by Sarah Welch, GHS FFA Chapter Reporter and staff reports
For the first time in 93 years the South Dakota State FFA Convention was on the move to Rapid City, SD, April 11th-13th, 2021. Garretson FFA was well represented with 33 students in attendance to receive awards and compete amongst nine different Career Development Events.
On Sunday, April 11th, the chapter attended the State Degree Ceremony with five our own members receiving their State Degrees; Evan Bly, Caeden Bunde, Kenzie Henseler, Kennedy Houghton, and James Nussbaum. The State degree is the highest degree within the state an FFA member can earn, demonstrating the student has put an exceptional amount of time into their Supervised Agriculture Experience and local chapter. It is awarded after receiving the degrees of Greenhand and Chapter Degrees within prior years.
Evan Bly and Kennedy Houghton were also recognized as recipients of the Mary Hansen Memorial Scholarship which each of them will receive $750 in their second semester of technical school.
Monday, April 12th began bright and early with students competing in their respected CDE’s (Career Development Events). As they finished their contests, they took in the career fair with a wide variety of vendors, including businesses and secondary education options across the Midwest.
" One of the hallmarks of agricultural education and the FFA is the opportunity to showcase skills learned in classrooms and spotlighted through competitive events," said Gerri Eide, head of the SD FFA Foundation. "It is a source of pride and students look forward to the state-level events each year to determine who will represent South Dakota at the national level in the fall."
Students also took time to volunteer in the Day of Service Project, assembling four tie-blankets which will be donated locally in our community. All told, 375 blankets were made by South Dakota FFA members during this time.
“The FFA organization believes strongly in the fourth line of the FFA Motto "Living to Serve", which is why we are very excited to receive grants from Pioneer-Corteva and the National FFA and be able to let FFA members spend just a little time in person to take something home to serve their community,” said Sandy Osterday, SD FFA Foundation President. “The past few years we have incorporated a community service event into our annual South Dakota FFA state convention. The event gives students the opportunity to work together with FFA members from across the state to make items that will help those in need, the grants allowed us to surpass our goal and have our most successful event since we started the Day of Service project. Knowing we are helping those in need across our state is a great feeling.”
That evening, they attended the First General Session of the Convention which highlighted three of the State Officers' retiring addresses and announcement of the state-winning Proficiency Award Candidates.
Evan Bly took 1st in Grain Production, highlighting his Corn and Soybean operation. James Nussbaum took 1st Place in Agriculture Mechanics Design and Fabrication, highlighting his employment with Marmen Energy and J bar H Welding. Jacob Schmidt took 3rd Place in Agriculture Mechanics Repair and Maintenance, highlighting his employment at Brauns Farm and Trucking and Schmidt Country.
On the last day, Tuesday, April 13th, the second and final session of the 93rd South Dakota FFA Convention had a full schedule of the final three retiring addresses, Career Development Event Results, and the announcement of the 2021-2022 State Ambassador and Officer Team.
The Garretson FFA Chapter had members who excelled above and beyond, beginning with Gabe Johnson receiving 1st Place in Food Science, leading his team to a 3rd Place finish. Gabe’s Food Science Team members were Hannah Frewaldt, Cadence Magnuson, and Sarah Welch.
In Poultry Evaluation Drew Pederson took 7th Place and in Dairy Cattle Evaluation Jenna Van Holland took 8th Place individually and Kennedy Houghton took 10th place.
"Our members continue to strive for Premier Leadership, Personal Growth, and Career Success," said FFA advisor Alysha Kientopf.
She noted the Garretson FFA had multiple teams place in the top 10 teams, receiving Silver.
The Garretson FFA received 4thplace in the National Chapter Award. Along with Bly and Nussbaum’s Proficiency Awards, they will be advancing on to the National level for judging.
"The National Chapter Award is the highest honor an FFA chapter can receive and recognizes chapters that actively implement the mission and strategies of the FFA," said Eide. "Chapters recognized have developed an active Program of Activities and conducted meaningful events. For the overall state award, a chapter must complete at least 15 activities: one for each of the five quality standards in each of the three divisions - Growing Leaders, Building Communities, and Strengthening Agriculture, and meet the minimum requirements outlined in the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards."
