Martin Carroll FFA Chapter attended the Indiana State FFA Convention June 15- 16. The chapter won many awards during the week, but the highlight of the convention was on the last night when Travis Martin of the local chapter was elected the 2009-2010 state president.

Martin is the son of Mark and Karen Martin of Logansport. He spent three days going through interviews by a nominating committee, who then slated the offices. Martin will now spend the next year working to promote the FFA and agriculture through the state association. He will live with six other officers at the Indiana FFA Center in Trafalgar.

The chapter also won many other awards during the week. The Leadership Ambassador participants took home first place. They were Sarah Griffin and Travis Martin. This area is based on a member's scholarship, leadership, and SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience program). Members also have to answer questions over the FFA, current events, and current agricultural topics.

Career Development Event participant Malena Zook placed second in the Agribusiness and Farm Management Demonstration. She gave a 10-minute demonstration on how web pages can benefit agribusiness.

The chapter's Freshman Parliamentary Procedure Team placed fourth. Members of the team are Trey Overholser, Chad Griffin, Dan Budreau, Jeremy Hayes, Justin Barbour, Ricky Burns and Andy Eller.

Also competing in state contests were Jill Griffin and Alisha Hedrick, in Essay and Job Interview.

In the proficiency areas, which are based on the student's SAE, the chapter took home five firsts, two seconds, and two thirds. Placing first were Sarah Griffin, in Specialty Animal Production and Diversified Livestock Production; Justin Moffitt, Fiber/Oil Crop Placement and Diversified Crop Placement; and John Zook, Beef Placement.

Placing second were Jill Griffin, Diversified Livestock Production, and Malena Zook, Agriculture Communications. Taking home third place honors were Chandler Keown, in Agriculture Education, and Susanna Taylor, Home and Community Development.

The chapter also had six members who received their State FFA Degrees. This is the highest degree that a member can receive on the state level. The degree is based on the member's SAE, leadership, and academics. Those receiving the honor were Ben Bennington, Alisha Hedrick, Jill Griffin, John Zook, Lucia Zook, and Primmer Zook.

Jill Griffin, current president of the Carroll chapter, was elected District V vice president. She will spend the year working with her officer team in setting up and running the contests and events that District V chapters compete in.

Sarah Griffin and Chandler Keown were both recipients of scholarships at the State CDE Award Winners Banquet. Griffin was awarded an FFA License Plate Scholarship, and Keown was awarded a Farmhouse Fraternity Scholarship. Both will be attending Purdue University this fall in pre-veterinary medicine and agricultural engineering.