Haines City High's FFA Chapter Marking 50 Years

HAINES CITY | When Haines City High School's FFA members gather to celebrate the chapter's 50th anniversary on Thursday, they will be presenting a skit about a contemporary issue - the government's right to take land through eminent domain.

The chapter's 50th annual Future Farmers of America banquet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

The program will include the eminent domain skit, performed by Haines City agriculture students. The 10- to 15-minute skit also will be presented in a competition June 9 at the state FFA convention.

It already has been presented to the Polk County and Haines City commissioners, the Farm Bureau Board of Directors and a group of local agriculture teachers, and at the recent Haines City Earth Day Celebration.

The students will discuss the pros and cons of the government's right to eminent domain in a simulated, real life setting, said Emilee Sanford, a 12th-grader who is one of the presenters.

"They will explain that eminent domain is the government's legal right to take private land for public purposes provided it pays the property owner 'just' or 'full' compensation," Sanford said.

"Just compensation is the amount of money at which a property is appraised and full compensation is the highest of any bona fide offer for purchase of the land," said Keitha Hall, the school's agriculture teacher and FFA adviser.

"Eminent domain is an important issue for farmers," said Hall. "It's happening to a lot of farmers around the country, not so much (yet) in central Florida."

Other members of the presentation team are 12th-graders Whitney Lane and Buddy Solomon, 11th-grader Cameron Herndon, 10th-grader Nicole Beaumont and ninth-grader Leigh Ann Barthle.

Agriculture is one of several career paths from which ninth graders at Haines City High School may choose, Principal Deborah Elmore said.

She said the Agriculture Department, under the leadership of Hall, is to be renamed the Environmental Science Academy.

"(Hall) is head and shoulders the best Ag teacher in the county and one of the best in the state," said Elmore. "Her students are extremely professional, diligent and highly trained."

Elmore said that, starting in the fall, the program will include an "outdoor classroom" at CEMEX, formerly Rinker Materials, on Sand Mine Road to teach wetlands reclamation.

Hall said other Ag subjects include animal husbandry, plant science, horticulture and agriculture history. She added that graduates are typically certified by the Florida Nurserymen, Growers and Landscapers Association for work in various kinds of agriculture jobs.

Tickets to the banquet are free and available to FFA members, their sponsors and other supporters, and local dignitaries, said Kirsten Lane, an 11th grader who is president of the Haines City High School FFA and is in charge of the banquet.

"It's an honor. I get to meet a lot of people. I've learned a lot of leadership skills," said Lane.

To request tickets, she said, call Nicole Beaumont at 439-2900.

"This is a huge deal, our 50th year," Hall said.

She expects 250 to 300 people to attend.

The Haines City High School FFA chapter was chartered in 1958.

Future Farmers of America, according to its Web site, "operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st Congress of the United States, and is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture."

The national FFA was chartered in 1928 and has about 500,000 members in more than 7,300 chapters in all 50 states and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Awards will be presented to parents, students and local supporters.

Information on Future Farmers of America is available at www.ffa.org and at www.flaffa.org.