News : VS FFA member Stephen Stinson earns American Degree

Every once in a while in an FFA chapter’s history, there is a member who decides he or she wants to earn the highest degree awarded to an FFA member, the American Degree.

On November 2, 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky at the National FFA Convention, Stephen Stinson will be receiving his American Degree. Stephen is the twenty-first person from the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA chapter to receive this degree, since our chapter was started back in 1930. He is also the first person in the last three years to receive it.

Stephen’s Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) has been working as a hired hand at Nolan Farms. The American degree is the highest degree for an FFA member to receive as well as having the most requirements to have completed. Below are the following things that qualify a member for the American Degree, and are all things that Stephen has completed.

• Have received a Greenhand FFA Degree, Chapter FFA Degree and State FFA Degree.

• Have been FFA members for at least three years.

• Have completed at least three years (540 hours) of high school agriculture classes, or 2 years of high school agriculture classes and one year of college agriculture classes (360 hours.)

• Have graduated from high school one year prior to the National FFA Convention at which their degree will be awarded.

• Have maintained detailed SAE records, which demonstrate outstanding planning, managerial and financial skills.

• Have earned and productively invested at least $7,500, or have earned and productively invested at least $1,500 and worked 2,250 hours beyond scheduled school hours through their SAEs.

• Have a record of outstanding leadership skills.

• Have a record of participating in community service activities.

Stephen, and the rest of the VS FFA chapter are very excited for him to be receiving this award and we all look forward to it at Nationals next week!