FFA Sudents Beautify HFS School Grounds

When you drive up to Holy Family School (HFS), you will notice a change. HFS got a makeover of sorts. The grounds are tidy and green, accented with new flowers, gravel and mulch.

“He pretty much came and just asked us to,” said Jerry, Agriculture teacher and FFA advisor for the Benton County Career Tech Center in Ashland.

The “he” Jerry was speaking of Juwan P. who was recently elected to the office of State Sentinel for the Future Farmers of America.

To put his accomplishment in perspective, there are more 610,000 members in the FFA across the US. Only 375 of those can be state officers. In Mississippi, there are only six. Juwan is one of them. He is also the only African American to hold this title in 25 years.

With that accomplishment comes responsibility. Service

hours are a must in the FFA, no matter the level of membership. When Juwan dropped by the school several weeks ago, the overgrown front flowerbed caught his eye. He and his mother, a member of the HFS grounds committee, started talking. “I’ll bet the FFA could do something here,” said Betty. And so it began…

A plan was drawn up and the grounds committee got to work soliciting local businesses for donations of gardening supplies and plants. Juwan went to his FFA Chapter and presented his proposal. A few weeks later, a total of 17 students from Marshall and Benton counties and four teachers tackled the project.

The school beautification project included cutting down old bushes and completely re-working the bed next to the school building were also included, complete with rosebushes, mums, and new mulch. Planting bushes in the existing beds to round out bare spots and putting a fresh coat of paint on some planters gave them new life and put the

finishing touch on the project. By the end of the school day, the school grounds had a fresh new look. The beds were weeded and mulched, all the bushes were trimmed, 20 new shrubs were planted along with more than a dozen rosebushes and mums. White rock gravel accented several focal points, including the circular brick bed surrounding the stately cypress tree. A job well done!

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