The 79th Nebraska State Convention proved to be an exciting one for the Stuart FFA Chapter.  Thirty-six students represented Stuart at the 2007 Nebraska State FFA Convention held at Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln March 28th – 30th.  There were an estimated 3,300 members and guests in attendance at the convention which carried the theme “Blue Jackets Gold Standards.”

 

 Throughout the convention, members participated in personal development workshops, leadership skills events, career development events and attended convention ceremonies where they witnessed motivational and inspiring speakers, including presentations by past National FFA Central Region Vice-President, Miss Anita Estes, a former member of the Stuart FFA Chapter and Mr. Justin Lookadoo.
 After months of practice, members’ efforts were rewarded.  Stuart qualified members in 8 of the 10 Leadership Skills Events.  Friday night brought about intense anticipation and great excitement as the results were announced.  Results for the Leadership Skills Events were as follows.  Becky Ramm was awarded third place honors and a gold emblem in Creed Speaking.  In addition, Ashley Bouska received a gold emblem in Sr. Public Speaking.  Receiving silver emblems were Lauren Olberding in Jr. Public Speaking, Megan Olson in Cooperative Speaking, and the Agricultural Demonstration Team with their demonstration entitled “Locked and Loaded.”  The team included Kristen Wallinger, Jake Paxton, Jerad Murphy, James Meusch, and Lance Korinko, along with tech coordinators Audrey Paxton and Travis Olberding. The Jr. Parliamentary Procedure Team consisting of Becky Ramm, Megan Olson, Logan Hipke, Kyle Dvorak, Jordan Kunz, Lauren Olberding and Brittany Neibauer received a silver emblem, as well as the Senior Parliamentary Law Team of Cody Dvorak, Amber Johnson, Jacki Timmerman, Billy Kunz, Ashley Bouska, and Zach Wallinger.  Cody Dvorak was awarded a bronze emblem in the Job Interview Leadership Event.

 

 Another highlight of the convention for the chapter was to watch their eight state degree candidates walk across the stage and receive the state’s highest degree bestowed upon its FFA members.  Members receiving their state degrees were Ashley Bouska, Cody Dvorak, Cody Hipke, Jacki Timmerman, Josh Olberding, Audrey Paxton, Amber Neibauer, and Billy Kunz.  In addition, it was very exciting for the chapter to view one of their members as a state star finalist, namely Josh Olberding (Placement).  Josh Olberding went on to be named State Star Over Nebraska in Agricultural Placement.

 

Yet another highlight was having five members take first place honors in the respective proficiency areas namely Matt Ramm - Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication, Emily Estes - Forage Placement, Katie Kaup – Dairy Placement, Jake Paxton – Diversified Livestock Placement, and Josh Olberding – Diversified Crop Placement.  Receiving second place honors were Ashley Bouska - Emerging Agricultural Technology and Home and Community Development, Cody Dvorak – Landscape Management, and Cody Hipke – Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Fabrication.  Ashley Bouska received third place honors in the area of Agricultural Education.   Also, Monty Larsen, Agricultural Education Instructor and FFA Advisor, and Denice Bouska, supporter of the FFA, were awarded the Honorary State FFA Degree.

 

The chapter received several honors at the convention.  They were honored to be selected as one of the top thirteen Premier chapters in the state for their activities completed throughout the past year.  The chapter received a gold emblem and was named one of the top ten chapters in the state for Community Development and a silver merit award for their safety activities.

 

 In addition to student success in the Leadership Skills and Proficiency Award arenas, many students had triumphs in the various Career Development Event (CDE) contests.  The highlights of the CDE achievements include earning 28 ribbons and plaques in diverse contest areas such as welding, livestock management, and floriculture.  The results are as follows:

 

 The livestock management team consisting of Amber Johnson, Katie Kaup, James Meusch, Jerad Murphy, Jake Paxton, and Robert Stout earned the third place overall team plaque, as well as the second place plaque in horse management and dairy management.  In addition, they also received a blue ribbon in beef management and red ribbons in the areas of swine and sheep management.

 

 Cody Hipke earned the third place medal in the area of MIG Welding and the welding team of Cody, Josh Olberding, and Bill Kunz earned a red ribbon.

 

 Cody Dvorak earned a purple ribbon in Nursery and Landscape contest, while Kyle Dvorak and Amber Neibauer earned red and white ribbons respectively.  The team, which also included Brittany Neibauer, earned a red ribbon. 

 

 The Agriscience team earned a blue ribbon with all four members of the team winning.  The team members and their ribbons are Lauren Olberding, blue; Jordan Kunz; blue, Logan Kaup, red; and Becky Ramm, white.

 

 The Ag Sales team also found themselves in the red ribbon group with the team members of Kyle Dvorak receiving the blue ribbon, while Jordan Kunz and Becky Ramm each earned a red ribbon.  Megan Olson was also a member of the team.

 

 The Floriculture team of Lauren Olberding, Katie Olson, Callie Korinko, and Heather Kunz tallied a white ribbon with Lauren and Katie winning red and white ribbons respectively.

 

 Other students earning individual ribbons were Jerad Murphy, red, Livestock Selection; Logan Hipke, red, Agronomy; Tuck Johnston, white, Agronomy; and Megan Olson, white, Food Science.

 

 The Stuart FFA Chapter had an outstanding State FFA Convention in the CDE field winning six team ribbons and 22 individual ribbons.  The Stuart FFA Chapter had members involved in 11 different contest areas with teams or individuals winning ribbons in nine of those events.  But more importantly is the fact that many underclassmen were exposed to a wide range of career areas and gained first hand experience with some of the skills necessary for success in these career fields. 

 

 The Stuart FFA Chapter extends their thanks to all who helped make the 2007 State FFA Convention a success!