Do you need an extra hand on the ranch, farm or even just around the house or garden?

FFA’s annual Works Auction gives community members the opportunity to benefit from a hardworking FFA student for eight hours every year during FFA week. 

“We use the funds from the works auction to pay for trips,” chapter treasurer Wyatt Blackmore said. “So like, we go to Sheridan Border Wars, and then state convention, so it pays for our meals, and our travel costs.”

Powell High School senior Brooke Bessler added that the money provided by the fundraiser is important because many FFA competitions require travel and the school cannot cover the entire cost. 

Last year Blackmore’s services were purchased to stock and clean a hay barn. He noted other people in town still bid on students to do garden work. Local farmers will also often show up to purchase extra hands for laying irrigation pipe.

While the price depends on the FFA student, Blackmore said $250 for eight hours is common. He added that students who invite a lot of people often fetch a higher price. 

Freshmen Curtis Muecke and Hadley Cooper aren’t nervous about the work they may have to do following the auction since they are both offering goods rather than services. Cooper will be offering a barbed wire wreath. After one failed attempt she is brainstorming ways to make the product more durable.

“We were twisting [the wire together] but I may have to weld them,” Cooper said.

She joked that the first attempt done over a weekend “looked great until I picked it up and it fell apart.”

Last year’s auction raised a total of $8,725 with a large portion of the proceeds going to the Hackenberg family and Ethan Wittick. 

“So if people are needing manual labor, if you need hay bales moved, or you need gravel spread out, I would definitely encourage [community] members to come and buy a couple kids because why not,” Allison Morrison said. “And then there’ll be some cool goods that are made by younger community members.”

Those who want to support the Powell-Shoshone FFA chapter can come to the Park County Fairgrounds on Feb. 23.