Parkway FFA Department News

Parkway High School FFA Department News

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Parkway FFA Send Four Freshman To Food Science Competition
by Kylie Snyder

This year the Parkway FFA chapter sent a Food Science team to Wayne Trace to compete. The team included Madison Roehm, Kayla Walls, Whitney Rollins, and Tiffany Ricketts. The girls had to identify different foods and smells, write a customer complaint letter, and took a test on safety hazards. The team placed 5th out of nine teams. The Parkway FFA chapter would like to congratulate the girls on their success.

Parkway FFA Participates in Parliamentary Procedure
by Kylie Snyder

On November 17th, Parkway FFA sent a varsity team to the parliamentary procedure sub-district contest at Delphos Jefferson High School. This Career Development Event helps students gain public speaking skills and become better at running meetings.
The team included President- Caden Hellwarth, Vice President- Destinee Guggenbiller, Secretary- Rachel Hesse, Treasurer- Seth Houts, Reporter-Kylie Snyder, Sentinel-Lindsey Walls, Student Advisor- Courtney Dickie, and member Cami Hellwarth.
The team placed second at sub-districts, which then qualified them for the district competition, held at Hardin Northern High School on December 1st. At districts, the team placed fifth. The team will not move on to the state competition; however they did a good job this year. The chapter would like to wish congratulations to the team for making it to the district level.

Varsity Parli Pro Team shown

Parkway FFA Members Attend National Convention
by Kylie Snyder, reporter

The Parkway FFA chapter sent 17 students to the National FFA Convention which was held October 18-22. The members included; Clay Thomas, Tiffany Ricketts, Jordan Strader, Kayla Walls, Colby Walls, Rachel Hesse, Cami Hellwarth, Caden Hellwarth, Terra Walls, Rachel King, Jared Rollins, Jack Roth, Devin Adams, Seth Houts, Kameron Roehm, Destinee Guggenbiller, and Erin Weirrick.

During the trip, the students got to enjoy many educational tours. On Tuesday they went to Wilson Football Factory in Ada, Ohio. They went on a Dairy Farm tour and got to see how a dairy farm is ran. Then the students went to Universal Lettering in Van Wert, Ohio. Here the students got to see how the FFA jackets are made. The last tour of the day was DeBrands Chocolate Factor in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

On Wednesday they went to the Heritage Farm Suri Alpacas and then later on that night was the Buckeye Bash. The Buckeye Bash is where all the Ohio FFA members go and have a dance during the convention.

On Thursday, the group went to a Veneer Manufacturing in Edinburgh, Indiana. They also got to enjoy the career show at the convention center in Indy.

On Friday and Saturday, the students and advisors got to enjoy many of the Keynote speakers and got to see the American FFA Degree ceremony.

Parkway FFA Holding Annual Fruit Sale

by Kylie Snyder

The Parkway FFA is now holding their fruit, nut, and BBQ sauce sale. The Parkway FFA holds this sale every year. The fruit sale orders are being taken until the end of November. If you would like to place an order, you may do so by contacting any Parkway FFA member, emailing FFA@parkwayschools.org, or calling 419-363-3045 ext. 636.

Fruit Full Case Half Case ¼ Case

Navels 26.00 15.00 9.00

Tangelos 26.00 15.00 9.00

Grapefruit 26.00 15.00 9.00

Granny Smith 15.00 9.00

Gold Rush 15.00 9.00

Fuji Apples 15.00 9.00

Mix Box 29.00 15.00

*Mix Box has Navels, Tangelos, Grapefruit, and Apples

Gift Fruit Basket 22.00

*Fruit Basket has Navels, Tangelos, Grapefruit, Apples, Candy, and Peanuts

Peanuts

Honey Krunch 9.00

Brittle Bites 9.00

Whole Cashews 9.00

Chocolate Almonds/ Cashews 12.00

Trio Pack 12.00

*Trio consists of Brittle Bites, Southern Fried, and Honey Krunch

D.B. Yummers BBQ Sauce

Sweet and Smokey BBQ (Two Bottles) 9.00

Mildly Spicy BBQ (Two Bottles) 9.00

Tangy BBQ 9.00

Combination of 4 18.00

Parkway FFA Sends Soil Teams To State Judging Event

On October 8th, the Parkway FFA chapter sent both rural and urban soil judging teams to the state soil judging event held in Piqua County.

The rural judging team consisting of John Rollins, Jared Rollins, Jarret O’Neil, and Clay Thomas placed 4th out of 53 teams. Jared Rollins did an outstanding job placing 2nd out of 190 people total. John Rollins placed 18th, Jarret O’Neil placed 71st, and Clay Thomas placed 93rd.

The urban judging team placed 25th out of 54 teams. The urban team consists of Caden Hellwarth, Seth Houts, Cami Hellwarth, and Rachel King.

Individually, Rachel King placed 49th, Caden Hellwarth placed 90th, Seth Houts placed 101st, and Cami Hellwarth 133rd all out of 190 judgers.

The Urban judging team shown above is: Caden Hellwarth, Cami Hellwarth, Seth Houts, Rachel King

Parkway FFA Competes In District Soils
by Kylie Snyder

The Parkway FFA Chapter sent both rural and urban soil judging teams to the district judging event in Sandusky, Ohio. The rural team placed 1^st out of 27 teams in the event. Individually, John Rollins placed 3^rd, Jarret O’Neill placed 5^th, Clay Thomas placed 37^th, and Jared Rollins placed 53^rd. For the urban team, the team placed 3^rd out of 25 teams. Individual placing are Caden Hellwarth placed 2^nd, Rachel King placed 12^th, Seth Houts placed 14^th, and Cami Hellwarth placed 26^th. Both teams qualified to go to state. Picture: Rural team: Clay Thomas, Jared Rollins, John Rollins, and Jarret O'Neil

Parkway FFA Chapter Attends Hardin Northern Soil Judging Contest

On September 23, the parkway FFA chapter sent multiple Rural and Urban soil judging teams to Hardin Northern Invitational. Parkway sent 5 rural soil judging teams this year. Rural soil team 2 placed 1^st, followed by Rural soil team 1. Individually, four students, who judged rural soils, placed in the top ten. Jared Rollins placed 4^th, John Rollins placed 6^th, Bryce Bedwell placed 8^th, and Nick Hoehammer placed 9^th out of 294 students.

As for the Urban teams, Parkway sent 2 Urban soil judging teams. Urban soils team 1 placed 2^nd, while Urban soils team 2 placed 11^th. Individually, Parkway had three students place in the top ten. Seth Houts placed 4^th, Rachel King placed 7^th, and Caden Hellwarth placed 10^th out of 108.

Parkway FFA Chapter Sends Freshmen To Trupointe

by Kylie Snyder

On September 13, The Parkway FFA chapter sent Freshmen members to Trupointe research farm outside of St. Marys. The members had to go through 5 different sessions which consisted of, discussing agriculture careers, leadership, current industry issues, how to determine yield estimates, and also a scavenger hunt throughout the test plots.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank Trupointe for providing a delicious lunch for the students, as well as the free t-shirt.

Parkway FFA Student Selling Mums
by Kylie Snyder at FFA@parkwayschools.org

Kylie Snyder, a junior at Parkway High School, is selling mums this fall, for the second year in a row, to help earn her State FFA Degree. Throughout this past summer, she raised around 450 Belgium and Yoder mums with the help of her family, and her FFA advisor Alan Post. Kylie spent the summer watering and fertilizing her mums, and cutting weeds out.

She is offering many colors this year. There are multiple colors of red, orange, pink, purple, yellow and white. The cost of an 8” pot is $5.00, while the cost of a 12” pot is $10.00. Also, this year Kylie is selling hanging pots for $13.00, and Big decorative pots for $15.00 to $20.00.

For those who are interested, Kylie can be reached at home at 419-795-4228 or at 419-953-4199. She also will be selling the mums on the weekends in the Rockford, Mendon, Celina and Van Wert areas.

Parkway FFA and FCCLA Hold Blood Drive

by Kylie Snyder at FFA@parkwayschools.org

Shown below is Lando Bruns smiling big as he donates blood.

On September 7th, Parkway FFA and FCCLA chapters held their annual fall blood drive, with the help of the American Red Cross. The students have to be 16 years or older to be able to donate blood. Throughout the day, there was a total of 51 students and staff members that gave blood, totaling up to around 47 units. Both FFA and FCCLA organizations would like to thank everyone who donated blood, and hope to see you next year!

Parkway FFA Members Participate in Mercer County Fair

by Kylie Snyder at FFA@parkwayschools.org

Shown below is Kayla Walls with her horse, Zippy.
The Mercer County Fair was held August 12-18th. The Parkway FFA Chapter was well represented throughout the week by students with shop projects, vegetable projects, animal projects, and working in the FFA food stand.

There were a total of 400 non-livestock projects brought in by Parkway FFA members, with 118 of the projects earning the Outstanding award. The following all received Best in Class awards: Courtney Dicke Mixed Hay, Kayla Temple Clover Hay, Tannor Eischen Grass Hay, Tommy McDonough Small Grains Oats, Tommy McDonaugh Popcorn, Kayla Temple Rye, Olivia Houts Corn Stalks, Rachel King White Potatoes, Lindsey Walls Cantaloupe, Caden Hellwarth Cucumbers, Tommy McDonough Cabbage, Tommy McDonough Banana Peppers, Josh Ford Sweet corn (Bi-color), Jack Roth Sweet Corn, Lindsey Walls Zuchini, Madison Roehm Green Bell Peppers, Rachel King Watermelon, Rachel King Green Tomatoes, Devin Adams Pickles, Destinee Guggenbiller Name Plate, Jared Rollins Oxy- Acetylene Panel, Jared Rollins Wood Shelf, Courtney Dicke Mirror Frames, Garth Louth Large Design, Cody Dugan Cabinet, Josh Ford Lamps, and Jared Rollins’ Table.

Many members exhibited livestock projects at the fair as well. Members showing beef projects included Olivia Houts, Seth Houts, Jamie Dicke, Dan Shellabarger, and Kylie Snyder. Dan Shellabarger and Cami Hellwarth showed dairy animals. Devin Adams showed pigs, and rabbits were exhibited by Rachel Hesse and Tommy McDonough. Kayla Walls and Lindsey Walls both brought their horses to the fair, while Caden Hellwarth exhibited poultry. Trevor Eischen and Rachel Hesse showed goats. Also, Rachel Hesse Showed sheep.

This summer, the Parkway FFA and Ft. Recovery FFA worked together to build a new food pavilion at the fairgrounds. Parkway and Ft. Recovery FFA members and their parents worked shifts at the stand throughout the week, selling deep-fried food items such as cheese sticks, pickles, fries, and many other items. The Parkway and Ft. Recovery FFA chapters would like to thank the Coldwater Young Farmers for matching the premiums on outstanding projects.

Parkway FFA Chapter Attends FFA Camp Muskingum
by Kylie Snyder at FFA@parkwayschools.org

In July, several Parkway FFA students attended Camp Muskingum, located in Eastern Ohio. The camp is a week long, filled with activities such as boating, trap shooting, team-building games, fishing, swimming, dances, and many more. Students that attended were Seth Houts, Kayla Walls, Rachel Hesse, and Courtney Dickie.

While at camp, students were able to meet other FFA members from different parts of Ohio. The camp is run by the Ohio State FFA officers, so students had a chance to meet and get to know their officers as well. Sports competitions were held daily between the camp chapters, including basketball, volleyball, cornhole, softball, ping pong and horseshoes.

Seth Houts said, “I enjoyed the leadership experience and getting to know this year’s State FFA officers.” Kayla Walls said of her camp experience, “FFA camp was a fun time and great experience to meet a lot of people from all over. “

Overall, Camp Muskingum is a great learning experience for young leaders.

Four FFA Events by Kylie Snyder

Four Parkway FFA Members Receive State Degrees

At the State Ohio FFA Convention May 5 & 6, four members of the Parkway FFA chapter were presented with their State FFA Degrees by the State FFA president Amy Jo Frost.

To receive their state degree, students must complete minimum requirements. Students must have already earned their Chapter degree, have completed at least one year in an agricultural education class, be a junior, senior, or high school graduate, have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher, and have an attendance record of 93% or better. Students also must have one of the following: gross earning of more than $3000, or have worked 1000 hours or more.

Trevor Eischen, a senior, is the son of Tom and Mary Eischen. He earned his State FFA degree by working at McNeilan farms.

Josh Ford, a junior, is the son of Matt and Annie Ford. He earned his State FFA degree by working for Dues Landscaping and working at Hellwarth Farms, Inc.

Caden Hellwarth, a junior, is the son of Garrett and Judy Hellwarth. He earned his State FFA degree by working on his family farm, Hellwarth Farms Inc.

Devin Adams, a junior, is the son of Dave and Pat Adams. He earned his State FFA degree by working at Hellwarth Farms, Inc. Congratulations to these four recipients.

Photo l to r: Trevor Eischen, Caden Hellwarth, Devin Adams, and Josh Ford.

Parkway FFA Attends State FFA Convention

The 83rd annual Ohio FFA Convention was held May 5-6 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus. Eleven members from the Parkway FFA chapter attended the convention.

Prior to the convention, students took online CDE tests. The grain merchandising team placed 8th in the state out of 26 teams. Olivia Houts placed 14th, Seth Houts placed 27th, and Caden Hellwarth placed 54th. Other participants were Tommy McDonough, Abby Evans, Tyler Matthews, Jack Roth, and Destinee Guggenbiller. The co-op team placed 5th of 39 teams. Seth Houts placed 29th, Caden Hellwarth placed 30th, and Abby Evans placed 43rd. Also participating was Tyler Matthews and Tommy McDonough. The farm business management team placed 5th as well, of 45 teams. Caden Hellwarth placed 15th, Seth Houts placed 25th, and Abby Evans placed 73rd. Also taking this test were Tommy McDonough, Kylie Snyder, Tyler Matthews, and Lindsey Walls. The ag engineering team placed 7th, with Devin Adams placing 15th, Caden Hellwarth placing 18th, Brandon Dellinger placing 29th, and Josh Ford placing 34th. The ag engineering team completed the rest of their contest on Thursday afternoon at the convention.

Abby Evans, Rachel Hesse, and Lindsey Walls participated in the agriscience fair competition on Thursday morning. Evans did a project about corn and received a gold rating. Hesse received a gold rating as well. Her project consisted of researching diet and nutrition of rabbits. Walls received a silver rating on her project, which was about soybeans. During the agriscience fair interviews, the rest of the group toured Provimi North America, a feed company that provides blending, manufacturing, distribution and nutritional services to feed the dairy, meat and egg industries in the United States, Mexico and parts of Canada.

Throughout the two days, FFA members had the opportunity to hear many speakers, such as Chad Hymas, Trent McKnight, Rick Metzger, and Drew Hastings. On Thursday, the chapter received recognition for donating to Children's Hospital and CROP/Church World Services organizations. On Friday, Olivia Houts recieved an award for On Friday evening, four members received their State FFA degree. These students were Trevor Eischen, Josh Ford, Devin Adams, and Caden Hellwarth.

Congratulations to all the students for putting forth their best effort and working hard.

Olivia Houts Receives 2011 DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award

Rockford, Ohio- Olivia Leigh Houts of Parkway High School was recently presented the school’s highest agricultural honor, the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award, sponsored by Monsanto Company.

Houts, the daughter of Mark and Michelle Houts, received the award for excellence in academics, leadership, and agricultural work experience. Houts’s significant experiences and accomplishments have included obtaining her state FFA degree, being crowned 2010 Mercer County Beef Queen, being the Reporter for the Parkway FFA chapter, and serving on the Mercer County Junior Fairboard. Alan Post is Houts’s agricultural education instructor at Parkway High School.

This year the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award celebrates its 64th anniversary. Over these 64 years more than 166,000 high school seniors from across the country have received the Award, which has become a symbol for excellence and the school’s highest agricultural honor. In 2010, over 2,000 students from 49 of the 50 states were recognized with the Award.

As the winner of the 2011 Award, Houts’s name will be recorded on a permanent plaque displayed at Parkway High School.

Monsanto, a long-time supporter of agricultural education, FFA, 4-H, and other farm youth organizations and initiatives, sponsors the DEKLAB Agricultural Accomplishment Award. Monsanto is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.

Parkway FFA Holds Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance

On May 14th, the Parkway FFA Chapter held their annual Daddy-Daughter dance at Parkway High School. The dance was held for girls in the grades kindergarten up to the 6th grade and their fathers. The Chapter provided refreshments for the girls and their fathers in between dances. One hundred and fifteen girls attended the dance to have a good time with their fathers.

The Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank everyone one who attended the dance. A special thanks goes to Chad Ransbottom for being the DJ for the night. Also we would like to thank Brian and Joyce Dickie, for taking pictures of the girls and their fathers. It was a good time and we hope see the girls and their fathers back again next year!

Parkway FFA Students Compete in Oklahoma

The Parkway FFA Chapter sent four students to the National Land and Range Judging Contest during the week of May 2^nd-5^th, accompanied by advisor Alan Post. The team advanced from the State FFA Soils Contest, which was held in October. The rural soil judging team from Parkway consists of Clay Thomas, Jared Rollins, John Rollins, and Jarret O’Neill. The event was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team placed 74^th out of 90^th. Thomas placed 56^th. While the group had down time from judging soil, the boys went to many attractions around Oklahoma. They visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

(John Rollins, Jared Rollins, Clay Thomas, and Jarret O'Neill.)

Parkway FFA Chapter Holds Annual Banquet

The Parkway FFA Chapter recently held their 82^nd annual FFA banquet. FFA members, family and guests were in attendance to help honor the hard working members as they received their awards. The banquet started off with the 2010-2011 President, Abby Evans, giving a toast. Then the members and guests were welcomed by the newly elected president Caden Hellwarth. After a well said invocation by Stephany Hesse, the FFA members and guests were dismissed to eat a delicious meal. The meal included roast beef, ham, noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, rolls, tossed salad, and a variety of desserts brought in by the parents. During the meal everyone had the chance to enjoy the slideshow made by the 2010-2011 reporter, Olivia Houts. The slideshow was a success at showing the FFA members families and guests how much fun the members have throughout the year in. After the slideshow, Lucy Bambauer spoke as the guest speaker. Lucy severed as the chapter’s president in the years 2000-2001. She talked about how FFA has made an impact in her life and how the members of her officer team have impacted her and others around them. After her inspiring speech, the awards ceremony began. This year the Greenhand Degree was given to 13 first year members. Then 21 second year members received their Chapter degree. The ten members that sold the most fruit during fruit sales this past year were recognized, and the Scholarship award was given to 24 members for being on the honor roll for 2 of the 3 nine week periods this year. CDE medals were awarded to students who participated in any Career Development Events. There were 36 members who received the CDE medal. There were nine four year members awarded with a pen set engraved with their name. Devin Adams, Josh Ford, Trevor Eischen, and Caden Hellwarth will receive their State FFA degree at the State FFA Convention in early May. Danielle Matthews is the lone recipient of the American FFA Degree, which she will receive at the National FFA Convention in October. The Honorary Member plaque was given out by the chapter officers to Mr. Matt Fisher for his help with the Parkway FFA chapter. The officer team then presented Mr. Post with a wooden carving and a gift card. Abby Evans, this year’s president, gave her retiring address, speaking about the experiences she has had throughout her years in FFA. The FFA members then presented their parents with a potted plant, as seniors presented their parents with a yellow rose. At the banquet, the FFA chapter inducted a new officer team for the of 2011-2012 year, with the newly elected officers as follows: President: Caden Hellwarth, Vice-President: Destinee Guggenbiller, Secretary: Rachel Hesse, Treasurer: Seth Houts, Reporter: Kylie Snyder, Sentinel: Lindsey Walls, Student Advisor: Courtney Dicke. Lastly, the Parkway FFA Chapter would like to thank Coldwater Young Farmers for their generosity in giving scholarships to three Parkway FFA seniors, as well as the Mercer County Pork Producers and the Mercer County Cattlemen's Association for donating the ham and beef. The chapter would also like to thank everyone who attended the banquet as well as Mr. Alan Post, advisor, for making it a great year.

Parkway FFA Students Compete in Skills Classic

The 2011 Southwestern Skills Classic was held at Miami Valley Career Technical Center on April 12^th. Parkway had four students competing this year, including Tannor Eischen, Jordan Strader, Vivian Schmidt, and Garth Louth.

In the Assembly Procedures contest, students were required to build a bootjack. Louth placed 1^st, and Strader placed 2^nd. In the Meats Identification contest, Eischen placed 2^nd, and Schmidt placed 3^rd. In the Natural Resources Identification contest, students had to identify different plants and animals. Strader placed 2^nd in this contest. In the Small Gas Engines competition, students had to identify parts. Louth placed 2^nd and Eischen placed 7^th.

Congratulations to all four students for doing a fine job and representing the Parkway FFA Chapter well.

Pictured at left: Jordan Strader, Tannor Eischen, Garth Louth, and Vivian Schmidt.

Parkway FFA Sends Ag Mechanics Team to Competition

The Parkway FFA chapter sent three students to compete in the district Ag Mechanics competition at the Sentinel Career Center in Tiffin, Ohio, held March 23^rd. Participating were John Rollins, Devin Adams, and Josh Ford.

The contest involves stick welding, wire welding, oxyacetylene welding, battery testing, soldering wires, sharpening drill bits, precision measuring and hydraulics. Participants were allowed a limit of ten minutes per station. As a team, the boys placed 4^th of 14 teams. Individually, Adams placed 3^rd, Rollins placed 19^th, and Ford placed 22^nd of 42 individuals.

“The contest was a good learning experience for all of us,” said Ford of the event. The chapter would like to thank Sentinel for hosting the event and thank the boys for their hard work.

Pictured above: Josh Ford, Devin Adams, and John Rollins

Parkway FFA Agronomy Team Participates in Contests

This is the second year that the Parkway FFA has had an agronomy team compete in CDE invitationals. The agronomy team consists of Seth Houts, Abby Evans, Caden Hellwarth, and Tommy McDonough. In the Agronomy CDE, students must be able to identify crops, plants, seeds, insects, and crop damage. They also are required to take a written test over crop management.

The first competition they participated in was the Marysville Invitational, on March 5^th. The team placed 10^th of 22 schools. Individually, Evans placed 41^st, Hellwarth placed 42^nd, Houts placed 45^th, and McDonough placed 64^th of 85.

The team also competed at the Mercer County Invitational, held March 26^th. As a team, they placed 3^rd of 5 and individually, Evans placed 10^th, Hellwarth placed 11^th, Houts placed 13^th, and McDonough placed 18^th.

The chapter wants to congratulate the agronomy team for doing well so far and wish them good luck at the State Spring CDE competition on Saturday, April 2^nd.

Pictured above: Tommy McDonough, Abby Evans, Seth Houts, and Caden Hellwarth.

Dairy Products Team Participates in Contests

The Parkway FFA Chapter sent students to participate in two invitationals in the Dairy Products CDE recently. CDEs are Career Development events, which prepare FFA students for different careers. This particular contest requires students to identify milk deficiencies, conduct a California mastitis test on milk, identify ten different types of cheeses, rate milking units, and discern between dairy and non-dairy products.

The first event was the Marysville Invitational, held at the Marysville high school. Destinee Guggenbiller, Rachel Hesse, Kylie Snyder, Olivia Houts and Vivian Schmidt participated. The team placed 10^th out of 27 teams. Houts placed 31^st, Hesse placed 44^th, Guggenbiller placed 59^th, Snyder placed 64^th, and Schmidt placed 81^st.

The Mercer County Invitational was held at the Mercer County fairgrounds on March 26^th. Olivia Houts, Kylie Snyder, Kati Schumm, and Harley Noll took part. The team placed 1^st, with Schumm placing 1^st individually, Noll placing 2^nd, Houts placing 5^th, and Snyder placing 6^th.

Congratulations to these girls for their success so far and good luck at the State CDE Contest on April 2^nd.

Pictured above: Kylie Snyder, Rachel Hesse, Destinee Guggenbiller, Vivian Schmidt, and Olivia Houts.

Wildlife and Nature Interpretation Teams Do Well at Contests

The Parkway FFA recently sent a team of eight boys to compete at two invitationals in the Wildlife CDE and the Nature Interpretation CDE. CDE’s are Career Development Events. Competing from Parkway was Bryce Bedwell, Kameron Roehm, Jack Roth, Cody Dugan, Jarret O’Neill, Jordan Strader, Josh Ford and Lando Bruns. Students are required to identify animal species, plants, equipment, and game birds.

The team first travelled to Marysville to participate in the Marysville Invitational. The Wildlife team placed 5^th of 49 schools. Individually, Roth placed 11^th, Bedwell placed 15^th, Ford placed 21^st, O’Neill placed 59^th, Dugan placed 76^th, Strader placed 97^th, and Roehm placed 104^th out of 187. The Nature Interpretation team placed 9^th of 22 schools. Ford placed 39^th, Roth placed 41^st, Dugan placed 45^th, Roehm placed 51^st, Bedwell placed 55^th, O’Neill placed 56^th, and Strader placed 63^rd of 91 individuals.

The team also participated in the Mercer County Invitational on March 26th. Here, Wildlife placed 1^st as a team, out of 31 teams. As individuals, Roth placed 1^st, Bruns placed 8^th, O’Neill placed 14^th, Dugan placed 22^nd, Roehm placed 29^th, Bedwell placed 44^th, and Strader placed 57^th of 91 participants. In the Nature Interpretation contest, the team placed 2^nd. Individually, Roth placed 2^nd, Bruns placed 3^rd, O’Neill placed 6^th, Ford placed 8^th, Dugan placed 9^th, Bedwell placed 10^th, Strader placed 11^th, and Roehm placed 12^th.

The boys have done well so far and next will compete in the State Spring CDE contest on April 2^nd.

Pictured above: Jack Roth, Kameron Roehm, Jordan Strader, Jarret O'Neill, Bryce Bedwell, Cody Dugan, and Josh Ford

Knapke Receives American FFA Degree

Dee Dee Knapke, a member of the Parkway FFA Chapter, from Rockford, Ohio, recently received the American FFA Degree. Earning the degree means Knapke is one of a select group of individuals to be recognized for years of academic and professional excellence. The honor was presented on October 24^th, 2010 at the 83^rd National FFA Convention, held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The American FFA Degree recognizes demonstrated leadership ability and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing, or service programs. To be eligible, members must have earned and productively invested $7,500 through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program in which they start, own, or hold a professional position in an existing agriculture enterprise. Recipients must also make it their mission to demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement.

Each award recipient receives a gold American FFA Degree key, and certificate in a blue leatherette frame. Of more than 520,000 FFA members nationwide, Knapke was one of only 3,448 to be recognized in 2010. The degree recognition program is sponsored by Case IH, DTN, Farm Credit, Pioneer, Hi-Bred, and Syngenta as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

The National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, is a national youth organization of 520,284 student members (and counting)—all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture—as part of 7,429 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The national FFA Organization changed to its present name in 1998 in recognition of the growth and diversity of agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education. The National FFA Organization operates under a Federal Charter granted by the 81^st United States Congress, and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. Visit www.ffa.org for more information.

Pictured above: Dee Dee with her parents Steve and Deb Knapke.