Portageville FFA Banquet

Friday, May 8, 2015

Family, friends and faculty came out to support and honor the members of the 2015 Future Farmers of America (FFA) at Portageville High School on Wednesday, April 29.

Ethan Cooper, FFA President, started things off by welcoming their guests then handed the podium over to Landon DeLisle, FFA Chaplain, to give the invocation before dinner.

After everyone finished the potluck-style dinner provided by the FFA members and some of their family, the officers held the opening ceremony. Serving as 2014-2015 FFA officers were Ethan Cooper, President; Sydney Carter, Vice President; Tellasha Luster, Secretary; Hanna Bullock, Treasurer; Macie Hoggard, Reporter; Brandon Higgs, Sentinel; Landon DeLisle, Chaplain; and Maura Kellams, Historian. Sara Blattel serves as the FFA Advisor.

The officers then recognized Mary Carter and Rebecca Prince and made them honorary members of the Portageville FFA Chapter.

Next, Tellasha Luster recognized the members who won contests throughout the school year at various FFA events. Brenna Corbett, Savannah Lovins and Shelby Rone won a team award for FA Knowledge; Kelsey Kellams won in Division I Prepared Public Speaking; Nicholes Allred, Mary Compere, Kelsi Jones and Maura Kellams won a team award for Entomology; and Ethan Cooper served as Treasurer (Area Officer).

Following Luster was Sara Blattel, who introduced Mark Jones, Missouri Farm Bureau representative. Blattel and Jones went on to present the MOASK IRC certificates to Tyler Haynes, Tellasha Luster and Caleb Smith, all in Ag Mechanics.

High school students enrolled in agriculture education courses have the opportunity to earn the Missouri Agricultural Skills and Knowledge Assessment Industry Recognized Credential (MOASK IRC) certificate. The program recognizes students performing at a proficient level as determined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary duration (DESE). The technical skills assessments are conducted much like FFA judging events, but the results are used to determine a student's proficiency and not for competitive award purposes.

Missouri Farm Bureau and Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture partnered with DESE to take an active role in the program. County Farm Bureau leaders are responsible for verifying the rigor of each event, ensuring requirements are met and providing certificates for students deemed proficient.

Once Jones and Blattel presented the students with their certificates, the officers awarded the Greenhand Degrees, Chapter Degrees, Top Members and Star Awards.

Greenhand Degree recipients were DeAvion Caldwell, Hanna Cook, Brenna Corbett, Abby Johnson, Kelsey Kellams, Madison Livingston, Savannah Lovins, Kelsi Miller, Sarah Prince and Caleb Pullam.

The Chapter Degree recipients were Nicholes Allred, Madi Barham, Sydney Carter, Landon DeLisle, Macie Hoggard, Kelsi Jones and Maura Kellams.

The Top MEmbers were Sydney Carter, Ethan Cooper, Landon DeLisle, Kelsey Kellams, Maura Kellams, Jon Kellams, Tellasha Luster, Sarah Prince and Alex Riddle.

The Star Awards were given in three categories: Star Greenhand- Kelsey Kellams; Chapter Star Farmer- Landon DeLisle; and Chapter Star in Ag Placement- Maura Kellams.

Once awards were finished, Blattel recognized the FFA seniors, who were Madi Barham, Brittany Bessenger, Hannah Bullock, Sydney Carter, Warren Chambliss, Ethan Cooper, Landon DeLisle, Molly Frakes, Tyler Haynes, Macie Hoggard, Hunter Jackson, Maura Kellams, Jill Kellams, Brandon Riggs and Sasha Starnes.

Blattel continued with a presentation of the retiring officers and a video montage of events and moments throughout the year.

Following the video, the officer installation took place, swearing in the 2015-2016 FFA officers, who then performed the closing ceremony.

The 2015-2016 FFA officers are Mary Compere, President; Kelsey Kellams, Vice President; Tellasha Luster, Secretary; and Alex Riddle, Treasurer.

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