The Sleepy Eye FFA members competed in the Best Informed Greenhand Competition on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The greenhands included: l to r, front- Andrew Ramos, Alex Confer, Lucia Martinez, Destiney Dittbenner, Hannah Meyer, Daniel Armstrong, Carter Lazatin. Back- Sam Price, Kayden Klein, Ari Krzmarzick, Logan Ludewig, Noah Rossbach, Charlie Hoffmann, McCoy Marti.

By: Kyle Capacia, FFA Reporter

On Tuesday, December 20^th, the regional competitions for the Best Informed Greenhand (BIG) Career Development Event (CDE) and the FFA Creed were held in Windom.

For the BIG Team competition, members took a written 50 question test to show their knowledge of FFA facts, parliamentary procedure, history, and important people in FFA.
The Sleepy Eye team placed 3^rd at the Region VI Contest out of 12 teams. The members of the BIG team included: Lucia Martinez (5^th place individual), Kayden Klein (6^th place individual), Ari Krzmarzick, Sam Price, Alex Confer, Logan Ludewig, Destiney Dittbenner, Daniel Armstrong, Charlie Hoffmann, Carter Lazatin, Noah Rossbach, Hannah Meyer, McCoy Marti, and Andre Ramos.

Andrew Ramos also competed in the FFA Creed Leadership Development Event. For this event, Andrew memorized the 5 paragraph FFA Creed. The contest is judged on the presentation of the FFA Creed and 5 minutes of questions based on the creed’s meaning. Andrew did a great job, placing 6^th out of 12 competitors.

All of these greenhands will compete at the State FFA Convention in April for the Best Informed Greenhand State Contest!

Members of the Month Announced
By Chloe Howe
Chapter Reporter

Trevor Rathman is an 8th grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in the FFA for two years. Trevor joined FFA because he wanted to meet new people and have lots of fun. Trevor is on the Meats and Soils CDE teams because he likes learning new things and he likes to go to the competitions. His favorite FFA activity is mostly everything, he especially likes the drive-in movies we have. Trevor is looking forward to making it to State two years in a row. Trevor has learned how to construct a metal toolbox from being in Ag class. Trevor’s award he is most proud of was qualifying for State.

Gavin Fischer is an 8th grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been involved in the FFA for two years. Gavin joined FFA because he really enjoys trapshooting and to explore other CDE teams. He is on the Meats CDE team because he gets to learn all the different cuts of meat and how to cook them. Gavin’s favorite FFA activity is trapshooting. Something he is really looking forward to is National FFA Convention. Gavin has learned more about soils and meat from being in FFA. Gavin’s awards he is most proud are his trapshooting awards.

Andrew Ramos is a 9th grader at Sleepy Eye High School and has been involved in the FFA for two years. Andrew joined FFA because he finds everything about it to be fun. Andrew is involved in the Creed Speaking CDE. He likes Creed Speaking because it improves his memory and he finds it interesting. Andrew’s favorite FFA activity is the creed. Something he is really looking forward to is going to State. Andrew has learned more about leadership since being in FFA. Andrew’s award he is most proud of is getting his Discovery Degree.

Chloe Howe is a 10th grader at Sleepy Eye High School and this is her fourth year in FFA. Chloe joined FFA because she wanted to be more involved in her school. She also wanted to get out of her comfort zone by joining. She is a Reporter on the chapter officer team. As the reporter, Chloe enjoys writing articles. She also loves to take photos to capture fun memories of every FFA event. Chloe is on the Food Science CDE team because she enjoys learning new things about how to keep your food safe and she gets to experience new things at competitions. Chloe’s favorite FFA activity is drive-in movies. Chloe is looking forward to going to State for Food Science. Chloe has learned many new social skills and that agriculture is a very important part to every community. Chloe’s award that she is most proud of is getting1st place at Regions in Food Science.

By Chloe Howe
Chapter Reporter

Kenedi Wersal is a 7th grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in the FFA for one year. Kenedi joined FFA because she has always dreamt about being part of FFA. Kenedi is on the Horse CDE team because she likes that everyone is nice and supportive to everyone. Her favorite FFA activity is the Regional Horse Contest. Kenedi is looking forward to going to State. Kenedi has learned more about animals and crops since joining FFA. Kenedi’s award she is most proud of was winning this Member of the Month Award.

Wyatt Feucht is a 9th grader at MVL High School and has been involved in the FFA for one year. Wyatt joined FFA because his school doesn’t offer agricultural classes. He is on the soils and trapshooting CDE teams because he enjoys learning about judging soils. Wyatt’s favorite FFA activity is trapshooting. He is really excited for more soils contests and state. Wyatt has learned lots about soils. Wyatt’s award he is most proud of is getting his Greenhand award and his trapshooting award for Top New Shooter.

Lucia Martinez is a 9th grader at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s High School and this is her third year in FFA. Lucia joined FFA because she wanted to learn more about the agricultural industry and may want to study something Ag. related in the future. Lucia is on the Dairy Judging and Best Informed Greenhand CDE teams. Lucia enjoyed learning more about the dairy industry and what good qualities a dairy cow needs. She also enjoyed studying the history of FFA for the BIG team. Lucia’s favorite FFA activity is going and experiencing State Convention. Lucia is looking forward to doing interviews for chapter officers. Lucia has learned that agriculture is an important part of society and without it, we wouldn’t have most food options that are available. Lucia’s awards that she is most proud of are her FFA Discovery Degree and Dairy CDE 1st Place Team at Regions.

Gunny Coulson is a senior at Sleepy Eye High School and this is his sixth year in FFA. Gunny joined FFA because he wanted to be part of the FFA community. Gunny is on the Market Plan CDE team because he enjoys being part of a team and working together. Gunny’s favorite FFA activity is the National FFA Convention. Gunny is looking forward to the State Convention this year. Gunny has learned many new aspects of FFA and leadership. He has also learned how to be more engaged in his community. Gunny’s award that he is most proud of this Member of the Month Award.

Sleepy Eye High School honored Kadence Hesse and Isaac Lendt as their 2022-2023 ExCEL winners. Both are juniors and now compete at the state level.

ExCEL – Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership – is a unique recognition program designed exclusively for Minnesota high school juniors who are active in school activities, who show Leadership qualities, and who volunteer in their communities. Every member school of the League is invited to nominate one girl and one boy for the ExCEL Award. Nominees must:
a. be a junior in high school
b. make satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements
c. participate in a MSHSL fine arts and/or athletic activity
d. hold a leadership position(s) in their school
e. work voluntarily in their community.

The Sleepy Eye FFA Milk Quality Team took first place at the Region VI Contest and is advancing to state. Pictured l-r team members: Jezzel Toro, Jaelynn Schauman, Megan Sellner, Callie Evers, Carter Lazatin, Ava Kunkel, Jace Schauman, and Kaytlyn Romberg.

The Sleepy Eye FFA Food Science took first place at the Region VI Contest and is advancing to state. Pictured l-r: Adam Johnson, Noemi Rodriguez, Chloe Howe, Izzy Kunkel, Antonio Ruiz.

By: Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter

On Wednesday, November 16^th, 2022 the regional competition for the Milk Quality and Food Science Career Development Events (CDE) was held in Mountain Lake.

The Sleepy Eye Milk Quality Team earned 1^st place in the region out of 13 teams. The team included: Megan Sellner (1^st place individual), Jaelynn Schauman, Callie Evers (Tied for 3^rd place individual), Carter Lazatin (8^th place individual), Jace Schauman (9^th place individual), Ava Kunkel, Jezzel Del Toro, and Kaytlyn Romberg. There were 56 individuals in the competition. In the Milk Quality competition members detect defects in milk, identify dairy vs. nondairy products and milk fat contents, identify cheeses and their characteristics, rate CMT tests, take a knowledge test on milk marketing and production, and do a problem solving activity. The team will be advancing to state!

The Food Science Team also competed in Mountain Lake. They received 1^st place as well. Team members included: Adam Johnson (1^st place individual), Chloe Howe (3^rd place individual), Izzy Kunkel (7^th place individual), Noemi Rodriguez, and Antonio Ruiz. The Food Science Competition involves: an individual knowledge exam, food safety/sanitation practicum, customer inquiry response practicum, and math exam as well as team product development and presentation.

Both teams advanced to state competition that will be held in April in the Twin Cities.

Kdgn-    Krin Barka               Kdgn-    Erik Mangen

1^st –      Will Petersen              1^st –      Karmela Krenz

2^nd–       Isaac Havemeier        2^nd –     Bristol Nachreiner

3^rd –      Cooper Fischer          3^rd –     Natalie Martinez

4^th –      Mark Urbano               4^th –     Maria Morales-Valdez

5^th –      Arianna Guerra            5^th –     Alexis Hoffman

6^th –      Manuel Gaona             6^th –     Anders Coulson

The Sleepy Eye Public School 5th graders and Sleepy Eye St Mary’s 6th graders attended BizTown in St Paul on Tuesday, November 15th. They worked hard before they left learning how to balance a checkbook, interviewed for a job, and how to run a business. On the day of the trip, the students all had a job and had to successfully make a profit for their business. Students also had a chance to visit other businesses and spend money to help the town’s economy. Overall the students had a wonderful trip.