The Wisconsin Association of FFA celebrated its 87th year of premier leadership, personal growth and career success at the Wisconsin FFA Convention at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison from June 14 to 16.
The event attracted more than 3,000 members, advisors, parents, alumni and sponsors to celebrate the year’s success and support for students involved in agricultural education.
Badger High School chapter advisors Candice Franks and Larry Plapp accompanied Badger FFA students to the convention.
The chapter was recognized for multiple accomplishments during the convention:
- National Chapter Award Gold Ranking Overall. The chapter will proceed to competition at the national level this fall against the other top-ranked chapters. The top 10 percent of the state’s FFA chapters – 26 of them, received the recognition. The ranking is based on the FFA chapter’s program of activities in student development, community development and chapter development;
- Sixth-place chapter out of 255 chapters in chapter development;
- Sixth-place chapter out of 255 chapters in community development;
- Fourth-place FFA chapter for the Food For America program. The award recognizes FFA chapters for their agriculture literacy programming for elementary students. The Badger FFA Agriscience Fair and Discovery Barn at the Walworth County Fair are major components of the award;
- Chapter Membership Recruitment Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of the chapter officers in their effort to recruit 10 or more new members and agricultural education students;
- Veterinary Science Career Development Event. The Badger FFA Chapter was named the 2016 state FFA veterinary science career development winner. Team members are Casey Burmeister, Amanda Meier, Kendra Hoerth and Alyssa Cowan. The objective of the veterinary science contest is to showcase the members understanding of veterinary science procedures. The students identify different medical equipment, parasites, animal breeds and veterinary situations. The contest is made up of a written test, math application problems and identification. The team will represent Wisconsin at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October;
- Chapter Scrapbook. The FFA scrapbook provides a legacy for generations of future FFA members of past members and activities. The Badger FFA received a second-place red ribbon its scrapbook for 2015-16.
Individual FFA members also received awards during the convention:
- Braden Kundert of the Badger FFA won the Wisconsin State FFA Prepared Public Speaking Career Development Event. Career development events are competitions that include communications and mechanics and allow students to test their skills learned in agricultural education instruction. For the prepared public speaking event, Kundert wrote a six- to eight-minute speech about an agricultural issue of current interest, complete with a bibliography. Kundert’s speech was titled “The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Agriculture Industry: Growing the Economy?” Braden will represent Wisconsin in the competition at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October;
- Levi Speckman, Dani Baker, Casey Burmeister, Callee Gilfoy, Heidi Lininger and Amanda Meier received their Wisconsin FFA Degree. The state FFA degree is the highest degree a state association can bestow upon its members. To be considered for the honor, the FFA member must meet the following minimum qualifications – have productively earned and invested $1,000 or worked 1,500 hours; been an FFA member for at least two years and had 360 hours of agriculture classroom instruction; given two agricultural-related speeches; been involved in at least five FFA activities above the local level; and participated in two community activities. The Wisconsin FFA conferred the state FFA degree to 334 members this year.
- Levi Speckman, 2015-16 president of the Badger FFA, received the three-star leader award during the convention. The three-star leader award recognizes a selected FFA member for being actively involved in chapter activities in student development, chapter development and community development.
Four members were recognized on stage for their gold-level proficiency awards at the state convention. They are:
- Casey Burmeister, second-place gold rating for his supervised agriculture experience in home and community development;
- Dani Baker, third-place gold rating for her supervised agriculture experience in agriculture education;
- Callee Gilfoy, fourth-place gold rating for her supervised agriculture experience in wwine production; and
- Braden Kundert, fifth-place gold rating for his supervised agriculture experience in home and community development.
Heidi Lininger and Bryn Rohde were selected to be the Badger FFA chapter voting delegates to the state convention. They had special responsibilities for the election of a new officer for Section 10 and for FFA Constitution changes and updates.
Additionally, the members and delegates of the Badger FFA chapter heard a presentation by Dave Roever, a Vietnam War veteran whose life was changed on July 26, 1969. While on a mission as part of the Brown Water Black Beret unit of the Navy, Roever stood poised and ready to throw a grenade. Before he could release it, a sniper shot the grenade. When it detonated, Roever suffered severe burns on his face and body, and his eight-month Navy career ended. He spent the next 14 months in the hospital, learning how to live life with his new face and hands. It was a difficult time for Roever, but he learned an important lesson: “When you lose hope, you lose everything. Never, never, never lose hope,” he said.
Badger FFA members met Roever and purchased a book about his life.
