MT FFA Wins Awards at National Convention

by Brett McRae

Montana FFA Members recently returned from participation at the National FFA Convention and Expo held in Indianapolis, IN.  Approximately six hundred Montana students attended the convention where they engaged in competitions, leadership workshops, tours and educational seminars.  This annual event attracted nearly 61,000 members from across the nation. 

In the national Food Science and Technology Competition, the number one team in the nation comes from the Missoula FFA Chapter.  Missoula bested thirty-seven other state winning chapters to earn the title.  Team members were Claire Standley, Joel Standley, Quinlan Turner and Shaun Billingsley.  This is the first national team winner from Montana since 2010. 

Pictured L to R is the national winning Food Science and Technology team from Missoula: Shaun Billingsley, Joel Standley, Claire Standley and Quinlan Turner

Other Montana teams placing in the top ten were the Kalispell FFA Chapter’s Farm Business Management Team who placed 5th , Gardiner FFA placed 7th in Agricultural Sales, Corvallis placed 9th in the National Environmental and Natural Resources contest and the Big Timber Meats Evaluation team also placed 9th

Individual members that rose to the top in their respective competitions were led by:

  • Kalispell’s Ethan Bay who placed 2nd in the National Farm Business Management competition
  • Missoula’s Claire Standley who placed 3rd in the National Food Science competition
  • Gardiner’s Summit Browning who placed 3rd in the National Agriculture Sales event. 

Perhaps the individual highlight of the convention was when Carson Crary from the Choteau FFA Chapter was named as the national winner in the Outdoor Recreation Proficiency Award area.  Proficiency awards recognize students who excel in their work-based learning experiences. 

May be an image of 5 people and people standing
Carson Crary (center) of the Choteau FFA chapter receives his award as the national proficiency winner in outdoor recreation, joined on stage by his advisor (right) Mr. Milford Wearley

Additionally, Kara Conley and Faith Berow from Missoula placed 5th in the Animal Systems section of the National Agriscience program.

The following are the results of how the other Montana chapters placed* during this year’s national convention: 

*Note – Gold, Silver and Bronze ratings represent roughly the top, the middle, and the lower third of teams participating.

Floriculture – Miles City – Silver,  

Marketing plan – Park City – Silver,  

Conduct of meetings – Joliet – Silver,  

Parliamentary Procedure – Broadwater – Bronze,  

Creed – Brylinn Olstad – Shepherd – Bronze,  

Extemporaneous Speaking – Claire Murnin – Shepherd – Bronze,  

Employment Skills – Katelyn Anderson – Shepherd – Silver,  

Prepared Speaking – Brighton Lane (Huntley Project) – Silver,  

Forestry – Mission Valley – Bronze,  Agronomy – Joliet – Gold,  

Ag Issues – Corvallis – Bronze,  

Vet Science – Beaverhead – Bronze,  

Ag Communication – Corvallis – Silver,  

Horse – Kalispell – Silver,  

Ag Mechanics – Big Timber – Silver,  

Livestock – Big Timber – Silver,

Poultry – Miles City – Bronze.

In addition to the contest placings, 29 members received the American FFA Degree. The American FFA Degree is the highest degree that can be bestowed upon a member and represents at least five years of dedicated participation in the FFA organization. Those members are:

Grace Aisenbrey and Sidney Althoff – Clarksfork,

Kadyn Braaten – Broadwater,

Jacob Brown and Matthew Slivka – Winifred,

Lexy Dietz – Shepherd,

Cole Dykhuizen – Kalispell,

Justin Forseth – Fairfield,

Coleman Gilman, Desaray Tipton and Zoe Lee – Ruby Valley,

Jordan Grewell – Joliet,

Kaden Hanson – Bainville,

Danielle Horan – Moore,

Kayla Johnson and Reace Lannen – Shields Valley,

Kadin Kammerer – Missoula,

Riley Larson – Conrad,

Joe Lackman – Forsyth,

Amelia Laubach and Riley Prather – Big Timber,

Jaylea Lunceford – Mission Valley,

Colleen Mosby – Roy,

Landan Ohmdahl – Sweet Grass Hills,

Brenna Osksa – Plentywood,

Kiley Smieja – Belgrade,

Rebecca Stroh – Chinook,

Allyson Young – Fairview,

Colton Young – Stillwater Valley.

Four individuals received the Honorary American FFA Degree for their support given to Montana FFA over the years, they are:

  • Tom Peterson from Shields Valley who serves on the National FFA Agronomy CDE Committee 
  • Jay Meyer from Stevensville who is on the Montana Foundation’s Board of Directors
  • Jack Larson from Miles City who is on the Montana Foundation’s Board of Directors and was a past Ag teacher
  • Justin Heupel from Kalispell who is one of the Agriculture Education Instructors there.
May be an image of 2 people and people standing
Jay Meyer and Jack Larson, current members of the Montana FFA Foundation Board

Finally, Montana Agriculture Education was awarded a 100% membership award and the Montana FFA Association received an award for membership growth.  

The next event for Montana’s FFA Members will be the Montana FFA Ag Expo, a regional activity set for Nov. 10th – 12th in Bozeman.

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MT FFA Association

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