Mountain Lake FFA Chapter’s annual banquet highlights its role as impact booster
Amplify.
The 2016 FFA theme.
Boost your impact.
The group’s sub-theme.
For the past 75 years, the Mountain Lake FFA Chapter has been amplifying its impact by boosting all of its past and present members into leadership roles, as well as honing their skills in an eclectic array agricultural proficiencies.
The annual Mountain Lake Public High School FFA Chapter awards banquet – this year its Diamond Jubilee celebration – recognizing achievements of its members over the course of the past year, was held Monday evening, March 14, in the Mountain Lake Public School’s elementary gymnasium. The meal was prepared and served by the Hi-Lo Club of Lakefield, Minnesota.
Handling the duties for the event were the Chapter officers – President Bailey Leaman, Vice-President Carly Paulson, Secretary Liana Blomgren, Treasurer Nathan Regier, Reporter Rebekah Klassen, Sentinel Chanah Brandt, Historian Kenna Gardiner, Officer-At-Large Aaron Fast and Advisors Thomas Appel, Lindsey Brown, Stephen Funk and Hayley Faber. (In its 75-year history, the local chapter has had only six advisors: J. H. Tschetter (1941-1951), James P. Crawford (1951-1981), Appel (1981-2015) and its current trio of Brown and Funk, both beginning in 2013 and Faber, beginning in 2016.)
Award winners not pictured below include:
+ Honorary Chapter FFA Degrees – the parents of President Bailey Leaman – Juli and Brian Fast and Matthew Leaman, as well as Mountain Lake Public High School Principal Pamela Anderson.
+ Distinguished Service Award (for work and grant-writing completed alongside the Mountain Lake Public Elementary School Student Council in addition of new elementary playground equipment and the the creation of an improved playground area) – Carly Fast, Alexa Heffele, Alexis Jellema-Baerg, Taylor Kass and Chuntana Sayavong.
+ Chapter Crops Show Award – Ethan Klassen.
Following is a photo gallery of the additional award winners from the evening:
FRUIT SALES AWARD. A record 1,408 boxes of fruit were sold. From left, Jacob Suess and Meredith Suess, family team sales of $1,597 and Bailey Leaman, who teamed up with Chanah Brandt (not pictured) to sell $3,076 in fruit sales. Also not pictured is the individual fruit sales winner, Tara Fast, selling $2,376 in fruit.
PROFICIENCY AND SPEAKING in Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs). Front, from left, Kalley Rempel (Turf Grass Management), Katherine Hofmann (Agricultural Education), Bailey Leaman (Agricultural Sales and Service) and Liana Blomgren (Public Speaking). Middle, from left, Meredith Suess (Poultry Production), Breanna Lidtke (Food Processing), Akin Tema-Lopez (Home and/or Community Development), Kayla Vonk (Creed Speaking), Aleesha Jepsen (Goat Production), Danielle Duerksen (Swine Production) and Madison Dahna (Sheep Production). Back, from left, Alex Dunker (Agricultural Mechanics), Shadrick Hoek (Outdoor Recreation), Drake Harder (Grain Production) and Nathan Regier (Diversified Agricultural Production). Not pictured are Adam Watkins (Agricultural Services), Travis Willaby (Beef Production Entrepreneurship) and Kris Menken (Beef Production).
CLASS SCHOLARSHIP AND Leadership Awards. Front, Ruben Fentanez (Junior Class Leadership). Seated, from left, Madison Dahna (Freshman Scholarship), Bailey Leaman (Senior Scholarship), Rebekah Klassen (Junior Scholarship and Junior Leadership) and Liana Blomgren (Junior Scholarship and Junior Leadership). Standing back, from left, Katherine Hofmann (Junior Leadership), Nathan Regier (Junior Leadership), Ashley Takins ( Senior Scholarship), Weston Osland (Sophomore Scholarship), Michael Watkins (Sophomore Scholarship and Sophomore Leadership and Braden Rempel (Freshmen Scholarship). Not pictured are Jae Faber (Sophomore Leadership) and Jenneel Rodney (Sophomore Leadership).
TRAP SHOOT AWARDS for ages 12 and older. Sponsored by the FFA, Cottonwood County Fish and Game and the Mountain Lake/Odin/Ormsby Sportsmen’s Club. First-place in the Senior Division, Hunter Dahna, left and second-place in the Junior Division, Braden Rempel, right. Not pictured are Hamlock Tanyavong, second-place in the Senior Division and Jesse Jepsen, first-place in the Junior Division.
MINNESOTA FFA DEGREES. Seated front, from left, Ashley Watkins (senior), Michaela Cate (senior), Carly Paulson (senior) and Katherine Hofmann (junior). Standing back, from left, Breanna Lidtke (senior), Rebekah Klassen (junior), Bailey Leaman (senior) and Akin Tema-Lopez (senior).
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS. Front, from left, Breanna Lidtke (FFA Pride Award), Michaela Cate (Star Agricultural Placement Award), Alexa Heffele (FFA Pride Award) and Bailey Leaman (Star Agribusiness Aaward and Dekalb Agricultural Accomplishment Award). Back, from left, Akin Tema-Lopez )Star Agribusiness Award), Ruben Fentanez (National Choir), Ryan McCue (James P. Crawford Citizenship Award) and Madison Dahna (Star Greenhand). Not pictured, Alex Dunker (Steve Pfeiffer Conservation and Natural Resources Award), Chanah Brandt (FFA Pride Award) and Tyler Dick (American FFA Degree – the highest degree presented in FFA).
RECEIVING THEIR NAVY blue corduroy FFA jackets – their names embossed with gold thread on one side, the FFA emblem on the other, and the Chapter name and emblem on the back – through the “Blue Jackets, Bright Futures” program were Greenhands (Freshmen) Chapter members. Seated front, from left, Victoria Hofmann, Kyla Perkins and Amy Bartsch. Standing back, from left, Sierra Pankratz, Drake Harder and Braden Rempel.
