PLANET

KSU Stadium in background

During spring break (March 22-25), the Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources hosted the 36th annual Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Student Career Days. The event brought 824 students and 133 faculty from 62 two- and four year colleges and universities, 150 representatives from 40 companies, and 130 volunteers to the Kansas State University campus for four days of intense competition, networking, and fun!

Sky view of the Paver Competition

How were we involved? As Volunteer Coordinator we were in charge of recruiting and scheduling the volunteers for this 4-day competition. At first, this didn't seem like a huge task but as March approached it was evident this was a major undertaking.

"Muddy" Plant Install Competition

Wood Construction Competition

One major challenge during the week was the weather. It rained Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday making the Rec Playing Fields and others areas of campus a sloppy mess. Some of the volunteers got to experience muddy shoes and clothes up close as we prepared for the Landscape Plant Install.

Willie supporting KSU Horticulture

Looking back Matt and I had a blast meeting new and old friends, being on campus, and playing a roll in making this event come together.  We are still recuperating from 5 days of being on our feet for 16 hours. 

Many other events took place that aren't pictured. To name a few, Sales, Arboriculture, Truck and Trailer Backing, Landscape Design, Skid Steer Operation, and much more. Without the help of over 100 volunteers, including Diana and Todd, Matt's parents, PLANET would not have been a success. We received a lot of praise for a job well done.  All reassurance that our hard work paid off.

AR - 10

On February 18, 2012 we attended the Extreme Fowl banquet, similar to a Pheasants Forever banquet. We have been supporting this group for the past three years going to their event and donating money to their cause of getting youth involved in the outdoors. When we arrived, we did we what we normally do, we bought general raffle tickets and walked around the building checking out all the prizes that you could win. As we were walking around the room for the second time Matt and I were debating what we should do with the remaining $20 we planned to spend on the raffles. We then came up to the AR - 10 table. The raffle was called "pluck a duck" where you would pull a ticket out of a duck decoy. The dollar amount written on that ticket was the cost you paid for the ticket. We pulled a ticket, "BONUS" it said. We had won a free ticket plus a small gift of our liking. Since the duck only had 100 tickets we decided we would draw again to increase our odds of winning. The second ticket cost us $19.25. 

We enjoyed the rest of the evening, eating supper and socializing with friends. As the evening was coming to a close they started drawing for all the raffle prizes. It didn't take long and we were still empty handed. The last gun to be drawn was the AR-10. They started calling off the numbers and we both were looking anxiously at our tickets. 3-2-6 they called. It seemed liked forever and then they followed with 0-------------0-------------2. We had just won!! Matt grabbed the ticket, stood up, and showed his excitement.

Over the past year, Matt and I have been extremely lucky. The one thing that we have learned from this is, "we only win when we do things together". I guess we'll keep each other around. =)

Strike

In 2006 Matt, AJ Simon, Steele Dearden, Jared Bauck, and Matt Geyer began bowling as a team at the State Knights of Columbus Bowling Tournament.  Over the past six year many fun times have been had and occasionally even a little money is made from placing in the top of the tournament.

The Marienthal Knights of Columbus 2930 has taken four teams each with five bowlers to the tournament for the last six years.  As most in attendance can attest, there is room for improvement, and each bowler has his own form...

In this picture is our 2012 bowling team, Jared, AJ, Matt, Steele, and Jordan Geyer.  Once again this year Steele made the trip from Villanova where he is attending law school and Jordan substituted for Matt Geyer who is living and working in South America