From EASTWOOD FFA
Eight Eastwood FFA members attended Ohio FFA Camp from July 6 to July 10.
Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum is located in Carrollton, Ohio. FFA Camp provides FFA members an opportunity to learn new leadership skills while meeting other FFA members from across Ohio.
The first day consisted of moving into cabins, taking a camp photo, playing games, eating, assigning roles in their tribes, free time, a dance, and a campfire. Each member got put into a group, which were called tribes, to meet other FFA members from around the state; they did most activities with this group throughout the week.
In the mornings, members could choose to sleep until 7 a.m. or wake up at 6:30 a.m. for the polar bear plunge or sunrise walk. At the polar bear plunge, members jumped into the lake, then swam to shore to go back to their cabin and get ready for the day. At the sunrise walk, members walked around the camp, then went back to their cabins to get ready.
The second day was filled with eating, Adventure Valley or class activities, flag raising and lowering, tribe meetings, free time, class fun night, and campfire. Adventure Valley was bonding time and trust activities for each tribe. During class activities, seniors & grads, juniors, sophomores & freshmen were all separated to do different activities. Seniors & grads did authenticity in action; juniors did a tour of the local dam; and sophomores and freshmen did a workshop and learned about camp heritage. Class fun night was split into the same groups with seniors and grads doing a bonfire; juniors doing a summit and overnighter; and sophomores and freshmen doing a battle night.
During flag lowering and raising, the State Officers prepared a mini-lesson about something or someone important in US history.
The third day’s activities were eating, flag raising and lowering, tribe meetings, seniors & grads doing high ropes, envirothon, Camptivity A, free time, trial of the tribes, and campfire. Envirothon was different for different members; each got to pick from a list of activities that related to the environment. Some activities were about animals, while others dealt with the land. Camptivity A was like Envirothon, but the activities were more for fun than to learn. There was a list of activities for members to choose from, such as shooting and games. Trial of the tribes had tribes running around camp trying to find four objects to collect to start a fire. The first tribe to find the items and make a fire on the beach won.
During free time, students could play various games like sand volleyball, gaga ball, basketball, pickleball, or nine-square. They could also go swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, or canoeing. There was also corn hole and ping pong. Plus, there were tournaments going on during free time. A new tournament each free time, unless they needed more time for a tournament.
Day four of camp was packed with eating, tribe meetings, class activities, free time, water games, a talent show, a dance, and campfire. Class activities for seniors and grads were service; juniors were alphas and betas; and sophomores and freshmen were Camptivity B or state officer scavenger hunt. Water games were in two different places, one at the waterfront and the other in Adventure Valley. The waterfront had many different games for the students to compete with their tribes. Adventure Valley, however, was each tribe competing in a relay. The talent show had many different acts, including singing, skits, the camp creed, and reading.
The nightly campfires included nightly reflections for the campers. The State Officers gave a mini-lesson, something profound for the campers to think about before getting ready for bed.
On the final day of camp, the students ate, watched a slideshow of pictures from the week, did camp cleanup, and said farewells.
