Times can be tough nowadays, especially when involving budgets. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, our Ag shop classes at our highschool were threatened with cutbacks. This meant there would be no more wood, metal, or any advanced shop classes, which students and the community could not imagine Maxwell High School without.
In my last blog I mentioned a new fundraiser we would be trying in order to help our Ag Shop classes. Our new creative fundraiser was the “Rice Run!” Students enrolled in any type of Ag class showed up to help our plan take place. We decorated a rice trailer with posters, signs, and balloons. We would then go to different fields to collect as much rice as we could, hence “Rice Run.”
Our rice trailer then led our rice run journey to different rice fields in Maxwell and Williams. Students who could drive and our FFA advisors followed in pick-ups closely behind. We stopped at local rice farmers’ fields harvesting at the time and asked if they would like to donate any rice to be put into our trailer. We explained that we would use the money from all the rice we collected in the rice trailer to help save our Ag shop classes. All the rice farmers we asked were all very generous and donated some of their rice crop to our fundraiser. After we asked a farmer, he would send the bankout our way and it would help fill up our trailer. At the end of the day it was a fun way to help the shop program and we appreciated the donations very much.
Our community in Maxwell is absolutely amazing! Another huge act of generosity was shown when members of our community and local farmers helped turn empty fields behind the school that belonged to the Ag Department into rice fields that’s rice could be harvested and used to help support the Ag Shop as well. Not only did the community help prepare and clean out the field, their time and energy, but also the rice seed and fertilizers. I know that the Ag students at Maxwell immensely appreciated it. Our last newest fundraiser was our New Year’s Gala.
Ag students helped set up for the event by making table decorations, flyers, collecting raffle items for the auction, creating the programs for the event, serving as auction runners, and cleaning up after the event. Our New Year’s Gala included dinner, a band, and an auction. Overall the event went fantastically and we raised about $30,000, which absolutely thrilled us! Our teachers and students all appreciate and thank our community for everything they do for us. Without them, we’re not sure what we would do!
As for the rice fields today, many are flooded and filled with tons of ducks and geese, which is always a pretty sight to see. Basketball season has started and the Maxwell Panthers are doing great! We recently defeated a big rival, which was a huge win for us.
I hope everyone is enjoying watching the birds and is having a happy new year!
Lauren LaGrande is the latest in a family farming tradition that began nearly 100 years ago. She is a sophomore at Maxwell High School and is active in FFA, Future Business Leaders of America, volleyball, basketball and softball. When she’s on the farm, you’ll often see her with her trusted companion, Hank, the family dog. Lauren’s great-grandfather grew his first rice crop in the Sacramento Valley in 1916 and the family has continued this tradition ever since.
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