HANOVERTON, Ohio – As the officers of the United Chapter of FFA at United High School congratulated their 2001 honorary members at the Annual FFA Banquet April 5, one particular officer approached his parents with a sly grin on his face.
Vice president Philip Rhodes was initiating his parents John and Gayle Rhodes into the chapter even as he was finishing his own participation.
The Rhodes were selected to receive the Honorary Member Award for their support of the chapter during the last four years. Much of the equipment used to farm the 21 acre agriculture land lab at United has come from the Rhodes farm, including tractors, plow, disc, gravity wagons, a flat bed truck, and a combine.
Star chapter awards.
At the awards ceremonies following the banquet senior Jenny Grande received the chapter’s Star Chapter award and freshman Amy Fleming the Star Greenhand award.
Grande, who received her State Degree last year as a junior, has been active in FFA horse judging, general livestock judging, parliamentary procedure and the envirothon. She was also a member of United’s new Quiz Bowl team that participated for the first time this year.
According to chapter advisor, Doug Sutton, the choice for Star Greenhand was a particularly hard one this year because of the number of freshmen who “just kept showing up,” and participated actively in FFA programs while they maintained a strong academic record.
Fleming participated in freshman volleyball and plays on the United softball team. In FFA she participated in livestock judging, the job interview contest, parliamentary procedure, and assisted at the United FFA booth at the Columbiana County Fair.
Degree awards.
State Degrees were awarded to junior Stephanie Cooper and senior Sarah Zimmerman.
American degrees were announced for graduates Joe Gruber, Ashley Dolence and Ben Alexander.
The chapter has also been notified that Alexander has been selected as one of the finalists for Ohio’s Star American awards to be presented at the Ohio FFA convention.
