Saturday, May 11, 2019

Lola Breshears Named North Harrison FFA President; Successful Year Celebrated

Lola Breshears was named North Harrison FFA President for the 2019-2020 school year, replacing Mardee Sadowsky, who will graduate. Other officers for next year will be Brett Emig (Vice-President), Emma Craig (Vice-President), Rainey Fordyce (Secretary), Nick Mickelson (Treasurer), Ashlynn Gilpatrick (Sentinel), Carly Rinehart (Reporter), Kami Gibson (Reporter), Nick Babinski (Parliamentarian), and Kamden Robertson (Chaplain).

Various FFA members were recognized for accomplishments over the years. Getting American FFA Degrees were Kiley Gibson, Clay Parkhurst, and Carly Brenizer. Getting their State FFA Degrees were Logan Craig, Gavin Garrett, Logan Huitt, Lane Huitt, and Mardee Sadowsky.

Getting their FFA Chapter Degrees were Collin Briggs, Grant Claycomb, Logan Craig, Kami Gibson, Ashlynn Gilpatrick, Kadyn Hukill, Lane Huitt, Logan Huitt, Emma Jones, Kason Mathes, Hunter Parkhurst, Kylie Pottorff, Taylor Richards, Carly Rinehart, Cruz Ury, Steven Willhite, and Mason Cracraft. Lola Breshears and Brett Emig got their Star Chapter Degrees. Kylie Pottorff got her star Chapter Placement Award. Mardee Sadowsky got the Sam Skinner Memorial Ag Leadership Award.
Getting their Greenhand Degrees were Nick Babinski, Wade Briggs, Adrian Cracraft, Cooper Cracraft, Brandon Hamilton, Shae Keefer, and Kamden Robertson. Star Greenhand Awards went to Nick Babinski and Kamden Robertson. Robertson received the Area II Gold Rating for FFA Creed Speaking and was an alternate to Finals. He received the Brittni Brenizer FFA Creed/Leadership Award. He also got the BTC Bank Scholarship.

Receiving Chapter Scholarship Awards were Cooper Cracraft (Freshman), Lola Breshears (Sophomore), Ashlynn Gilpatrick (Junior), and Mardee Sadowsky (Senior).

Seven different FFA teams went to state this year, including some that surprised their advisor, Brandon Craig. The Forestry team consisted of Grant Claycomb, Kadyn Hukill, Taylor Richards, and Logan Huitt. They were fourth in districts, with Logan Huitt fourth and Grant Claycomb 7th overall. They were 24th at State.

The Horses team consisted of Kami Gibson, Lola Breshears, Carly Rinehart, and Emma Craig. They were 2nd at Districts, with Lola Breshears 3rd and Emma Craig 7th overall. They were 25th at State, with Lola Breshears getting a Gold rating.

The Livestock team consisted of Wade Briggs, Kamden Robertson, Ashlynn Gilpatrick, and Lane Huitt. They were fourth in Districts, with Lane Huitt taking 5th overall. They were 24th at State, with Lane Huitt getting a Gold rating.

The Poultry team consisted of Brandon Hamilton, Cooper Cracraft, Adrian Cracraft, and Nick Babinski. Despite being an all-freshman team, they got better every single time and got 7th in Districts, with Nick Babinski 10th overall. They were 30th at State, but only three teams from their district were ahead of them.

The Meats team consisted of Steven Wilhite, Lane Huitt, Ashlynn Gilpatrick, and Mardee Sadowsky. They were fourth or fifth all year and finally beat out Princeton, finishing second in Districts only behind Trenton. They were 21st at State.

The Agronomy team consisted of Logan Craig, Gavin Garrett, Addie Slaughter, and Olivia Babinski. They were 2nd in Districts with Gavin Garrett first overall. They thought they had won, only for it to be reposted with them in second. They used that as motivation, and took 15th in State and got a Group I rating as a team. It was North Harrison’s first-ever such rating as a team. Gavin Garrett got a Gold rating individually.

The Dairy Cattle team was another team that surprised some people. This was one of the youngest teams that North Harrison fielded, with two freshmen and two sophomores. Members were Kason Mathes, Nick Mickleson, Rainey Fordyce, and Brett Emig. This was one of the best-performing FFA teams ever to come out of North Harrison. They were second in Districts, with Brett Emig 9th overall. They then took 5th at State with a Group I rating. Brett Emig was 7th overall at State with a Group I rating. Nick Mickleson was 28th with a Group I rating, Rainey Fordyce also received a Group I rating, while Kason Mathes narrowly missed out on a Group I rating.

Cruz Ury, Emma Craig, Lola Breshears, and Logan Huitt were recognized for being the top four sellers for the BBQ. Emma Craig, Rainey Fordyce, and Carly Rinehart were recognized for being awarded with a Farm Bureau trip to Jefferson City.

There were 33 FFA members for North Harrison, of which there were 31 who were present for Friday’s banquet. Out of all the area FFA chapters with one Ag teacher, North Harrison won first overall in the District Sweepstakes over schools like Chillicothe, Trenton, Princeton, Braymer, and Hamilton. It was their first-ever such award, although they had always come close in recent years, finishing in the top three, including six times in the second slot. Including all FFA chapters with multiple teachers, North Harrison was third overall, with only Savannah and Cameron ahead of them.
The FFA had help from a lot of individuals in the community, which went above and beyond the call of duty to help them. The chapter recognized the family of Dennis Puppe, which helped cover the expenses for many FFA activities. Honorary memberships went to Chase Stoll, Danny Lisle, and Tabrey Kimbrough, who all went above and beyond the call of duty to help. Another special award was given to Mr. Lighthill, the bus driver, who drove them to their events this year.

Eight different seniors were recognized with the jacket ceremony, in which they retire their jackets for good. They were Logan Craig, Mardee Sadowsky, Olivia Babinski, Mason Cracraft, Logan Huitt, Lane Huitt, Gavin Garrett, and Addie Slaughter. Advisor Brandon Craig choked up even more than he did last year when the softball team took third in state when he talked about them. “These guys gave it there all these past four years,” he said. “It was fun to see them transform over many late nights, road trips, and contests.”

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