TN FFA Camp Clements Receives $100K Farm Credit Gift
Louisville, KY (January 2, 2012) – Tennessee’s beautiful FFA Camp Clements is located at the base of the Cumberland Mountains on the Caney Fork River in the east-central part of the state. As the oldest state FFA camp in the nation, it has been training and developing agricultural leaders since 1928. But in an era of tight budgets, camp facilities are definitely showing their age.
“Our cabins and administration building were built in the early ‘60s, and funds for maintenance have always been an issue,” said Steve Gass, state FFA advisor. “Except for emergency repairs, there have been no major renovations. Our cabins are in dire need of upgrades.” Fortunately for the Tennessee FFA, Gass and Farm Credit Regional Vice President Matt Neal were having a conversation earlier this year and the subject of the camp’s need came up. Neal applied for assistance from Farm Credit’s stewardship fund, and was able to come up with $100,000 for the camp.
Several Farm Credit leaders met with the Tennessee FFA state offices outside the state capitol and presented the $100,000 check for camp renovations.
“We’re tickled that Farm Credit’s chosen us as a way to reinvest back into the community, and it comes at a very opportune time,” said Gass. “We just found out that some of these repairs wouldn’t wait any longer and we didn’t have the budget to do it.”
The land and buildings at the camp are owned by the state FFA, but since 1961 the camp has participated in a collaborative agreement in which it was leased by the State Board of Education, which oversees vocational agriculture. Although the state renewed its lease this year, all funds for maintenance and repairs were eliminated.
Farm Credit has already given the camp $40,000, and will be presenting the additional $60,000 at the State FFA Convention at Gatlinburg in April. Of these stewardship funds, $70,000 will come from the corporate headquarters in Louisville, and $30,000 will come from Tennessee regional stewardship funds.
The money will be used to renovate two of the camp’s 11 cabins. As part of the renovations, which are planned to begin in early 2012, the cabins will be brought up to current code for ADA compliance, and central heating and air conditioning will be installed. As a result of the latter, the camp will be able to offer more winter programming. The cabins will also be re-wired for today’s electrical codes, which will alleviate a nagging problem.
“The current wiring and breakers weren’t built for curling irons and blow dryers, and we trip breakers a lot,” says Gass. “When these cabins were built, FFA consisted of country farm boys. While we still have those, our clientele has changed quite a bit. This year all of our state officers are young women, and if we’re going to handle today’s diversity, we need to update some things.”
Neal, himself an FFA alum, was pleased Farm Credit could play a role in helping the camp.
“We’re run by our farmers and customers, and they see things like this as an opportunity to give back,” he said. “A lot of kids, including myself, have spent time there, developing leadership skills and qualities that we use in our jobs today. I know these kids today have a passion for agriculture and they are our future.”
Neal added that there is still much to be done, however.
“The camp really is in desperate need of renovation,” he said. “We were glad we could help, but our donation may just scratch the surface. I hope others in the ag community will be encouraged to support the camp as well.”
About Farm Credit Services of Mid-America
Farm Credit Services of Mid-America is a $17.1 billion financial services cooperative serving over 92,500 farmers, agribusinesses and rural residents in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. The association provides loans for all farm and rural living purposes including including real estate, operating loans,equipment loans, and housing loans. FCS also provides an array of financial services, including crop insurance and leases. For more information about Farm Credit, call 1-800-444-FARM or visit them on the web at www.e-farmcredit.com.
