WOOSTER – It isn’t the contests, the awards or the trips that make FFA special, it is the fact that the members are sharing these activities with friends, according to Kevin Fath, District 3 president with the Ohio FFA.
Fath told members and guests attending the annual Triway FFA member recognition banquet that one event sticks out in his mind was a story shared by a fellow FFA member. The student had been part of a judging team, but the night before the contest, other members of the team told him the student that they didn’t feel he was ready for the contest.
Lesson learned. Instead of staying home and feeling sorry for himself, the student got up the next morning and joined his fellow members to cheer them on at the contest. Fath said that the young man taught him to get back up when he fell and not get discouraged.
“When you want to accomplish a goal, you need to look at what you have to work with,” he said.
“You need to keep an eye on the future, but you need to know where you have been.”
Chapter awards. Chris Esselburn was selected as the 2002 DeKalb recipient. This award is presented to the outstanding senior member based on scholarship, leadership and involvement in the chapter and its activities.
Esselburn has served as an officer in the chapter, participated in various activities including judging contests, junior fair board and public speaking. He placed third in the district in public speaking.
Ricky Neal was selected as the outstanding junior member and
Becky Gilkey was selected as the outstanding sophomore member.
Nathan Esselburn was selected as the Star Greenhand.
Special recognition. Honorary chapter degrees were presented to David and Phyllis Weaver and Phyllis Compston for their support of the chapter and its activities. The Weavers were recognized for their willingness to serve as hosts for members of the state officer team while Compston was recognized for serving as a chaperone for the state convention.
The chapter recognized Jill Yarnell, Gilkey, Amanda Scheibe and Chris Esselburn for scholarship, while Nathan Esselburn, Chris Esselburn, Megan Bailey and Matt LeFever were recognized for their participation in public speaking contests.
Nathan Esselburn placed fifth in the district creed contest, while Chris Esselburn placed third in the district in the advanced prepared speaking contest. Megan Bailey placed second in the district in the extemporaneous speaking contest and LeFever placed second in the district job interview contest.
Recognized as the top citrus sales people were Ricky Neal, Tony Carson, Liz Sidle, Chris Esselburn and Amanda Scheibe. Recognized for nut sales were Neal and Kyle Miller.
Proficiency awards. Proficiency awards were presented to Amanda Scheibe for dairy and specialty crops; Chris Esselburn, dairy, beef and diversified livestock; Jessica Mast, vegetable production; Matt LeFever, beef; Ricky Neal, forestry; Chad Wilcox, forestry; Joanna Weaver, ag sales; Dustin Guenther, oil crops; Laurie Smetzer, specialty animals; and Josh Hershberger, swine production.
Neal also placed first in the district and is among the top three individuals in the state in the area of forestry proficiency.
Serving as officers for 2002-2003 will be Joanna Weaver, president; Amanda Scheibe, vice president; Laurie Smetzer secretary; Ricky Neal, student adviser; Becky Gilkey, reporter; Nathan Esselburn, treasurer; Adam Tankersley, sentinel; and Chad Wilcox, historian.
