by Dillon Mortensen, Chapter Reporter 

 

On Wednesday March 28, 2007 thirty high school members and six junior high members left for the state convention.  Like previous years this was again held in Lincoln at the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources campus, Pershing Auditorium, and at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel.  Sponsors for the trip were Grant and Katya Jorgensen, Allan Mortensen and chapter advisor Tonya Pick.

 

Members competed in various Career Development Events and Leadership Skills Events contests.  Some students also attended convention due to performing in the State Chorus, participating in the Tractor Operator’s Contest and receiving their State FFA Degree.   Members who performed in the State FFA Chorus were Hayley Meyers and Ethan Jones.  They were accepted into the State Chorus through an audition process that they completed in February.  The Tractor Operator’s Contest was hosted by the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory and was held Wednesday night.  Heath Ehlers competed in the 4-H division and placed seventh.  Dillon Mortensen and Colby Thompson competed in the FFA division.  Dillon placed twelfth and Colby placed thirty-first in the contest.

 

The only contest available for junior high FFA members is the Jr. High Quiz Bowl, which was held at Pershing Auditorium on Friday.  Members of the Medicine Valley team were Kelcey Garey, Adrienne LiaKos, Devon Fritsche, Tommy Schroeder, Justin Romeo and Chris Farr.

 

There were four groups of students who competed in the Leadership Skills Events.  Eva LiaKos gave a speech about nitrate contamination in the Natural Resources area and earned a silver ranking.  Hayley Meyers competed in Creed Speaking and earned a bronze ranking.  Tell Deatrich competed in the Junior Public Speaking area and gave a speech about controlling Eastern red cedar trees, and he earned a bronze ranking.  The Ag Demonstration team of Shane Farr, Krysta Thompson and Kate Ewald gave a demonstration on how to groom and saddle a horse, and they earned a silver ranking.

 

The Career Development Events contests were held on Thursday and Friday of convention.  The Agriscience team of Trevor Wells, Johanna Nutt, Tanner Lemon and Sarah Cooper did not earn a ribbon but individually, Tanner Lemon earned a white ribbon.  The Nursery and Landscaping team of Keila Popp, Anthony Chancellor, Raquel Taylor and Jake Schrock competed in the event and did not earn a team ribbon, but Jake Schrock earned a white ribbon individually.  Dillon Mortensen, Vincent Chancellor, Nolan Hammond and Hance Grunden competed in the Natural Resources and Environmental Science competition and earned a white ribbon as a team.  Individually, Nolan Hammond also earned a white ribbon.  In the Floriculture competition, the team of Eva LiaKos, Shoni Deatrich, Krysta Thompson and Kate Ewald received first place in the contest.  Individually, Eva LiaKos received first place and a $500 scholarship from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Shoni Deatrich received third place, Kate Ewald received fourth place and Krysta Thompson received tenth place, and all earned purple ribbons.  The team will go on to represent Nebraska at the National FFA Convention in October.

 

There were seven members of the chapter who received their State FFA Degree.  The State Degree represents that a member has been an outstanding FFA member and worked to develop and expand their Supervised Agricultural Experience projects throughout their four years of membership.  Lacy Bryant, Vaughn Dizmang, Heath Ehlers, Courtney Fritsche, Jessica Jorgensen, Keila Popp and Colby Thompson all received their degrees.  Many parents and other family members traveled to Lincoln to watch the students receive their degrees.

 

The Medicine Valley FFA chapter also received the Governor’s Award of Excellence, sponsored by the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority.  This award is given to chapters who complete a grant application process.  The chapter was awarded a grant in the amount of $1,500 which went towards purchasing a new plasma cutter.

 

The chapter’s next activity is officer elections the week of April 16th and the Annual FFA Banquet, held on April 30, 2007 in the MVHS gym.  The newly elected chapter officer team will attend COLT Conference in Aurora at the end of May.  During the summer months, the chapter will hold monthly meetings to prepare for next year.