FFA chapter stays busy through summer
By, Jordan Berg and Tori Seif Even though school has ended, things are still busy in the Granton FFA!
To help celebrate June Dairy Month the Granton FFA Alumni hosted a Dairy Breakfast on the JC Walter Farm. We served over 1,600 people this year.
Once a year, FFA members from all over Wisconsin gather together in Madison for the State Convention. Nine Granton FFA members submitted Profi ciency Award applications. Seven of these members earned gold placings and three of those gold placings were State Finalists in their respective categories. The finalists from our chapter were Megan Walter in Diversified Livestock Production, Alexis Pongratz in Service Learning, and Abby Woller in Fruit Production. Megan placed first in her category and her application will be moving on to further consideration at the national level. Alexis placed third in Service Learning and Abby also placed third in Fruit Production. We not only have proficiencies moving onto Nationals, but Jordan Berg, who conducted an experiment in our school’s greenhouse, won the Plant Science portion of the Agriscience Fair and will also be moving onto Nationals. In addition to these achievements, our chapter ranked gold and will be advancing to Nationals in the National Chapter Award. Granton also earned third place for the Building Communities program.
The Middle School Quiz Bowl team consisting of Emma Brookhart, Jessi Berg, Brittany Walz and Kadyn Marg made it into the second round and missed the finals by mere points. Justin Berg, Sam Martin, Dolorosa Thomas, and Megan Walter earned their State Degrees, an honor bestowed upon only 2 percent of graduating FFA members. In addition, Megan was recognized as a finalist for Star Farmer and Star in Agricultural Placement. Another individual that was recognized was Lizzy Reinart, being named a Three Star Leader.
Our chapter also experienced many “firsts” this year at State Convention. This included three students who served on the Public Relations Team. They were Jordan Berg, Tori Seif and Lizzy Reinart. The chapter also had three students participate in the State Honors Chorus for the first time in many, many years. These vocalists were Alexis Pongratz, Tori Seif, and Emma Woller. Lastly, our chapter received a few more recognitions at state. We had the 10th place Food for America Program in the State. Our chapter scrapbook made it into the top 10 and our chapter was highlighted as the Section 7 chapter in the Hall of Stars and we received a Best of Show ribbon for our display about the activities that our chapter hosts. Despite our small size, we are continually proud of the presence that Granton FFA has at the state level.
The FFA fun did not stop after State Convention; in July our chapter officers headed out for a three day officer retreat, where they bonded and planned the chapter’s events for the upcoming year. The Granton FFA and Granton FFA Alumni participated in the Adopt-a-Highway program, helping to keep our community beautiful and environment safe. Many middle and high school members attended the summer incentive trip, which consisted of an escape room, a delicious brunch and to finish it off a trip to Vandehey Waters.
With summer comes the Clark County Fair. We have 19 FFA members exhibiting at the fair this year. There are members showing a wide variety of projects, ranging from pigs, beef, lambs, pigeons, chickens and rabbits to photography, fairy gardens, artwork, food and plants.
Throughout the summer, FFA members have continued to work on their proficiencies and SAE’s throughout the summer. With such strong involvement during the summer months, we cannot wait to see what our members do and hope for everyone to keep up the good work as we enter the school year.
