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Ansonia
High School Leadership Grant presentation (L-R) FFA
Vice President Megan Bergman, FFA Advisor Brad
Lentz, FFA Secretary
John Fisher, CBC Donor Relations Manager Tracy Morgan, FFA President
Andrea Barga, Ansonia
Principal Stephen Garman, CBC Account
Representative Dana Puterbaugh, FFA Chaplain Robert Christman.
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CBC Grant Award will
'seed' Ansonia FFA Greenhouse
Ansonia wins grant for supporting FFA sponsored blood drives
ANSONIA, OHIO - Money doesn’t grow on trees, but Future Farmers of
America (FFA) students at Ansonia High School know how to turn it into
“seed” for a blossoming business project. Community Blood Center
(CBC) awarded Ansonia a $1,000 High School Leadership Grant for its
FFA-sponsored blood drives and that money is already at work “growing”
the Ansonia FFA Greenhouse.
CBC awards grants to the top two high schools in its 15-county service
area with the highest percentage of students eligible to donate who
support campus blood drives. During the 2013-14 academic year AHS
had 139 percent of enrollment participating in campus blood drives,
second only to Bradford High School with 144 percent.
A high school must host at least two CBC blood drives to be considered
for a Leadership Grant. Ansonia hosted five with all the blood drives
sponsored by the FFA and coordinated by FFA advisors Brad Lentz and
Jennifer Knick.
“You are excellent in blood drive participation,” CBC Donor Relations
Manager Tracy Morgan said as she presented the grant award at Ansonia’s
Thursday, Oct. 23 blood drive. “Last year you had 196 donors
present to give blood and your 175 donations helped save up to 525
lives. Plus, donors and helpers contributed almost 200 hours of
community service. We’re proud of you and we hope you’re proud of
yourselves.”
“I think that has a lot to do with Mr. Lentz and Ms. Knick, and it’s a
super effort by the (FFA) chapter,” said Principal Stephen
Garman. “They have a way of putting students in charge and it’s
up to them to put things in place with just a little leadership from up
top.”
“The community service hours are an incentive, and the kids always like
to do it,” said FFA advisor Brad Lentz. “We don’t usually have a
hard time getting slots filled up.” That was true again Thursday,
as Ansonia hosted its second blood drive of the new school year. The
result was 42 registrations and 30 donations for 113 percent of the
collection goal.
FAA student leadership has been an important part of blood drive
success, and the Ansonia FFA Greenhouse. “The FFA runs it,” said
Brad. “It’s a fall and spring retail garden center with about eight to
10 students selling 400 different kinds of plants. It does $50 to
60,000 worth of business a year.”
The grant money is already at work, helping fund expansion of the
retail and storage space. Brad says the renovation will make the
greenhouse more inviting to its already loyal customers from Ansonia
and neighboring communities.
“This made my day,” Brad said about the new source of funding for the
FFA project. “We didn’t know it was coming. That’s a good day!”
Ansonia High School, Bradford High School, and Horizon Science Academy
in Dayton were all grant winners despite being among the smallest
schools in CBC’s 15-county service area. Horizon, with just 60
eligible donors won the grant for most improved.
Butler Tech was again the most productive blood drive sponsor overall,
winning the $1,000 grant for Most Donors in the Academic Year. It won a
second grant for Red Cord Excellence with the highest number of student
donors qualifying for the CBC Red Cord Honor Program.
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FFA
Advisor Brad Lentz & FFA student Robert Christman at Ansonia FFA
Greenhouse project.
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FFA blood drive volunteers Gayla Crabtree, Holli Hammaker, Tyler Greel,
Brooke Muhlenkamp & Sydney Ward.
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