According to FFA advisor Melissa Achziger, the annual service sale and the silent auction held on March 7 brought in a whopping $19,000 for the Eaton Program. During the annual FFA dinner, the members held a silent auction, featuring local work, which included a wood-burning impression of the American Flag, donated from the Eaton community. The silent auction was attended by 11 businesses and 41 other winning bidders. The minimum bid started at least $10.

The service sale was held immediately following the dinner. Much like the silent auction, the service sale was open to anyone who needed help doing anything with the minimum bid starting at $100. The highest bidder of the night went for three-year FFA member Garrett Bean (20), who sold for $1,000, the highest out of all FFA members.

Adviser Melissa Achziger said that this year, “The average sale for student service was $277, a $123 difference from last year.” The money will be used for various programs. The donation “goes to fund leadership conferences, field trips, anything else related to FFA,” said FFA member Evelyn Ford. Shea Baucke (20), another member of FFA, said, “It was a good fundraiser for the FFA. If every team is auctioned off for $200, and there are 60 teams, that’s a lot of money being made.”

According to its official website, FFA has been celebrated as a means of encouraging agriculture to grow, especially while Colorado is starting to lose its farmland due to weakening agricultural economies. According to FFA member Hannah Friis-Hansen (21), FFA “promotes agriculture to the younger generations, and we each treat each other as a family.”