5 POA Events With Potential
The start of a new school year means it’s time to create a Program of Activities (POA) if your chapter hasn’t already. A strong POA plays an important role in your FFA chapter’s overall success, but planning strategic and entertaining activities for the entire year can feel overwhelming. If you need a little inspiration, then you’re in luck.
We chatted with two members of the Cambridge Middle FFA in Illinois, winner of the 2025 National Middle School Model of Excellence, and asked them to share some activities and events you could add to your POA that align with the three program divisions: growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture in your area.
Corben Strand and Ruby Beam completed eighth grade in 2026 and were members of the Cambridge Middle FFA leadership team that planned their chapter’s POA. Read on to discover five of their POA events with potential.
1. Tick Talk
One of the Cambridge Middle FFA Chapter’s most successful activities focused on educating its community about how to stay safe from tick bites.
“Our chapter made tick-removal kits and distributed them to community business partners, so they could give them to their customers,” Strand says.
Tick Talk took place during Farm Safety Week in September, and middle school FFA members put together a display at their local pharmacy with facts about tick bites to help agriculture workers lessen their risk of exposure to Lyme disease. Community members were encouraged to pick up a free tick bite treatment package from the pharmacy.
2. Christmas on the Square
During the holiday season, Cambridge Middle FFA hosted Christmas on the Square, where members handed out punch cards that community members could get stamped at activity stations throughout town. Stations included wreath-making with FFA members, roasting s’mores with first responders, pony and sleigh rides, donuts with police officers, face painting, hot chocolate, visiting Santa and making reindeer food. When a participant received eight punches on their card, they could enter a drawing to win a winter sled.
“I enjoyed our Christmas on the Square activity most because of how we supported local businesses, interacted with our community members and gained a better sense of serving our community as young leaders,” Beam says. “Going into the holiday season, serving your community fills you with a sense of pride.”
3. CDE Rally
To test students’ knowledge and hands-on technical skills, Cambridge Middle FFA hosted a Middle School Career Development Event (CDE) Rally. Middle schoolers competed in four divisions — animal systems, plant systems, ag mechanics and food systems.
The competition included written exams, identification stations and practicums aligned with National FFA standards. Students were challenged to apply classroom learning to real-world agricultural scenarios.
“The CDE Rally was my favorite event,” Strand says. “I liked competing against other members, talking with other members and making new friends.”
4. Quiz Bowl for Corduroy
During National FFA Week in February, Cambridge FFA sponsored its annual Quiz Bowl for Corduroy, where eighth grade FFA members face off to see who can answer the most trivia questions correctly.
“To prepare, our members had to study 100 questions that may be included in the quiz bowl, and the winner was awarded a free FFA blue corduroy jacket,” Strand says.
5. Agriculture in the Classroom
To help promote agricultural literacy among younger students, Cambridge Middle FFA members visited local elementary schools to talk about agriculture topics in their classrooms.
“We wanted to bring Ag in the Classroom to our future FFA members and better educate them about pollinators,” Strand says. “We partnered with our local high school FFA members to visit elementary classrooms, and we sent students home with pollinator seeds to start their own pollinator garden.”
