The officers and advisors of the North Carolina State University Chapter met in July to begin planning for all of the activities that were to begin as soon as the fall semester started. The first club meeting was less than a week after classes began, and there were 152 students attending. The club-sponsored Fall Faculty/Student Mixer occurred the following week, and new students were welcomed with a free raffle for T-shirts, hats, and a $50 gift certificate for the bookstore.
In October, club members worked long hours in the Steak Sandwich Booth and as ringmasters during the ten days of the State Fair. The club also raised funds by having people pay 50 cents to milk a cow at the State Fair, where participants could have their pictures taken while milking and could purchase a T-shirt. More than 12,000 people stopped by to milk a cow!
In December, five teams of 4 students each competed in our local Academic Quadrathlon, and in February the winning team traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete in the Regional Quadrathlon.
In January, 25 club members traveled to Orlando for the annual Block and Bridle convention, where we enjoyed meeting students from all over the country. We enjoyed the Florida Agricultural Tours, the Cattlemen's Meeting, and the educational seminars.
Also during the spring semester we had Ag Awareness Week on campus, Farm Animal Days (a 3-day event with over 6,000 people in attendance), our annual "Club Day" livestock show, the Eye Sharpener Judging Contest, the joint meeting with the large-animal clubs at our College of Veterinary Medicine, and the end of year Spring Social.
The annual Awards Banquet was held April 19th, with over 100 students, relatives, and faculty in attendance. The excellent meal was followed by a slide show depicting the club's activities for the year and by the presentation of awards.
Throughout the year, club members served the community by keeping a two-mile stretch of highway clean at the southern end of Raleigh. Members enjoyed group seating at the football games in fall, and played intramural softball in the spring. Club members also brought a dairy cow to the Harvest Day Festival and to the Governor Morehead School for the Blind to demonstrate milking and to educate people about the dairy industry.
The faculty advisors for the 1996/97 year were Dr. Jeannette A. Moore, Dr.
Jerry W. Spears, and Dr. Brenda P. Alston-Mills. Club officers for the
fall/spring semesters were: President, Chris Sloop/Robert Betka;
President-Elect, Robert Betka/Heidi Friedlein; Senior Activities Director,
Kevin Hedrick/Stephanie Williamson; Junior Activities Director, Stephanie
Williamson/Tonya Smith; Senior Editor, Heidi Friedlein/Regina Houston; Junior
Editor, Regina Houston/Cheryl McCoy; Secretary, Jennifer Thomas/Talia Blair;
Treasurer, Melanie McLamb; Parliamentarian, Bill Ogburn; Agri-Life Council
Representatives, Brett Mecimore and Tonya Smith/Kevin Moore and Angela Thomas.
