MLA Chapter members make an impact at 87th Minnesota State FFA convention
Forty-four Mountain Lake Area (MLA) FFA Chapter members attended the 87th Minnesota State FFA Convention, held at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, from Sunday, April 24 to Tuesday, April 26. Students attended sessions and workshops, competed in their respective Career Development Events (CDE), participated in the Minnesota FFA Band and Choir and received State Degrees.
Both the Small Animals CDE and Farm Business Management CDE won state titles and will be competing at the national convention in October.
MLA FFA Chapter Advisors are Lindsey Brown, Stephen Funk and Hayley Faber.
Following are MLA FFA convention highlights:
+ Minnesota FFA Choir – Ruben Fentanez, Kenna Gardiner, Sam Grev, David Hall, Lexia Peters and Jenneel Rodney.
+ Minnesota FFA Band – Aaron Fast, Andrew Fast, Junior Louangsaphakdy and Karen Soutthivong.
The musicians performed with their respective groups during sessions, as well as during the annual Minnesota FFA Band and Choir Concert, before the more than 3,000 FFA members from across the state attending this year’s convention.
+ State FFA Degree recipients – The State FFA Degree is the highest honor that can be earned by an active FFA member on the state level. Receiving State FFA Degrees during this year’s state convention were Carly Paulson, Bailey Leaman, Ashley Watkins, Michaela Cate, Breanna Lidtke, Alex Dunker, Akin Tema-Lopez, Rebekah Klassen, Tara Fast and Katherine Hofmann.
+ Small Animals CDE – The MLA FFA Small Animals team brought home first-place team honors out of a 56-team competition. The team is composed of Bailey Leaman, 2nd-place gold emblem individual, Liana Blomgren, a 3rd-place gold individual; Rebekah Klassen, 7th-place gold individual and Kalley Rempel, 34-place gold individual.
+ Farm Business Management CDE – The MLA FFA Farm Business Management team placed 1st out of 31 teams in the State Farm Management FFA Contest. All four team members were gold emblem individuals. Jareya Harder placed 2nd. Michael Watkins had a 3rd-place individual finish, Sam Grev was 17th and Andrew Fast finished 24th.
Both the Farm Business Management and Small Animals teams will represent Minnesota as they compete for the national title in their respective CDEs at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana this October.
+ Crops CDE – The team was 3rd of 37. Jared Suderman led the way, placing 4th individually, with Jordan Suderman, 7th individually and Nathan Regier, 21st. All three were gold individuals. In his first year in the contest, Shadrick Hoek was a silver individual.
+ Floriculture CDE – The MLA FFA Floriculture team placed 5th out of 49 teams. Madison Dahna – 12th individual, led the way as a gold individual, and was joined by additional gold individuals Emmanuel Fentanez and Brook Suderman. David Hall earned a silver individual placing.
+ Forestry CDE – The MLA FFA Forestry team was an all-new crew of freshmen, and finished 5th out of 36 teams. Sierra Pankratz paced the team with a 5th-place finish, followed by Ryan Blomgren in 14th, Braden Rempel in 20th and Kyla Perkins in 32nd. All were gold emblem individuals in their first state contest.
+ Nursery and Landscape CDE – The team finished in 5th-place of 34 teams, and all four of its members were gold individuals. Ruben Fentanez was 17th, Carly Paulson ended in 20th, Ryan McCue finished 27th and Sam Xayanourom was 34th.
+ Meat Evaluation CDE – The MLA team brought home 13th-place honors out of 35 teams. Ashley Watkins, with a 19th-place finish, was a gold individual. Chanah Brandt, Meredith Suess and Regan Syverson all earned silver individual awards.
+ Fish and Wildlife Management CDE – The team placed 23rd out of 57 teams. Team members Weston Osland, Alex Dunker, Hunter Dahna and Dylan Hanson were all silver emblem individuals.
+ Public Speaking Contest – Liana Blomgren received a gold rating for her special on Avian Influenza.
+ Creed Speaking Contest – Kayla Vonk earned a silver rating for her recitation of the FFA Creed and responses to questions about its meaning.
+ Best Informed Greenhand Competition – The MLA FFA Chapter’s team placed 7th of 52 teams, earning a gold ranking. Sierra Pankratz was high individual on the team with a 15th-place finish out of 201 students. Additional team members were Victoria Hofmann, Jaelin Renquist and Kayla Vonk. The competition tests the FFAers’ knowledge of FFA history and parliamentary procedure.
+ “Triple Crown” Program – The Mountain Lake FFA Chapter received this recognition at the convention for demonstrating excellence in membership, supervised agricultural experience programs and leadership above the chapter level.
Below are the two teams representing Minnesota and heading to national competition in October:
