PC FFA members attend national convention
Three FFA members represented the Perkins County FFA Chapter in Indianapolis, Indiana at the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo on Oct. 26-29.
Eric Gonzalez, sophomore FFA member, earned a bronze medal in the Food Products and Processing Division of the National FFA Agriscience Fair. His project was titled, “Field Test for Bacterial Contamination in Wildlife Meat,” and was the state winning project last spring.
“Attending the 2022 national FFA convention was a blast between the expo and all the events that occurred,” Eric said. “You are busy all the time. I think that every FFA member should have the chance to experience this great opportunity. It was a one-of-a-kind experience for me and I would love to return next year.”
Elijah Busick, senior FFA member, was selected to sing tenor in the National FFA Chorus. Eli spent eight days in Indianapolis to fulfill his duties, with a rigorous rehearsal and performance schedule. The National FFA Chorus sang various public performances in several Indianapolis locations including Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis City Market, and Indianapolis Artsgarden. Less than 80 FFA members nationally were selected to sing in the chorus.
Eli said of his experience, “The National FFA Chorus was one of the greatest experiences I’ve been a part of yet. I met many new and very talented people from all across the country. Performing in front of thousands (and being on TV) was truly an awesome feeling. The staff was also amazing and I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it. Overall, I had the privilege of being a part of an amazing group, and I made many great friends in the process.”
Danielle Burge, collegiate FFA member, was awarded the American FFA Degree in recognition of her years of academic and professional excellence in the organization. To be eligible, FFA members must have earned and productively invested $10,000 through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program. Recipients must also complete 50 hours community service and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and civic involvement through completion of a long list of FFA and community activities. Dani’s SAE project was her business partnership in Burge Show Pigs.
“Having the wonderful opportunity to be involved in FFA helped me grow as a person, further develop my leadership skills, and better prepared me for my future career,” Dani said. “Only one percent of members earn their American Degree and I wanted to be a part of that one percent. It was an honor to be able to represent Perkins County at the national level. I would not have been able to achieve this award without the help and support from my advisors and parents.”
Laura Demmel, Shawnda Hendricks and Kolay Payne of the Perkins County (Grant) FFA Chapter were the last to earn the prestigious American FFA Degree, in 2006.
This year 4,305 American Degrees were awarded.