor Lyle Blackburn took on the challenge to restore the park’s picnic tables most of which were damaged or destroyed when the flames swept through the park. After several years of work the final table was finished so the chapter switched gears and made road signs to direct park visitors.
Speaking of gears, there is usually one sort of vehicle or another in the school shop, from vintage tractors to a car or pickup undergoing restoration. Last year’s project was a 1971 Ford short box pickup that got a new 427 cubic-inch power plant to replace its original 350 V-8 stock engine. Still ahead was exterior body work and a new black paint job.
In between the many individual wood, metal and restoration projects the FFA members find time for a roster of annual events and fundraisers.
“Our trap shooting team competed at Mansfield last fall and has other shoots coming up in Mansfield and Omak in March,” Blackburn said.
On March 11 the Pateros livestock judging team will be in Okanogan for the Sunny Okanogan Angus Livestock Judging sponsored by the Cattle Producers of Washington and held at the Okanogan Livestock Arena.
Blackburn’s students attended the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum held at the Spokane Convention Center from Feb. 4-6. The Pateros chapter will hold a dress-up day in observance of National FFA Week Feb. 22-29, capped off with a barbecue on Feb. 28.
Blackburn’s group is always a big presence at the Okanogan County Fair every September and several members are raising their livestock of choice to show and sell there.
The FFA barbecue is a major chapter fundraiser and is a regular presence at the annual Pateros Arbor Day observance and later at the Apple Pie Jamboree in July.