Carroll FFA award winners Carroll FFA had 45 members competing in various contests at the recent FFA State Convention. Some of those who brought home awards are pictured above: Front row, l-r Zach Harness, Aaron Spesard, Malena Zook, Kara Overholser, Morgan Yoder, Walon Peters. Back Row Blake Mills, Scott Guckien, Travis Martin, Kevin Knaus, Josh Hayden. See story for other award winners. Photo provided Carroll FFA Chapter brought home numerous awards and honors from the Indiana State FFA Convention at Purdue University in June.

The chapter had 45 members competing at the state level contests.

Carroll FFA was rated a Gold Emblem Chapter. This puts it in the Top 10 FFAchapters in the state out of over 200 chapters in Indiana.

The ranking is based on three areas: Chapter Development, Student Development, and Community Development. The chapter now advances on for a national ranking.

Many of the Carroll FFA members participated in various leadership Career Development Events. The chapter entered in 14 different areas and placed in the top 4 in 10 of these areas.

The chapter also placed first in six areas of the State Agriscience Fair, and had six placings in proficiency areas. First place winners in the Agriscience Fair will advance to the National Competition. Carroll member Desiray Simmons, daughter of Jeff and Michelle Simmons, was elected to the Indiana FFA State Officer Team. She was elected as the Northern Region Vice-President. She will now spend the year living at the officers' house in Trafalgar, serving the members of the Indiana FFA.

The chapter had three members receive the State FFADegree at the convention. This is the highest degree the State of Indiana can bestow upon an FFAmember. The degree is based on the student's Supervised Agricultural Experience program, leadership activities and scholarship.

Those receiving the degrees were: Scott Guckien, son of Tom and Debra Guckien; Nicole Spesard, daughter of Lance and Debra Spesard; and Josh Hayden, son of Phillip and Beth Hayden.

Kara Overholser was elected the District V Secretary at the convention. She will now spend the year working with the other officers in District Vinsuring that all activities run smoothly. She will help with the FFA Barn at the State Fair and attend Premier Leadership Training Camp at Trafalgar.

Advisors of the Carroll FFA Chapter are Steve and Melissa Keown. Leadership awards

Chapter members bringing home first place were: Desiray Simmons and Nicole Spesard in the Horticulture Demonstration, Kara Overholser and Courtney Rinehart in the Food Science Demonstration, and Emily Fritz and Molly Craig in the Discovery Demonstration.

Second place finishes were: Kelly Moffitt in Job Interview, Brian Griffin in Male Ambassador, Jill Griffin in Discovery Speaking, and Sarah Griffin in Freshman Extemporaneous Speaking.

Third place finishes went to Travis Martin in Creed Speaking and Brian Griffin in Extemporaneous Public Speaking.

Fourth place went to the Agriculture Issues team of Kara Overholser, Morgan Yoder, Lydia Hedde, Walon Peters, Kierstyn Harper, Kaitlin Kennedy and Katie Pearson.

Others competing in leadership contests were the Quiz Bowl Team of Kevin Knaus, Lucia Zook, Megan Garrison and Megan Ayres; Ag Communications Team of Brian Griffin, Courtney Rinehart, Kevin Knaus and Kierstyn Harper; Female Ambassador Desiray Simmons; and Freshman Public Speaking Chandler Keown.

Agriscience Fair

The chapter placed first in six areas of the State Agriscience Fair. Those taking home first place and advancing to National Competition were: Chandler Keown and Kevin Knaus in Agriculture Engineering; Kiara Buchanan and Emily Fritz in Zoology; Malena Zook and Travis Martin in Botany; Jill Griffin in Zoology; Jonathan Bush and Aaron Spesard in Food Science, Microbiology, and Biochemistry; and Jared Collins in Food Science, Microbiology, and Biochemistry.

Others competing in the Agriscience Fair were: Susanna Taylor, Megan Garrison and Megan Ayres, and Sabrina Sisson and Samantha Pickens in the area of Food Science, Microbiology, and Biochemistry; Lucia Zook and Sarah Griffin, and Blake Mills and Zack Harness in Zoology; Lorelei Seip and Hannah Brewster, and Victoria Henderson and Chami Ayres in Botany.

Proficiency areas

The chapter also had members competing in various proficiency areas. Placing second was Craig Redding in Diversified Crop Production and Jordan Scott in Grain Production. Third Place was Kara Overholser in Home and Community Development and Tyler Budreau in Turfgrass Management. Fourth place went to Jordan Scott in Swine Production and Nate Peters in Natural Resources and Environmental Management.