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published: Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Volunteers' efforts drive Ag-Venture's success

BY CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

SEBRING -- Darlene Phypers, drove her golf cart all over Fireman's Field Tuesday morning, giving directions, fielding questions, and problem solving all at once.

It was the first day of Ag-Venture, the three-day event that opens up the world of agriculture to every third-grader in the county.

Phypers was surrounded by volunteers, all wearing the distinctive Ag-Venture T-shirt.

Pausing for a second, Phypers looked around her at the organized chaos of excited activity, a smile of true joy on her face.

"We sure couldn't do it without the volunteers," she said. "It's all about the volunteers."

Phypers and her daughter, Danielle Daum, are the two people who thought up the idea for Ag-Venture 10 years ago.

But as Phypers said herself, the event has long since become a labor of love for hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds -- from students to retirees, from city folk to longtime growers and ranchers.

Karen Forsyth, volunteering for her seventh year, dressed up as a queen bee at the bee station. She was preparing sheets of bees' wax that the children would roll into candles.

Alongside her, Lauren Barben was helping for her second year and Sophia Peavy for her third. Peavy, who works at Riverside Bank said a co-worker, Claudia Bishop, volunteered from the beginning and had spoken so glowingly about the event at work she decided to see for herself. Now she's hooked.

Bill Ryems, working with Barben and Peavey, is a winter resident from Maryland. This was his second year as a volunteer and he came south early just to be able to take part.

Linda McCarthy, of Lykes Brothers, volunteered at the beef station, working with Melissa Russell.

The children learned about beef products and played beef-o-bingo, using cards with pictures of beef by-products and marking their places with marshmallows.

Why marshmallows? They are a beef by-product, as are bandages, perfume, chewing gum, bone china, photographic film, footballs, candy, crayons and paint.

Nellie Brown volunteered at the water and soil conservation booth, where the children made miniature terrariums. Brown has worked Ag-Venture for at least four years -- maybe more, she's not sure -- and her husband Ted Brown, now retired, was the presenter at the ornamental horticulture station from the beginning.

"I love it," said Brown. "I've cycled from one booth to another and learned along with the kids."

Emily Reynolds, helping at the alligator station where Parker Island Gator Farm was serving gator tail and explaining that alligators have two sets of eyelids, one transparent to protect the eye under water, said, "I wish they'd had this when I was kid."

Chad Haneman, volunteering his fifth year at Ag-Venture, drove back and forth in a golf cart, carting trash, delivering messages, re-stocking supplies.

What made his contribution unusual was the distance he'd traveled to get there. He lives in Olmsteadville, N.Y., in the Adirondaks, and came down just for the event. He'd found out about it from Phypers, who is a relative, become intrigued and now is hooked, too.

Andy Spires, another member of the extended Phypers family, stood by ready with air horns. Every 18 minutes he blew one blast as the five-minute warning, then two blasts to mark the time to move to another station.

Over by the food tent, nine ladies gathered to peel potatoes for the Wednesday volunteer lunch.

Lake Placid city councilman and citrus grower Ray Royce was at the citrus station. "Did you know," he asked the students, who were leaning forward intent on his every word, "that Highlands is the second largest producer of oranges in Florida? That there are about nine million trees here?"

The children were amazed.

Sandy Schaffer and her husband Gene Schaffer were part of a large contingent of volunteers from Reflections on Silver Lake. Schaffer became involved when she volunteered six years ago to string hats.

The children are given a straw cowboy hat when they arrive. There are three different colors of hat, so if a child gets mixed into the wrong group they can be easily spotted and redirected to where they need to be.

But the hats come without a chin strap and the first year tended to blow off the children's' heads.

Since then, a crew from Reflections spend days in advance stringing the hats. One thing led to another, said Schaffer, as her husband nodded agreement, now they both volunteer during the event. "Everybody should come one day " she said, "we love it."

Audrey Driggers, asked what she likes best about volunteering, echoed almost everyone else. "Just seeing the kids," she said, "and their expression when they learn hamburger doesn't come from the grocery store."