ENTERPRISE — Lydia Yost, a senior at Enterprise High School, has been selected as January’s member of the month for the school’s FFA chapter, it was announced Wednesday, Jan. 8.

Member of the month

Yost has been selected because most of her peers and teachers can testify to her friendly face and caring personality in FFA, formerly Future Farmers of America.

“She is the best comedic relief in every situation and helps our chapter to succeed in many ways,” said chapter adviser Stephanie Schofield in a press release.

Currently, Yost is enrolled in an Agriculture Leadership class and competes in ag issues. She is also a part of the chapter’s Little Buddy program.

Outside of school she loves spending time with friends and family, camping, jetboating, babysitting and baking.

One of her supervised agricultural experiences is an entrepreneurship endeavor called Munchable Moments. She home-makes frozen cookie dough, which is available for purchase at markets and bazaars in Wallowa County. Yost has even been awarded a national grant through the FFA program to help build her small business.

Her other one is raising a market hog for the Wallowa County Fair in August.

Because she is a senior, this will be her last time showing. After high school she is considering studying business management or something similar. She hopes to start and own a business one day.

Officer of the month

The other chapter member highlighted for January is Treasurer Dawson Cudmore.

As an officer, he has enjoyed meeting new people and gaining leadership skills from the various camps and events.

Outside of FFA, Dawson plays football and basketball, enjoys being in his vocational-agricultural shop class, hunting, fishing, riding dirt bikes, working on and driving his truck, skiing and spending time with friends and family.

Cudmore’s favorite FFA memory is selling his first steer at the Wallowa County Fair in 2023. While his steer, which he buys from the Royes Ranch, is one of his supervised agricultural experiences, he also is a farmhand at High Mountain Hay Co. He changes irrigation pipe most mornings for a variety of crops and runs a baler during hay season in addition to any other random jobs they might need help with.

Some fun facts about him are that he has moved more than 15 times and has lived in both Alaska and Colorado.

Cudmore is not exactly sure what he will do after high school but is hoping to either enlist in the U.S. Air Force or attend a four-year university.

Little Buddies

The chapter’s Little Buddies program was recently highlighted in the National FFA newsletter.

Emphasizing that mentorship matters, the program was created in 2018 to mentor elementary school students who one day may come into FFA.

“We have about 35 FFA members involved in this program,” said Hannah Kate Sheehy, a senior who serves as the Enterprise FFA Chapter’s junior adviser and Little Buddies program chair. “Members are paired with elementary students based on similar interests. If an elementary student is really into basketball, then we try to pair them with a high school student who’s on the basketball team. If they are avid hunters, we pair them with an outdoorsy student who enjoys hunting.”

FFA members meet with their Little Buddies once a week from January through May. They kick off the program with a meet-and-greet event, where mentors create large, colorful signs featuring each participating student’s name. To kick off the event, these students run into the room and find their new “Big Buddy.”

“High school students spend a recess period with their buddy playing as well as talking about their week and interests,” Sheehy said. “They also invite their buddies to sporting events, FFA nights and support them at assemblies and music concerts. It’s rewarding to feel you’re helping young kids who need some extra attention. You feel like you’re a friend they can talk to.”

In addition to serving as role models, FFA members lead interactive activities designed to help their proteges learn about agriculture, which includes Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom lessons.

Upcoming

The chapter has several events coming up in the next few weeks.

• Jan. 31: State FFA Scholarships are due.

• Feb. 14: FFA Sectionals.

• Feb. 17-20: National FFA Week.

• Feb. 24: District FFA Convention at Eastern Oregon University.