Episode 24 Franklin County Fair
This episode features the Franklin County Fair. Listen to JR Zinner talk about his experience in serving as a Western Hills Ag Instructor, FFA Advisor, and Fair Board member. We also sit down with the Shaffer family and FFA members to talk about what FFA means to them and the community.
WHHS FFA Chapter Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/580544132550118/
Franklin County Fair
https://www.facebook.com/p/Franklin-County-Fair-KY-100083818628385/
Central Kentucky Ag Credit
https://www.agcreditonline.com
- Transcript
[00:00:01.280] - Intro
Welcome to beyond agriculture, the podcast that takes you beyond the scope of Ag and into the real life stories, conversations and events taking place in our community. Who we are and what we do is beyond agriculture.
[00:00:26.400] - Braden Porter
Hi, my name is Braden Porter and I'm here with JR Zinner at the Franklin County Fair. So JR, tell us a little bit about yourself.
[00:00:34.480] - JR Zinner
So, I've been a resident of Franklin county more or longer parts of my life than anywhere else. Since 2000, I've taught at Western Hills High School. My wife and I, and our two sons own a farm here in the community. We raise show lambs and I've been teaching high school agricultural education for 25 years. I've been an illustrious and dignified member of the Franklin County Fair board for the same amount of time.
[00:01:03.540] - Braden Porter
Good deal. Yeah. So let's get into your FFA career and telling us about that. So, 25 years, you know, tell us a little bit what it's like to be teaching the next generation of Kentucky agriculture.
[00:01:17.220] - JR Zinner
I take it as a serious, like a very serious commitment. But also it's something that I've been able to embrace with enjoyment because it's not a burden, it's actually a choice that I make to spend time, invest time in high school age students and our middle school program. And I've reaped way more benefits from my career choice and being able to be a teacher in this community than I have any, any other results. And so it's kind of a blessing. I deal with anywhere from 150 to 350 FFA members and or students in my classes at any one time. And the part of me that gets to put on the ag teacher hat is pretty rewarded because I get to see a lot of students succeed at things that they're intrigued with or things that they've realized are substantially awesome opportunities for them to be a part of. And I've had nothing but enjoyment out of my career choice.
[00:02:21.200] - Braden Porter
Yeah. And so you said 25 years as an FFA teacher, so tell us a little bit about how that's changed in your experience over the years.
[00:02:30.610] - JR Zinner
So 25 years in the classroom as an ag ed teacher first and then an FFA advisor second. I think over time, like this community or this county I serve, the west side of the county or the west side of the river, had predominantly been pretty reflective of ag programs throughout Kentucky. I had a lot of students that were from rural backgrounds that either lived on operating farms or lived on small acreage. And so at the beginning, those students, we're really kind of interested in production agriculture from an experiential side, or, you know, based on their experiences growing up and things they could take back to their family or their farm and kind of put into play as time went on. I would suggest that our community has become more developed in terms of the rural areas are now probably more suburban. In general, our students range in a very diverse group of young people. Everything from different. A lot of different ethnic backgrounds, cultural perspectives. It was mostly probably 60% male when I first started teaching at western hills, and their interests were things like crop production, ag mechanics, welding, animal science, and now it's probably 60% female. And their interests at our program are horticulture, floral design, still animal sciences, but more of an emphasis on veterinary sciences and companion animals, pets and therapy animals. And then. But we still offer some of the things like ag mechanics, and we still discuss animal science, livestock production, and things that you would think would typically be found in an ag classroom setting. It's become much more diverse over the time. I can give it that.
[00:04:26.950] - Braden Porter
So, thousands of students in 25 years, what has been the most rememberable aspect of your job?
[00:04:33.750] - JR Zinner
So, since we're recording twice, I'll go back to the fact that the thing I like to think about the most over my teaching career is that the relationships I've built with community members at the time, young people who are now in every career that I could possibly fathom that I didn't think they would be in initially. At the beginning, I mean, it was all a dream that students would see that they can do things that they don't see themselves capable of. And now they're doing it. And so many times over, I've had the discussion of, you know, live in the moment and really embrace, and I treasure the opportunities that you've been a part of, specifically with FFA or in Ag class, something we've learned or lesson or something. And from my perspective of not ever being an FFA or being in an ag classroom in high school or middle school, I try to always come back to the fact that they need to cherish those opportunities, because a lot of those are the ones that developed most of their ideas and perspectives about their future selves and careers. And so I think the thing that I appreciate the most is those conversations I've had where students and I can talk about the things that they value most and the opportunities that they really found themselves placing the most emphasis on.
[00:06:01.130] - Braden Porter
So we're here at the Franklin county fair, so let's talk about your dual role that you're also involved in. For those who can't see, he's flashing the badge here.
[00:06:09.050] - JR Zinner
So great credentials.
[00:06:10.790] - Braden Porter
Of course, of course. How long have you been with the Franklin County Fair Board?
[00:06:15.080] - JR Zinner
Yeah, so I started in 2000. I was told that I was going to be a fair board director because the previous teacher was one of the guys who actually established the first fair in our county. And so I was grandfathered in as, as a voting member at the time. And my role here has expanded rather drastically. Initially, at first, my vote was something that counted, mattered at meetings, and now there's about seven or eight, maybe twelve of us that are pretty active directors and a handful of associate members. And so just the existence of the fair during this week of the summer, that responsibility is divided pretty equal amongst a few sets of shoulders. And so over time, I've brought on more leadership roles, obviously.
[00:07:11.200] - Braden Porter
And so these are big events, very impactful in the community. Can you tell us a little bit about the planning that goes into something like this?
[00:07:18.820] - JR Zinner
This fair is a year round planning endeavor. We will take off about 20 days after tomorrow, and then the 2025 fair starts over. And the amount of planning that we put into this is spread out amongst the few of us that are members, but it includes a lot of stakeholders. So there is a lot of discussions to be had with community leaders, citizens, fair patrons, things they really appreciate, things they'd like to see more of. There's a lot of thought and meticulous planning that goes into making sure that everything from year to year is updated and reflects what opportunities our citizens are interested most in. Our stakeholders include everybody from our county judge, and since this is a county park, to the people who come here just for the heck of it, it's a pretty large facility, but we share it. And so we have to spend the week kind of balancing how the park's used for the fair, but obviously for its daily purpose. So before we started the interview, I was watching people at the driving range drive golf balls. I watched a couple of people play pickleball early afternoon. And of course, we're getting ready to have a beef show and then the carnival will open up. We have to work with a lot of different people, a pretty vast neighborhood and a school behind us. And so we have to respect all of our friends that surround the area and people that want to use the park, too. So a lot of planning, a substantial amount of planning.
[00:08:55.120] - Braden Porter
Well, JR, thanks so much. Thank you. Ag Credit, thanks you for being a member, as well as I believe, Franklin County thanks you for all the service that you do here with the community, in the community, with the fair, and what you do with FFA. So thank you.
[00:09:08.030] - JR Zinner
Appreciate it.
[00:09:09.470] - Braden Porter
We're here with the Schaeffers, a very involved FFA family. And so, Mr. Schaeffer, you're an FFA advisor, is that correct?
[00:09:17.530] - Colleen Shaffer
Yes, sir. At Western Hills High School in Frankfurt, Kentucky.
[00:09:20.580] - Braden Porter
So tell us a little bit about that and the role that you are as an advisor in FFA.
[00:09:25.400] - Jeffrey Shaffer
Well, I've been there for, this is my 8th year starting up, and I teach the horticulture side of it. So I have greenhouse and I teach community service. I work with the community a lot on having places for kids to go and work and learn new things, new jobs, new opportunities, and, you know, something, maybe a career in the future. So that's kind of what I do there.
[00:09:47.540] - Braden Porter
And, Mr. Schaeffer, we're here with your daughters, Addison and Colleen, both also very, very involved in FFA. So, Addison, I'll start with you. Tell us a little bit about what it means for you as a student, you know, and what empathy through your view as a student.
[00:10:06.980] - Addison Shaffer
It's very important to me. Like dad said, he's been teaching, so that helps a lot. And my grandfather used to be an ag teacher. It helps a lot with, like, personal skills and, like, getting out of my box and actually, like, going out and being able to do things on my own.
[00:10:25.940] - Braden Porter
Yeah, yeah. So, Colleen, you've graduated from this FFA, but looking back on it, what are some kind of key takeaways that you attribute to you that you got from FFA?
[00:10:36.640] - Colleen Shaffer
Yeah. Something really cool about FFA is that you don't realize how much actually helps you until after you're out of it. I am working at Kentucky FFA LTC, which is also known at FFA camp. I'm a counselor there. First year working. If you would have told me my freshman year of high school I'd be working there, I would have laughed and told you no. But it's really cool, like, since graduating and then having these opportunities where I've also worked, state convention. I'm going to be working state fair. So I'm still very involved in helping that way. But it's really cool now to see the growth that I've had in terms of, like, leadership and being able to, like Addison said, be outside of your comfort zone and really grow as a person.
[00:11:13.260] - Braden Porter
So tell us a little bit about, I'll go back to you, Mr. Schaefer, about what agriculture and FFA and your community all combined. I mean, we're here at the Franklin County Fair, and couldn't be a better example of agriculture in the community. So tell us a little bit about that.
[00:11:27.370] - Jeffrey Shaffer
I feel like the community involvement is so important because, you know, your school is in part of the community. I mean, it's part of it. The community members have the students that come to your school, so you're working with them. The community or the students, when they graduate or even before they graduate, they can come co op or they can do work based learning, and they're working out in the community and helping people and learning new jobs, new careers, new opportunities. So it's very important to build those relationships with the community so you can, when you do have students that want to work out at these new jobs or these farms or wherever, you can get them jobs there and they can work there. It's very important to be community involved.
[00:12:14.660] - Braden Porter
Yeah. And how do you think that affects you as a student, Addison, with FFA and being involved in your community?
[00:12:21.320] - Addison Shaffer
I'm very involved, obviously, because my dad's an ag teacher and the advisor. Again, going back to my first answer, it gets me, like, it helps me with personal skills and growth. Again, it pushes me out of my comfort zone, and it just helps me learn things that can help me in the real world or work me towards, like, a career or job, like my father was talking about.
[00:12:43.970] - Braden Porter
And so, Colleen, you want to also be an FFA teacher, is that correct? And I talked to Addison earlier, and Addison also wants to be one. So we got a lot of, a lot of good things coming to FFA with the Schaeffers here. You guys are making a lot of good teachers. So we thank you guys so much for taking time to talk with us, and I believe Franklin county thanks you guys for being involved in this community. So thank you.
[00:13:05.120] - Jeffrey Shaffer
Thank you.
[00:13:05.660] - Addison Shaffer
Thank you.
[00:13:08.520] - Braden Porter
I'm with Addison Sanford and Carter Hutcherson, and we're here talking a little bit about FFA. So tell me, both of you guys, what does FFA mean to you?
[00:13:17.480] - Addison Sanford
FFA, to me, is really big about family. So I feel like ever since I started in middle school with FFA, it has just been a way for me to be able to come out of my shell and be able to learn new things and meet new people.
[00:13:34.050] - Carter Hutcherson
Yeah. Going off of what Addie said, FFA is a really great organization. It's taught me so much about leadership and to come out of my shell, whether that's just going to FFA camp or the county fair, like this state national convention, it also provides so many opportunities for students to learn more about agriculture and the agricultural industry.
[00:14:01.340] - Braden Porter
So let me ask you, what does it mean for FFA to be involved in the community. I mean, we're here at the Franklin county fair. So how does FFA impact you all as a community?
[00:14:11.540] - Addison Sanford
FFA is big in our community because not only are we from western hills, but across town is Franklin county. And both of the schools, schools are huge in our community. You can go around to, I mean, even just walking into Walmart, everyone's going to know about FFA, and everyone knows that just being an FFA member isn't enough. But being a member and helping out in the community is a big way to support local farmers, big industries. So that's a big way.
[00:14:45.540] - Carter Hutcherson
FFA is really a huge part of our community because we do live in a farm town. FFA is training the leaders of America. You know, they teach these kids, you know, not just about farmers. You don't have to be a farmer. They teach you how to lead. They teach you how to work. It's super important. Like Addie said about our schools are huge in the community. You know, we, they definitely, FFA definitely has a big impact on everybody in the community.
[00:15:22.380] - Braden Porter
And Carter, continuing with you, you mentioned leadership. Tell us a little bit about, you know, what does leadership mean to you? Because I learned that you're on a committee, right? Is that correct?
[00:15:31.640] - Addison Sanford
Yes. So I'm the chairman of the support groups committee for the Western Hills FFA chapter. So leadership is a huge aspect of my life, and I think it should be a good, a huge aspect of other people's lives, too, because FFA teaches you how to be a leader. You know, when I started, I really, I didn't talk to very many people. I didn't do much. I was really secluded. But whenever I joined FFA, I learned, I learned how to speak. That's one of the biggest things is I learned how to speak to people. I learned how to, you know, just different things. You know, without FFA, I would have not been able to do half the things I'm doing now. Like at FFA camp recently, I was awarded outstanding leader. And like, that's a huge honor for me, a state leadership award. So I think I couldn't have done that without this family, this community and the leadership.
[00:16:48.120] - Braden Porter
Well, thank you guys so much. And this is Addison and Carter. And thank you guys for taking the time to talk with us.
[00:16:55.520]
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