MILLERSBURG, Ohio — On Feb. 22, the West Holmes FFA sent two members to UNOH to compete at the state tractor troubleshooting contest. Prior to the contest, members attended a banquet at The University of Northwestern Ohio.
John Hughes and Brayden Shumaker both competed and placed eighth in the state. They will receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend UNOH, in addition to their plaque for placing eighth.
On March 13, the chapter sent members to help at the annual SWCD/FSA farmer breakfast. This year, the breakfast was held at Round Lake Christian Camp. Eight members attended, including Mariah Miller, Jayme Pennell, Brayden Shumaker, Tierra Slaubaugh, Ella Sprang, Rebecca Sprang and Chase Stitzlein.
At the end of the breakfast, Ohio’s newly elected Director of Agriculture, Dorothy Pelanda, spoke about her concerns with Ohio agriculture and what motivates her, and the priorities of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Afterward, she answered questions from the crowd. When questioned about the FFA, she said “although I never wore a blue jacket, I was always envious of those in them.”
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SULLIVAN, Ohio — The Black River FFA recently held its March meeting, followed by the annual pie bake-off.
After the meeting, students had the opportunity to show off their cooking talents. The judging was based on appearance, flavor and general appeal. Ten members participated in the competition: Sarah Meredith, Maddy Sommerville, Cassidy Mrakuzic, Myrissa Norton, Cori Aviles, Bree Czarny, Cassandra Stroud, Amanda Mycek, Brianna Englehart and Macey Davis.
After everyone had a chance to sample the different types of pies, they cast their votes. The top three winners were Sarah Meredith, with a warm chocolate chip cookie pie; Myrissa Norton, second, with her chocolate mousse pie; and Cori Aviles took third place, with a peanut butter pie.
The winners received gift cards and FFA water bottles for their baking talents and skills. Thirty members attended the meeting bake-off.
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WEST SALEM, Ohio — On March 2, members of the Northwestern FFA Chapter participated in the dairy cattle and general livestock contests in Wilmington.
The dairy cattle judging team consisted of Lizzy Howman, Kara McKay, Dugan McLaughlin, Riley Stull and Kade Tegtmeier. They placed ninth as a team.
The general livestock judging team consisted of Abby Ramseyer, Tori McConnell, Cody Morrow, and Craig Wellert. The team placed 32nd.
The general livestock CDE teaches students to evaluate and place different livestock animals, as well as answer questions about each class. Some of the classes have blind questions, where members take notes on the class and are asked to remember things about that class of livestock once they leave the ring.
On March 17, Northwestern FFA chapter members traveled to Ashland for milk quality and products, general livestock, and equine judging contests.
Jadeyn Berry, Alex Borton, Ari Borton and Valarie Imhoff competed on Saturday. As a team, they placed 1st overall. Individually, Berry placed 11th, Alex Borton placed second, Ari Bortin placed eighth, and Imhoff placed 18th.
The team consisted of Cody Morrow. In the equine judging contest, Jordan Melegari and Kaitlyn Praisler competed and placed 20th as a team, and will compete in the state contest March 23.
On March 5, members of the Northwestern FFA Chapter competed in the state agricultural sales contest held at Marysville Armory.
Jadeyn Berry, Dugan Mclaughlin, Cody Morrow, Brock Tegtmeier and Claire Vaughan competed.
The team placed eighth overall out of 20 teams. Individually, Mclaughlin placed 60th, Morrow placed 34th, Tegtmeier placed 34th, and Vaughan placed 33nd.
On Feb. 23, members competed in the general livestock judging contest held at OSU ATI. The team consisted of Abby Ramseyer, Cody Morrow, and Craig Wellert. This team placed 11th out of more than 50 teams with Cody Morrow placing 12th as an individual.
The general livestock judging career development event is an educational program designed as a practical method of teaching students to recognize quality production animals.
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ohio — The Fayetteville FFA elected new officers for the 2019-2020 school year. The new officers are president, Taylor Mechlin; vice presidents, Jami Brossenne and Cheyenne Adkins; secretary, Kennedy Short; treasurer, Griffin Brinkman; reporter, Lilly Beebe; sentinel, Kelbee Coffman; and sentinel, Kelby Craig.
These new officers will be formally installed at the annual chapter banquet April 10, held in the middle school gymnasium.
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OBERLIN, Ohio — The FFA chapter of Lorain County JVS held its annual banquet the evening of March 21.
With 80 guests and 27 FFA members in attendance, every career development event was announced during the program, as well as the students who participated. The top students in each event were awarded plaques and pins.
Beth Berthold, landscape and greenhouse management instructor and FFA adviser, shared that the banquet is significant because throughout the year the students participate in numerous activities and events, and she feels they should be recognized and honored for their involvement in their FFA Chapter.
The banquet concluded with the 2019-2020 FFA officers being announced. They are as follows: president, Skyler Mshabbek, landscape and greenhouse management junior from North Ridgeville; vice president, Seth Miller, landscape and greenhouse management junior from Amherst; secretary, Ky’lynn Miller, industrial equipment mechanics junior from Avon Lake; treasurer, Wyatt Collins, industrial equipment mechanics junior from Wellington; reporter, Kaitlyn Stevens, landscape and greenhouse management junior from Elyria; sentinel, Joshua Morlock, industrial equipment mechanics junior from Columbia, and student adviser, Emerald Chimileski, landscape and greenhouse management junior from Keystone.
Sydney Collier, from Clearview, was presented the “110% Award” at the recent JVS FFA banquet. This award, sponsored by AgCredit, is available to the three different FFA Chapters in Lorain County. This honor is given to the student who has gone above and beyond his/her duties for their chapter and is chosen by the chapter adviser.
Collier, who plans to attend Ohio University to study wildlife and conservation biology, shared how her JVS career-tech program and involvement in the FFA organization, has prepared her for the future.
