Wood County Farm Technology Day's Future Generations Area Ready for the Family
Thursday, June 21st, 2018 -- 11:40 AM
(WDLB) -Wood County’s Farm Technology Days is ready for moms and their kids.The traditional youth tent at Farm Tech Days has now become the Future Generations area, led by Auburndale teachers Kyli Brown and Mark Cournoyer, who lead a committee of 10 who will bring a wide range of youth activities.
Kyli: "They all bring a different taste of what future generations of Wood County looks like. That was something Mark and I, as co-chairs of this event, wanted to make sure we encompassed is programs for everybody. From the littlest of youth, all the way to looking for career choices as a young teenager. So, we kinda split it up a little bit. I worked on coordinating some of the under 10 activities. Mark is the FFA Advisor at Auburndale and he has a real big hand in knowing what are older youth are looking for in career choices and so together we collaborated, I think, really well on having a nice selection of activities, demonstrations, hands-on things that are going to meet all the needs of our families in Central Wisconsin."
Brown says that much of the youth area is run for kids by kids, through an adult-youth partnership. The Future Generations area is broken down into four main areas: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programming, natural resources, agriculture, and healthy living. All vendors, hand-on activities, and performers fall under those areas.
Kyli: "Because those are kind of the four main categories that shape the youth and needs of Wood County. So, we wanted to make sure that we brought the things Wood County families are looking to learn more about, our teens are looking to learn more about, and our communities are looking to learn more about. We didn't just bring in a bunch of acts from all sorts of different parts of Wisconsin. We tried very hard to keep the promotion to the Future Generations area to businesses, activities right here in Wood County."
Cournoyer says there will also be space set aside for mothers with small children who need some added space and privacy. And the Future Generations area will be found on the eastern edge of tent city, one of the first features that families and school groups will see as they enter the show.
Mark: "We're about 200 feet from an entrance where the buses will be able to drop you off. For day cares and any other school groups that wants to come in, you can keep them in our area. We're a fenced off area, so it's easy to keep track of the kids as well as exiting when they leave. We've made accommodations for if they bring their own pack lunches in. They can sit down, there's garbage cans, seating areas, tables and things like that that they can those lunches from their own youth organization groups or other groups to bring in. So, yeah, we're on the far eastern edge, right in the middle of tent city."
Another exciting event that is happening with the Future Generations area at Farm Tech Days is the appearance of Wood County native and current Packer linebacker Vince Biegel, who grew up on his family’s cranberry marsh in Wisconsin Rapids. He’ll be attending Farm Technology Days in the Future Generations area on Thursday, July 12, from 9:30 to 11 a-m. Biegel will give a talk on how he grew up in Wood County and how farming and technology have affected him and his family’s cranberry marsh, as well as what it’s like to be a Green Bay Packer. He will also sign some autographs and do a little tour within our area.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.