By: Alex Confer, Chapter Reporter
Nathan Rathman is a senior at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been involved with FFA for 6 years. Nathan joined FFA because he thought it would be a fun experience. Nathan is on the Soils CDE team and he enjoys his team and teammates. Since joining FFA he has learned how to judge soil. Nathan is looking forward to going to state again this year for the competition. An award Nathan had achieved and is most proud of is placing 3rd place in his Soils CDE at State Convention.
Member of the Month
Jasmine Petermann is a sophomore at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s and has been participating in FFA for 4 years. Jasmine joined FFA because it offers a lot of great opportunities to learn new things. Jasmine is on the Dairy Judging CDE team. She likes cows and the competition helps her learn how to choose show animals. Jasmine’s SAE involves working with cows at Olmar Farms and helping her dad at the Petermann farm. Her favorite FFA activity is showing cattle at the state fair. This year, Jasmine is looking forward to dairy judging and the crop show. Since Jasmine has joined FFA she has learned how to stick weld. Awards Jasmine is proud of are her Greenhand degree and this Member of the Month Award.
Lily Kallevig is a junior at Sleepy Eye High School and this is her 3rd year in FFA. Lily joined FFA to meet new people. Her office position is Student Advisor and her favorite part of the position is getting to interact with other members and meeting more people. Lily is on the Floriculture CDE team. She likes to make the bouquets/boutonnières and the identification parts of the contest. Lily’s SAE is working at SouthPoint Financial where she helps with transactions among other things. Her favorite FFA activity is the lock-ins. Lily is looking forward to going to State Convention this year. Since Lily has joined FFA, she has learned that agriculture is such a broad career field. The awards Lily has earned that she is most proud of are her Greenhand and Chapter degrees, and the Phoenix Award.
Winsten Nienhaus is a senior at Sleepy Eye High School and has been in FFA for 6 years. Winsten joined FFA because his entire family had been in FFA and it’s very inviting. His office position is President. He likes his position because of the people and all the things he still gets to learn. Winsten is on the Soils CDE team. He likes being a part of the team and going to state with them. Winsten’s SAE is Poultry Production, where he raises meat chickens and egg layers. He is most looking forward to the lock-ins and the officer retreats this year. Since taking Ag. Classes and joining FFA, Winsten has learned things like welding, cooking, public speaking, and people skills. Some awards Winsten is most proud of are the his National Poultry Award, being a Star Member, Freshmen and Junior Leadership Awards, and Sophomore Achievement Award.