News : FFA installs new officers, presents awards at annual banquet

John Eden received many honors, including the Senior Service Award.

New FFA President Katie Isbell led the final part of the FFA Banquet.

These officers will lead the VS FFA in 2015-16.

Sarah Siglin received a first place State award for a presentation she created.

Mrs. Fleming presented graduation cords and t-shirts to the seniors.

Steve Henry gives his senior officer farewell.

Riley Ries encouraged FFA members to have courage to run for district or state office.

Retiring VS FFA officers pose for one more photo at the end of the banquet.

The Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter introduced its new officers and presented dozens of awards to its members and supporters during the annual banquet at VSHS on Saturday, May 8. The chapter also presend graduation cords and "I Wore the Blue Jacket" t-shirts to its seniors.

Ciick these links if you'd like to watch!

Below are excerpts from Saturday's program, and the members it honored:

Graduation Cords:

Throughout its history, our chapter has been shaped by its members and made greater through their hard work and dedication. At this time, we would like to recognize a special group of these members who have contributed their services to this chapter. These people have helped lead us through their experience, guided us with their knowledge, and worked hard to make this chapter what it is today. They have either completed 4 years in FFA or participated in many events and met their leadership point goals. These members include:

· Deion Dulin

· John Eden

· CJ Fowler

· Shania Heckman

· Steven Henry

· Emily Howe

· Sadie Novotny

· Ashtyn Plower

· Riley Ries

· Keaton Robb

· Sydney Robertson

· Meranda Sanders

· Dawne Schminke

· Melody Sedlacek

Retiring senior officers:

· Steven Henry: Officer at Large

· John Eden: Vice-President

· Riley Ries: President

Installation of New Officers

Retiring President Riley Ries announced that the 2015-2016 Vinton-Shellsburg Officer team will include:

· Officer At Large – Wes Haefner

· Sentinel – Cole Emrich

· Co-Reporters – Jessica Alderson, Keri Webster

· Treasurer – Sydney Walker

· Secretary – Daisy Johnson

· Vice President – Drew Wiley

· President – Katie Isbell

Awards:

Yield Contest Awards

The FFA chapter has sponsored a corn and soybean yield contest many years now for the local farmers. This year, there were eight yield checks done by our chapter members. The yield checks involve students getting out of class to participate in hands-on Ag education. The grain harvested is taken to the elevators to be weighed and the students measure the area combined.

The top corn yields were:

3. Dan Kruckenburg Pioneer P1257 226.29 bushels per acre

2. Alan Henkle Pioneer 1360HR 240.62 bushels per acre

1. Mike Kaufman Pioneer P1498HR 248.48 bushels per acre

Sub-District Awards

• Ag Broadcasting:Amanda Burkey-- Silver
• Ag Sales:Drew Wiley-- Bronze
• Chapter Program: Jessica Alderson, Dylan Geater, and Sarah Siglin-- Gold, Advance to Districts
• Conduct of Meetings: Colton Evans, Logan Grabin, Wes Haefner, Ethan Horak, Jakob Long, Katie McGee, and Madeline Moen-- Silver
• Creed Speaking: Meredith Glynn-- Silver
• Extemporaneous Speaking:John Eden-- Silver; Alternate to Districts
• Job Interview: Riley Ries-- Silver
• Parliamentary Procedure: Jearid Andrews, Ben Eden, Kayla Schneider, Liv Walker, and Keri Webster-- Silver
• Public Speaking:Dawne Schminke-- Silver
• Greenhand Quiz:

o Meredith Glynn-- Gold 16th place

• Chapter Farmer Quiz:
  • Riley Ries-- Gold, 2nd place
  • Katie Isbell-- Gold, 4th place
  • Sydney Robertson-- Gold, 8th place
  • Keri Webster-- Silver, 22nd place
  • Ben Eden-- Silver, 26th place

District Awards

At the District level, several of our members participated in contests at Benton Community. Would you please come forward to accept your awards when your name is read?

Those participants were:

• Chapter Program: Jessica Alderson, Dylan Geater, and Sarah Siglin-- Silver
• Chapter Website:Sydney Robertson-- Gold
• Experience the Action: Quinton Guenther. Kaitlin Isbell, Grace Milroy, Emily Reisch, Sydney Walker, and Keri Webster-- Silver
• Farm Business Management:John Eden, Steven Henry, Riley Ries, and Drew Wiley-- Silver
• Reporter’s Scrapbook: Jessica Alderson and Katie Isbell-- Gold, Advanced to State
• Secretary’s Book:Emily Reisch-- Gold
• Treasurer’s Record book: Sydney Walker-- Gold

State Awards

State Leadership Conference is something that we look forward to throughout the year. Whether competing in CDE’s or attending the career show, V-S FFA members always have a great time. This year, 36 members and 6 chaperones attended the conference held April 19th-21st in Ames.

Members competed in the following events:

· Ag Communications: Jessica Alderson, Sarah Siglin, and Keri Webster-- Gold 5th place

o Sarah Siglin- 1st Place Designer

· Biotechnology: Conner Miracle, Kylie Miracle, Emily Reisch, and Riley Ries- Silver

o General Knowledge Test- 1st Place Team

o Kylie Miracle- 1st Place Individual in the General Knowledge Test

· Chapter Exhibit:Cole Emrich, Katie Isbell, Cassie Kenney, Grace Milroy, Sydney Robertson, Kayla Schneider, Sydney Walker-- Gold

· Farm Business Management: Logan Holst, Riley Ries, Keaton Robb, Drew Wiley-- Gold

· Greenhand Quiz-- Gabby Barnes- Bronze and Ethan Horak- Silver

· Poultry-- Colton Evans, Logan Grabin, Wes Haefner, and Jacob Long—Silver

· Reporter’s Scrapbook--Jessica Alderson and Katie Isbell- Gold, 3rd Place

· Team Ag Sales: Ben Eden, John Eden, and Steven Henry-- Bronze

· State Choir participants: This year, Alyssa Bunge, Amanda Burkey, Shania Heckman, Brittani Kimm, Sadie Novotny, and Melody Sedlecek were accepted into the State FFA Choir. They practiced and performed during the State FFA Convention where they demonstrated their talents. Alyssa, Amanda, Shania, Brittani, Sadie, and Melody, would you please come forward?

· State Degrees: This year we had ten members achieve the requirements for earning their state FFA Degrees. These members have had two or more years of Ag education and FFA membership, have earned their Chapter Farmer Degree, and have an SAE project where they have productively earned and invested at least $1000. This year’s State Degree recipients are: Jessica Alderson, Amanda Burkey, Cole Emrich, Katie Isbell, Daisy Johnson, Sadie Novotny, Emily Reisch, Meranda Sanders, Sydney Walker, and Keri Webster.

· Academic Achievement Award: This year we were able to nominate three senior FFA members for the State Academic Achievement Award. To qualify for this award, members have to have at least three years of membership and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. So would you please help me congratulate Sadie Novotny, Riley Ries, and Meranda Sanders?

· State Chapter Awards: At state convention this year, our chapter was awarded with a few recognitions. They were:

• WHO Public Relations Award: for recognition of our efforts to educate the youth in our community about the importance of Agriculture. This particular award was for our efforts in renovating the FFA barn at the county fair. Thank you, County Fair Committee, for your hard work and efforts in helping line up the classes at fair!
• Supreme National Chapter Award:Gold Award: 3rd place chapter in state – advancing to the National level. This award recognizes chapters based on three overall categories of student, chapter, and community activities and programs. The application was judged at the state level and received 3rd place. The application will advance to nationals and be judged in July for our national ranking.

Chaperones honored:

Finally, we would like to recognize our chaperones Tina Eden, Diane Kenney, Craig Walker, Kim Emrich, and Erin Petersen. Thank you for putting up with us, providing lots of snacks and goodies, helping us find our locations for our competitions, or even bringing us back early so we didn’t have to miss our sporting events. You have all done so much for our members and we thank you for all you do. Here is a token of our appreciation. These are just little tokens of all the appreciation we have for you and everything you did to make our trip a success for everyone.

Skill CDEs

In May, we had four individuals compete in District Food Science. These four members made a team, which placed 4th in the District.

· Ben Eden

· Ethan Henry

· Conner Miracle

· Drew Wiley (7th overall)

Also in May, we had one member compete in District Agronomy. Shane Monaghan worked with the Benton Community team, which placed 7th in the District.

In May, we had five members participate in District Horse Judging. These five members comprised a team, which placed 3rd in the District.

· Amanda Burkey (9th overall)

· Deion Dulin (5th overall)

· Brittany Hansen (10th overall)

· Sadie Novotny (20th overall)

· Liv Walker (19th overall)

In May, we had four members participate in District Floriculture. These four members comprised a team, which placed 1st in the District.

· Jessica Alderson (2nd individual)

· Emily Cashman (3rd individual)

· Katie Isbell (1st individual)

· Sydney Walker (4th individual)

These individuals also comprised a team, which competed in State Floriculture in June. This team placed 3rd in the State of Iowa and received a Gold rating.

· Jessica Alderson (9th individual)

· Emily Cashman (7th individual)

· Katie Isbell (19th individual)

· Sydney Walker (11th individual)

In June we had four members participate in State Horse Judging, which was held at Kirkwood Community College. The Horse Judging team placed 10th and received a Gold rating.

· Amanda Burkey

· Deion Dulin

· Sadie Novotny

· Meranda Sanders

Star Awards

Star Greenhand

The Star Greenhand degree is awarded to a first year FFA member who has earned their Greenhand degree and is active in the chapter. Even though it is their first year in FFA, they are already fully aware that it is okay to treat the Ag room as a second home. This year's Star Greenhand may start out as shy, but he is always ready to participate in the next activity. Just a few of the activities he has participated in include: Party-in-the-Park, Farm Safety Day, Holiday Sales, and Career Development Events such as Poultry Judging. I’m pleased to announce that this year’s Star Greenhand Award goes to Wes Haefner!

Star Chapter Farmer

The Star Chapter Farmer award is given to a member who has been in FFA for two or more years and earned their Chapter Farmer degree. This year, the recipient of the Star Chapter Farmer award has put a lot of time and effort into making the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter the best it can be. This person has been involved in many activities throughout their four years of membership; including Farm Safety Day, Third Grade Ag Day, Fruit Sales, Labor Auction, and crop plot to name a few. Their efforts and hard work have shown through in many activities; including their Iowa Degree that they received in April. I’m proud to call Keaton Robb up to receive this year’s Star Chapter Farmer award!

Star Placement

The Star Placement Award is given to a member who has been in FFA for two or more years and earned their Chapter Farmer degree in an Agricultural Placement area. This particular senior member has worked in a variety of agricultural businesses banking many hours cumulatively. This member has served as a chapter officer, participated in the chapter fundraisers, and has earned their Iowa Degree. I call Stevie Henry forward to accept the Star Placement Award.

Leadership-Merit Awards

We have a merit point system that is used in our Chapter to encourage Agriculture Education students to get more involved in FFA. Members receive merit points for many different activities that our Chapter offers, such as selling fruit and participating in our labor auction. Each member of the FFA Chapter has a goal set for merit points and they must reach their goal to receive this award. A Greenhand must earn at least 125 points, a Chapter member at least 250, and Officers are required to earn at least 525 points. I am proud to present the Leadership Awards to the following 24 members. As I call your name, please come forward to receive your leadership pin and certificate.

Greenhands

· Colton Evans

· Logan Grabin

· Wes Haefner

· Ethan Horak

· Madeline Moen

Chapter Farmers

· Ben Eden

· Cole Emrich

· Brittany Hansen

· Emily Howe

· Daisy Johnson

· Cassie Kenney

· Grace Milroy

· Keaton Robb

· Clark Robertson

· Sarah Siglin

· Keri Webster

Officers

· Riley Ries

· John Eden

· Emily Reisch

· Sydney Walker

· Jessica Alderson

· Katie Isbell

· Drew Wiley

· Steven Henry

Fruit Sales

Every year, our chapter conducts its annual Holiday Sales fundraiser. This year, 8 members sold 1000 dollars’ or more of sales, making them members of our chapter’s 1000 dollar club. The top selling members were:

· Abby Price with $1029.75

· Daisy Johnson with $1149.75

· Sydney Walker with $1150.00

· John Eden with $1239.25

· Emily Reisch with $1275.25

· Cole Emrich with $1344.00

· Cassie Kenney with $1352.50

· Riley Ries with $1444.75

· And Keri Webster with $1750.00

Proficiency Awards

Currently, there are eight members that have applied for a local proficiency award in their SAE area. There can only be one member receiving an award in each area. Proficiency awards are given to each member for excellence in their Supervised Agriculture Experience, or SAE.

This year’s Star in Ag Communications has worked all year long to improve agricultural education our community. From teaching classes to elementary students at 3rd Grade Ag Day to organizing our chapter’s first ever Fall Festival, she has worked her way towards accomplishing her goal. Please help me congratulate Katie Isbell!

This year’s Star in Poultry Production is a first year member who has been producing poultry for several years with his family. His goal is to take their production from a family farm to a strong running business. Congratulations, Wes Haefner!

This year’s Star in Forage Production has worked for a local farmer for the past year where he has learned how to bale and store hay and corn stalk bales as well as maintains the equipment necessary to complete these tasks. Congratulations, Steven Henry!

This year’s Star in Equine Science has been working with her new horse all year long. She has gone to various shows in the area, and plans on going to more throughout the rest of the year. Please help me congratulate Cassie Kenney!

This year’s Star in Outdoor Recreation has worked at the Vinton Pool as a lifeguard for the past two years as well as taught swim lessons to young children. Please help me congratulate Emily Reisch!

This year’s Star in Vegetable Production is Sarah Siglin. She manages her own garden at her parent’s house. Sarah hopes to achieve a healthy garden that reflects the care and time she gives to her garden. All of the flowers and produced raised went to family, neighbors or the church, so none of her products were wasted. She has taken great pride in producing these gifts for her family and friends. Help us congratulate Sarah Siglin!

This year’s Star in Dairy Production has helped with her family’s cattle for the past

few years as well as showing at fair. She earned her Iowa Degree based on hours worked on the farm since her freshman year. Please help me congratulate Sydney Walker!

This year’s Star in Beef Production has been working with his cattle all his life. Ranging from clipping and fitting his cattle for county fair to conducting artificial insemination, this member has worked very hard to maintain his flink. Congratulations, Drew Wiley!

· State Proficiency Award: Kyle Henkle advanced to the state level proficiency award judging based on his SAE project and application in the area of Diversified Agriculture Production.

o Kyle’s project started as a freshman, managing 4 acres of test plot and has expanded to nearly 80 acres of corn and bean production. This last year, he also purchased some of his own cattle to start his own cow/calf operation. His application placed first in the district level and earned second place at the state level.

SAE Award

An important part of a Supervised Agricultural Experience is record keeping. Each year the chapter recognizes a junior member who has done an outstanding job managing and expanding their SAE project(s). This year’s recipient, Emily Reisch, has been a three-year FFA member and has just earned their Iowa FFA Degree at state convention based on an Ag Placement working for a local farmer. This person’s records were neat and their numbers were the most organized of any of the juniors to earn this award.

Chapter Scholars

We would like to take a moment to recognize those students who have succeeded academically throughout their high school career. We will honor the top student in each grade based on their cumulative GPA. Would you please come forward to receive your certificates of achievement and pins? The winners are:

• Freshman: Madeline Moen
• Sophomore:Kayla Schneider
• Junior:Sydney Walker
• Senior:Riley Ries

OUTSTANDING CLASSMEN AWARDS:

This is a relatively new award for our chapter. We decided to add this award because with the increased membership enrollment we have seen in our chapter we feel that there are not enough awards for our Sophomore and Junior members, and that this award would give them a little more opportunity to be recognized for their achievements. The award is given to the member of each class that has shown the most involvement in our chapter, based on the number of merit points they have accumulated and activities that they have taken part in. This year’s recipients are:

· Freshman: Colton Evans

· Sophomore: Drew Wiley

· Junior: Katie Isbell

· Senior: Emily Howe

DEKALB Winner

Every year, the DeKalb Seed Company sponsors one senior student from every chapter to be recognized as their award winner. This person should display an interest in agriculture, been successful in agriculture education classes, as well as other curriculum, but most importantly been an active asset to their FFA chapter. They receive a certificate from the DeKalb Company, a pin and have their name added to DeKalb’s national recognition list. This year’s award winner is Riley Ries!

SENIOR SERVICE AWARD

The Senior Service Award, is a tractor sponsored by the Biershienk Farms. Would the Biershienk’s, please come forward to help me present this award? They have been donating a tractor to our chapter to present to a senior member that has shown hard work and diligence to our chapter’s programs and activities. The outstanding senior award is presented to a senior in FFA who has shown outstanding leadership in their school, community, and FFA chapter.This senior has been involved in activities such as Parley Pro, Fruit Sales, Farm Safety Day, Homecoming Float, the ANF Tailgate, Corn Picking, multiple presentations about our program and has served as an officer multiple years. They are Senior and four-year member of our chapter; they have shown true leadership and responsibility, and understand the true meaning of service for this FFA chapter. This year’s senior service award goes to John Eden!

SCHOLARSHIPS

Farmer’s Savings Bank and Trust:

Katie:Would Cal Rickels and Tom Lindauer from Farmer’s Saving Bank please come forward to recognize this year’s recipient? Farmer’s Savings Bank for many years now has been donating $500 to a senior FFA member that has demonstrated leadership skills and outstanding service to the chapter and the community. This year’s recipient of the Farmer’s Savings Bank and Trust Scholarship is: Keaton Robb. Keaton is enrolled at Kirkwood Community College majoring in Diesel Ag Mechanics.

The Ross and Shirley Wiley Scholarship:

Katie: Mr. and Mrs. Wiley, would you please come forward to present your scholarship? To qualify for the Ross and Shirley Wiley Scholarship, applicants must have at least 2 years of active FFA membership, maintain an honor roll cumulative GPA, be attending either a 2 or 4-year college in Iowa, and preferably pursing a career in agriculture. This year’s recipient is looking at attending Kirkwood Community College potentially majoring in Diesel Ag Mechanics. Keaton Robb, would you please come forward to accept your $500 scholarship?

Advisor’s Scholarship-Sponsored by Chuck and Marilyn Yedlik:

Jessica: I would like to ask Mr. and Mrs. Yedlik to come forward to present this years’ recipient their scholarship.

For the past five years, Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Yedlik have sponsored a $1,000 scholarship to recognize a student that is pursuing a degree in the agriculture field. It is stressed that this financial award is not limited to only the highest achieving student, but merely hardworking and driven students looking to better themselves with higher education.

This year’s winner has demonstrated that they are hardworking and self-driven in many aspects of their life. This person has been an active FFA member for three years participating in many career development events and helping with whatever they can to make our chapter successful. This person plans to attend Kirkwood Community College and attain a degree in beef cattle operations. This year, the Advisor’s Scholarship is proudly presented to: Emily Howe.

Crop Plot Scholarships:

Thanks to John Anderson’s generous donation of land for our students crop research plot, we have been allowed to continue a scholarship program for our deserving senior FFA members. This year’s winners of the $500 Crop Plot Scholarship goes to:

· John Eden:Will be attending Iowa State University majoring in Agricultural Studies and Agronomy.

· Shania Heckmann:Planning on attending Kirkwood Community College majoring in Parks and Natural Resources.

· Stevie Henry:Will be attending Iowa Central Community College with a major of Agriculture Technology Systems and playing football.

· Riley Ries:Will be double majoring in History and Politics at Washington and Lee in Virginia.

· Sydney Robertson:Will be attending Des Moines Area Community College majoring in Elementary Education and playing softball. She will finish a two-year degree and then is planning to transfer to Mount Mercy College to finish her degree in Elementary Education.

· Dawne Schminke:Is attending Hawkeye Community College majoring in photography.

HONORARY DEGREE

The Honorary Degree is bestowed to people who have aided our chapter above and beyond. The Honorary Degree is a one-time award and is considered the highest level of appreciation our chapter can bestow. This year, we have three Honorary Degree recipients. Please come forward and remain on stage until you receive your plaque. Would Larry Harkin, Mrs. Hesson, and Eric Upmeyer please come forward?

Officer John Eden honored the three with these words:

Mr. Harkin, I’d first like to Thank you for being supportive of our experiences not only in the classroom across the hall, but the experiences we have had at our different competitions, conventions, and other activities we have participated in. The next day, we could always expect a positive comment, and congratulations. Second, Thank you for assisting us with small projects to improve our greenhouse and Animal Learning Lab. Even with your own classes, you’ve taken a minute to give us a hand with some of our tasks. And lastly, thank you, Mr. Harken, for your role in encouraging us to do our best in the FFA Organization to develop important skills we will use the rest of our life. We truly appreciate all you do.

Mrs. Hesson, while this was only your first year here, you have truly left your mark on our chapter. Having no prior experience with FFA, this was probably quite the challenge for you, but you made due and always did your best and never shied away from asking for help when you needed it. While we are sad to see you leaving our chapter, we are glad to have had you with us this last year and we wish you the best of luck as you pursue your career in mathematics education.

Mr. Upmeyer, while we don’t always do the best job of expressing it, our chapter is truly grateful for all you do for us. You have helped us with our copious amount of activities countless, ranging from operating banquet lights and sounds to proofreading official documents. You have never once hesitated to help us out when we have needed it, and have many times asked when the next event was. Thank you for everything you have done for our chapter over the years.

On behalf of every member, I wish to say we are proud to have you all as honorary members. May this affiliation prove valuable to us all. I impress upon you that we look to you for counsel and guidance. It is because of the great respect we have for you that you have been elected to honorary membership. May we always cooperate for the benefit of all. I now confer upon you honorary membership in the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter and present you with this plaque of membership.

Thank you, Mr. Harken, Mrs. Hesson and Mr. Upmeyer for all your time and dedication to the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA.

APPRECIATION AWARDS

We have a vast amount of supporters that help with many aspects of our chapter. We will be recognizing supporters in six different categories. Without the support of these community members, our chapter would not function. Due to the copious amount of supporters our chapter has, we apologize in advance if any names are missing. Please believe me when I say you are all so very important to what we do and what we can accomplish. There are multiple categories; some names may be read twice. As your names are read, please come up on stage to receive your certificate and remain for a group picture. Thank you for all your support.

The following are recognized for their contributions to our chapter’s Crop Plot:

• Jenny Anderson with Tama Benton Coop
• John Anderson
• Bob Hanson
• Jeff Rollinger with New Century Farm Service
• Kyle Schminke
• Brian Carlson

The following are recognized for their contributions for CDEs:

· Cyndi Alderson

· Jay Appleby

• Stacie Buhr
• Brian Carlson
• Cindy Elwick with Natures Corner
• Kim Emrich
• Mr. Duane Fisher
• Barb Geater
• Brent Geater
• Mrs. Mary Jo Hainstock
• Susie Henkle
• John Holst
• Sherri Isbell
• Ken Kasper
• Mr. Matt Kingsbury
• Brian Kreutner
• Chad Newton
• Laura Payne
• Sherry Siglin
• Mrs. Deborah Vaughn
• Greg Walston
• Rachel Webster
• Todd Wiley

The following are recognized for their contributions to our chapter in various ways throughout the year:

• Kirk and Caroline Applyby
• Benton Community FFA Chapter
• Benton County Fair Board
• Berry’s Lanes
• Paul Bierschenk
• Adam Brayton
• Cedar Valley Times
• Tina Eden
• Kim Emrich
• Fareway Grocery, Inc.
• Farmer’s Savings Bank
• Scott Fleming
• Marlene Fritz
• GO VS
• Dave Grunklee with Hawkeye Community College
• Mrs. Mary Jo Hainstock
• Susie Henkle
• Jim Huber
• Carol Kerner with Farm Bureau Federation
• Diane Kenney
• Mr. Matt Kingsbury
• Vinton Kiwanis Club
• Kromminga Motors
• LaPorte – Dysart FFA Chapter
• Laura Payne
• Erin Petersen
• Vinton Lions Club
• McDowell’s
• Allen Merchant
• Merchant’s Grilling
• Teresa Meyer with Farm Bureau Financial Services
• Matt Marovec
• John and Ellen Ohlsen
• Mark Pingenot
• Theisen’s
• Michelle Thomsen
• Mr. Eric Upmeyer
• V-S Cooks
• Vinton Eagle
• Vinton Fire Dept.
• Vinton Parks and Recreation Dept.
• Vinton Today
• Vinton Unlimited
• The Vinton Vet Clinic
• Craig Walker
• Rachel Webster
• Todd Wiley

The following are recognized for their contributions to our chapter’s Labor Auction:

• John Anderson
• Benton County Cattlemen
• Benton County Pork Producers
• Bob Hanson and Brian Carlson of B&B Seeds
• Fareway Grocery, Inc.
• Farmers Savings Bank and Trust-Vinton
• Roger and Mary Geater
• Henkle Farms
• Kenny Henkle
• Horak Farms
• Milroy Family
• Sandy Johnson
• Johnson Auction Sales
• Jorganna Farms
• Kreutner Seeds
• AJ McLaughlin
• Sue Noren
• Pratt Creek Cattle
• Don Rouse
• Kyle Schminke

The following are recognized for their unconditional support of the Ag Ed/FFA Program:

• John Anderson
• Duane Fisher

Members of the Vinton-Shellsburg Agriculture Advisory Committee are: John Holst, Susie Henkle, Todd Wiley, Cal Rickels, Linda Fisher, Mark Pingenot, and Jim Huber. Just as a strong root base supports a tree, our Advisory Committee supports our FFA Chapter and Ag Education Department. Without the support of these community members, we would not have the 3rd best chapter in the state, a thriving Ag Education department, or our Animal Learning Lab. Our Animal Learning Lab is our most recent achievement, an enclosed building that is allowing students who either are experienced in one animal area or not exposed to production animals, to learn more about them and to experience something that they would otherwise not be opportune to. Because your efforts to make us better leaders will stand the test of time, we want to say thank you and present you with this gift.