Searcy (LP) SHS Future Farmers of America had a pork butt fundraiser to raise money for the State Convention they will go to in June. Each officer of this organization was required to sell ten pork butts. Christina Cook, Abella Maxwell, and Jared Sandefur(shown in picture) were some of the officers.

The idea for the fundraiser came when the meal for the FFA End Of Year Awards Banquet and Silent Auction was changed to barbeque. Mr.Wiggins had a large grill, so it was decided that they would smoke pork butts on it. Eleven pork butts were taken to the banquet. Many people loved them and said they would buy them if the organization had a fundraiser selling them. Extra money needed to be raised for events so the organization had the first pork butt fundraiser.
Eighty pork butts were sold. On the benefits of this fundraiser, Mr. Saffley, FFA leader and Agriculture teacher states “It’s good for the students. They’ve learned to work with each other and co-mingle, how to handle money, and to talk to different people. The leadership team needs to have those experiences throughout their career to make them better citizens, students, and ultimately, better FFA officers.”

Every year, on the last day of school or the day after, the teachers have a cookout. This year, FFA will grill pork butts; Dr.Watson will cook hamburgers, hot dogs, and bratwursts on the grill; and the rest of the teachers will do a potluck.

The pork butt fundraiser was a success. Abella Maxwell says “As an officer, it is my duty to be involved with many activities. This one in particular helped the officer team fund the many camps we are going to this summer. It was a success, we even sold out. Many people came back and wanted to buy more because they were so delicious. ” FFA plans to have another pork butt fundraiser around the time of the Superbowl, and more to come.