Eleven FFA members from Sleepy Eye were interviewed for their State FFA Degrees on Thursday, February 16, 2023. Pictured left to right – front: Adam Johnson, Gunny Coulson, Grecia Navarro, Cristal Schmidtknecht. Middle: Sophie Gustafson, Leisha Martinez, Gracie Sellner. Back: Jacob Price, Jade Sellner, Brooke Arneson, Conor Strong.
By: Chloe Howe, FFA Reporter
The Region VI FFA interviews were held on Thursday, Feb. 16 for Region Office, State Degrees, and Region Star Awards.
This year, eleven Sleepy Eye FFA members applied for State FFA Degrees. The State FFA Degree is the second highest degree attainable in FFA, behind the American FFA Degree.
In order to receive a State FFA Degree, the following qualifications must be met. Having a Chapter FFA Degree, being an active FFA member, completing at least 2 years of agricultural classroom instruction, having earned and invested at least $2,000 or worked 300 hours through an SAE, as well as completing at least 25 hours of community service.
The members who applied for the State FFA Degree included: Brooke Arneson, Gunny Coulson, Sophie Gustafson, Adam Johnson, Leisha Martinez, Grecia Navarro, Jake Price, Cristal Schmidtknecht, Gracie Sellner, Jade Sellner, and Conor Strong.
Adam Johnson Runner Up Region VI Star Farmer. Adam’s project is raising broiler chickens, processing them, and selling them to customers directly.
Jacob Price was named Runner Up Region VI Star in Agribusiness. His project includes his work at Kibble Equipment and his own Lawn Mowing Business.
Gracie Sellner was named the Runner Up Region VI Star in Ag. Production Placement. Her project is in Dairy Production Placement as she has worked at Sellner Farms in the Sleepy Eye area.
Region VI Officer Interviews were also held. Becoming a Region Officer helps FFA members be more active in FFA beyond the chapter level. Serving on an elite team of FFA Members simulates working with others in a professional work environment.
Chloe Howe and Noemi Rodriguez served as the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter voting delegates for the Region Officer Interviews. They voted on the 2023-24 Region VI Officer Slate. Leisha Martinez is currently serving as the Region VI 2022-2023 Reporter.
FFA helps teach specialized skills in hundreds of agriculture career areas. Opportunities such as this can add up to big life achievements!
The FFA members will receive their State FFA Degrees at the State FFA Convention in April at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The Sleepy Eye FFA Soils Team takes 1st at SMSU Ag. Bowl in Marshall. Team members included l to r: Nathan Rathman, Wyatt Feucht, Winsten Nienhaus, Isaac Lendt, and Caleb Suess.
By: Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter
Nine Sleepy Eye FFA chapter members competed in two Career Development Events (CDE’s) at the SMSU Ag. Bowl on February 3rd, in Marshall including Soils and Companion Animal Science.
For the Soils Contest, the Sleepy Eye FFA team placed 1st out of 17 teams. Isaac Lendt was the 1st place individual in the contest as well. Other Sleepy Eye FFA team members included: Wyatt Feucht (7th), Winsten Nienhaus, Nathan Rathman, and Caleb Suess. In the soils contest, members judge different soil profiles, and identify soil characteristics, including texture, depths, and erosion potential.
Other members competed in Companion Animal Science. The team members were Cadence Okerman, Nora Coulson, Paige Haala, and Taylor Berkner. Cadence was the top scorer on the team. The Vet Science team members were tested on their knowledge of common pets, pet health, vet science terms & skills, and animal anatomy. An identification of different species including: dogs, cats, birds, fish, parasites, rabbits, and other animals kept as pets is also a large part of the contest. The team was 20th out of 37 teams.
Sleepy Eye FFA is proud to have these students work hard and excel at an Invitational Contest. Congratulations to all of the team members!
Megan Ahlness, of Sleepy Eye, was named to the Hamline University College of Liberal Arts Dean’s List for the Fall 2022 term. To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Sleepy Eye Junior High FFA members made 45 cards for the Divine, Care Center, and Countryside Assisted Living Residents for Valentine’s Day. These are some of the members who made the cards to lift the spirits of the residents! Pictured l to r – front: Kelsey Ladd, Jonas Ortiz, John Paul Montemayor, Heath Eckstein, Hayden Domeier, Colton Romberg. Row 2: Candy Regules Castorena, Madi Martinez, Cora Schottle, Mahlia Gable, Riley Voigt, Chloe Okerman, Maddy Goldschmidt. Row 3: Ava Kunkel, Brianna Ziegenhagen, Liana Kimbrough, Paola Gonzalez, Mia Davila, Karly Wendinger, Laila Hein. Back: McKayla Strong, Mario Gonzalez, and Jaiden Chavez.
The High School members put together the Birthday Boxes for the Elementary Students. Pictured l to r: Jade Sellner, Amy Van Bragt, Joey Lee, Breaunna Mertz, Conor Strong, Lydia Helget, Colton Domeier, Marcus Martinez, and Brandon Flores.
By: Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter
Junior High FFA members have been busy making cards for Valentine’s Day in order to spread some cheer at the nursing homes and Countryside Assisted Living.
More than 25 junior high members made 45 Valentine Cards to lift the spirits of the residents.
Nine High School members helped with our Birthday Box project we have for FFA. Each child in the Backpack Food Program gets a Birthday Box that includes: card, cake mix, cake pan, frosting, candles, plates and napkins. This way they have everything they need to have a little birthday party.
Living to serve is one of the lines in the FFA motto and definitely something that the FFA members take to heart as they serve the Sleepy Eye Community in so many ways.
Sleepy Eye Schools Spelling Bee participants: Spelling Bee participants Front L-R: Oziel Lozano, Caiden Helget, Miah Rayes, Desirae Torres, Taya Bastian, Arianna Hernandez, Arianna Guerra, Natalie Rolling Back L-R: Isabella Robb, Aranza Tovar-Garces, Kelsey Ladd, Marley Davila, Megan Sellner, Jezzel Del Toro, Rheanna Stone, Jesus Moncado, Lydia Boomgarden 7th grade level winner: Aranza Tovar-Garces 8th grade level winner: Megan Sellner 6th grade level winner: Arianna Hernandez Winner: 5th grader Arianna Guerra Runner up: 5th grader Taya Bastian
Winners: 7th grade level winner: Aranza Tovar-Garces 8th grade level winner: Megan Sellner 6th grade level winner: Arianna Hernandez Winner: 5th grader Arianna Guerra Runner up: 5th grader Taya Bastian
Missing from Photo:
Members of the Month Announced
By: Chapter Reporter, Chloe Howe
Alex Confer is in 9th grade and has been in FFA for 3 years. She joined FFA because the meetings and activities are fun. Her CDE teams are Meats and BIG team. Alex’s favorite part of her CDE is how easily she picked up the information. Her favorite activities so far have been the drive-in movies. She is most looking forward to State FFA Convention and presenting her Agri-science fair project to judges. From being in FFA and in Ag. classes, Alex has learned teamwork skills, data collection, and multiple different skills. Alex is most proud of winning 3rd place for Crops, 6 Star Leader trophy and a Crops Champion ribbon.
Jake Price is in 12th grade and has been in FFA for 6 years. He joined FFA because he wanted to learn new things and meet new people. Jake’s CDE team is Fish and Wildlife. His favorite part of his CDE is being able to identify different species that he was never able to before. Jake’s SAE is owning his own business where he mows 13 different lawns around Sleepy Eye. He’s been doing this since he was in 6th grade. For fun FFA activities, he likes going to the Trapshooting events in the fall. Jake is most looking forward to the State Convention. From being in Ag. classes and FFA, he has learned to never be afraid to try new things. The award Jake is most proud of is winning a State Proficiency award 3 times, and being Runner-up at the National Convention for Landscape Management.
Izzy Kunkel is a sophomore at Sleepy Eye High School and this is her fourth year in FFA. Izzy joined FFA because she wanted to be included in a CDE team. She is currently one of the Historians on the chapter officer team. Izzy loves being an Historian because she likes to choose photos for the posters and she likes making them even more. Izzy is on the Food Science CDE team. Izzy likes to work and be around her friends on her CDE team. Izzy’s favorite FFA activities are the lock-ins and drive-ins. Izzy is looking forward to all the fun summer activities. Izzy has learned all kinds of skills from being in FFA like leadership skills, communication and let’s not forget about all the agriculture experience she’s gained. Izzy’s award that she is most proud of is winning 1st place in Food Science.
Adam Johnson is a senior at Sleepy Eye High School and this is his sixth year in FFA. Adam joined FFA because he found the after school meetings fun and he thought he should join to be more involved. He is the President on the Chapter officer team. Adam loves being the President because he likes the increased responsibility and leadership that comes with presidency. Adam is on the Food Science CDE team. Adam likes food and science so he thought he should join the team. Adam’s favorite FFA activity is the Crop Show we hold. He enjoys it because he can be seen as a leader. Adam is looking forward to the FFA week lock-in. Adam has learned all kinds of different ways to cook so he’s set to go for college. Adam’s awards that he is most proud of consist of 1st place Sr. High Crop Show and 12th place Individual at National Poultry CDE competition.
St. Mary’s High School has named Abby Schwartz and CJ Surprenant as their 2022-2023 school-year Triple A Award Winners.
Triple A recognizes and honors high school seniors who have excelled in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in the fine arts.
December 2022- Students of the Month
Small photos from top, left to right: Kdgn- Aaliyah Fuchs, Kylie Schweigert, 1st – Matias Alvarez, Lucas Sellner, 2nd – Karin Barka, Brinley Peterson, 3rd – Kaybree Haala, Keegan Schweigert, 4th-Miles Krzmarzick, Katelyn Ludewig, 5 th Miah Rayas, Kyler Kuebler, (large photos) 6th Kaylie Fulmer, Quetzalli Moralez-Valdez
