FFA attends National Convention in Indiana
Twenty members of the New Bremen FFA Chapter attended the 94th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29.
Students were able to tour several agriculture and food related companies along with attending convention sessions. Students toured Brookside Laboratories in New Bremen; Corteva Agriscience in Plymouth, Indiana and Ozark Fisheries in Martinsville, Indiana. Students attended several convention sessions where they listened to motivational speakers, National FFA Officers and witnessed chapters and members across the nation be recognized for their outstanding achievements.
The New Bremen FFA Chapter was represented on stage by officers Troy Homan and Megan Ritter. The chapter was recognized as a Three Star National Chapter which recognizes the top seven percent of chapters across the United States. In addition, the chapter was also recognized as a Models of Excellence Chapter, recognizing it as one of the top ten chapters in the country. Members Rachel Brown, Liam Homan and Grace Wilker competed in the Models of Excellence presentation for the chapter and were recognized on stage. The National Chapter Award Program evaluates chapters on their student, community and agriculture development activities. After being named as a Gold Medal Chapter in Ohio, the chapter’s National Chapter Application was forwarded to the national level for review where it received a the three star ranking along with Models of Excellence status.
Max Homan, a graduate member of the chapter, competed in the Forage Production Proficiency Award Program. Homan won the state competition in May and had his application forwarded to the national level for review. In August, Max was named as a national finalist in this award area. He competed in a virtual interview and was recognized on stage at convention as a National Finalist, or top four in the nation in this award area. His project was based on his supervised agricultural experience project at Marvin Homan Farms where he has been a forage manager, involved in the process of planting, harvesting and storing four different forage crops which are used in the dairy operation. Congratulations to Max on this honor and for representing the chapter so well at the national level.
A highlight for the convention trip was graduate member Ryan Paul receiving his American FFA Degree which is the highest degree a member can receive. Less than one percent of members in the FFA earn their American FFA Degree.