Carroll FFA is 3-Star Chapter

Third in the nation Carroll FFA's dairy team placed third in the nation at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. Individual members also received awards. The team has been invited to an international judging contest there in the summer of 2008. Pictured l-r are Chandler Keown, Malena Zook, FFA advisor Steve Keown, Sarah Griffin, Jill Griffin. Dairy team coach is Dale Griffin. Photo provided

Thirty-three Carroll FFA members attended the 80th National FFA Convention Oct. 24-27 in Indianapolis. They were among 55,000 FFA members attending.

The theme was Blue Jackets Bright Futures.

Carroll members went to leadership workshops, served with the National Courtesy Corps, attended a rodeo, and went to numerous sessions. They listened to keynote speakers such as Rick Rigsby, Henry Winkler, and Mark Sanborn. They also had the chance to go to the National Agricultural Career Show and explore opportunities in post-secondary job training and education by visiting nearly 1,300 booths representing businesses, industry, colleges and universities.

Griffin

Three Star Chapter

The Carroll Chapter was recognized as a Three Star FFA Chapter by the National FFA Organization. This honor was received by less than one percent of all of the FFA Chapters in the United States. It is based on the activities that the chapter participated in this past year involving Student, Chapter and Community development.

Dairy Team wins third

The Carroll FFA Chapter state winning Dairy Judging Team of Jill Griffin, Sarah Griffin, Chandler Keown and Malena Zook competed at the National FFA Dairy Cattle Career Development Event during National Convention. The contest is a competitive activity that tests the student's ability to select and manage quality dairy cattle.

Event components included six classes of dairy cattle with oral reasons on three classes, linear classification of five Holstein cows, sire selection placing exercise, placing of four dairy animal pedigrees, and a dairy knowledge and management test.

The team placed third in the nation with all team members receiving gold emblem ranking performances. Team members Malena Zook and Jill Griffin received monetary scholarships for their individual performances. Malena Zook also received the Ayrshire Breed Specialty Award and eighth high individual overall. The team has been invited to participate in an international tour of Scotland and judging contest in the summer of 2008. The Dairy Team was coached by Dale Griffin. American FFA Degrees

Simmons

This year two members of the Carroll Chapter received their American FFA Degrees - Brian Griffin and Des iray Simmons.

The American Degree is the highest honor awarded by the National FFA to its members. In order to be eligible for this degree, members must have accomplished many things throughout their FFA careers.

The requirements for the degree include: having been graduated from high school for one year, maintained records on their Supervised Agricultural Experience Project (SAE), participated in quality activities at and above the Chapter level, and also shown themselves as leaders in the FFA organization. Guckien in Proficiency top 4

Guckien

Scott Guckien competed in the National Grain Production Proficiency area based on his SAE. He was ranked in the top four in the nation and was recognized as a National Gold Emblem finalist. As a national finalist, he received a plaque and $500.

An SAE program is a handson, planned and practical agricultural activity that supports skill development, career success and application of specific agricultural and academic skills a student has learned through instruction in agricultural education.

Competitors are evaluated on work history, record keeping, participation in FFA activities, and much more. As the Indiana winner in the Grain Production area, Guckien went through numerous interviews at the state level, and was involved in more interviews at the national level.

Guckien gained his grain production experience working on a 2,000-acre grain and 1,600-head hog operation. He gained competence in grain testing, commodity monitoring, cultivating, and equipment calibration. He also has learned about the financial impact of ethanol and cellulosic fuels.

He plans to pursue a degree in agribusiness management. He is the son of Tom and Debra Guckien.

Agriscience Awards

The Carroll Chapter had eight members participate in the National FFA AgriScience Competition. Students demonstrated and displayed agriscience projects that were extensions of their agriscience courses, specifically centered around agriculture.

Competitors were interviewed by a panel of judges who were interested in the knowledge gained by the FFA members. Carroll participants, topics, and their placing were: Jonathan Bush and Aaron Spesard: "The Effects of Antibiotics on Rhizobium Bacteria of Soybeans," silver; Trey Overholser and Jordan Collins: "Comparison of Strengths of Hardwoods," silver; Chad Griffin and Ricky Burns: "Which Animal Manure Contains More Nutrients?" silver; Alisha Turnpaugh: "Wildcat Creek: Site Comparison for Pollutants," bronze; and Lauren Nesbitt and Alyssa Ingram: "Reactions of Plants Lacking Photosynthetic Pigments," bronze.

Courtesy Corps

Carroll FFA members were among 900 FFA members chosen to serve on the national Courtesy Corps, which helped with convention logistics. The Carroll chapter was specially requested to help in the awards and degrees division, assembling photos and cutline mailings of proficiency winners.

Carroll members of the Courtesy Corps were Malena and Lucia Zook, Alyssa Ingram, Lauren Nesbitt, Chad, Sarah, and Jill Griffin, Jordan and Jared Collins, Trey Overholser, Jon Bush, Aaron Spesard, Chandler Keown, Travis Martin, Kylie Wagoner, Jarvis Simmons, Josh Hazel, Alisha Turnpaugh, and Ricky Burns.