Kentucky Ag News
Joenelle Futrell heads successful Kentucky delegation at the National FFA Convention
National FFA
Kentucky FFA was well represented at the 85th Annual National FFA Convention, which was held October 24-27 in Indianapolis, Indiana. An all-time record of 56,107 FFA members from across the United States attended the Convention, which is the largest youth organization gathering in the United States.
Joenelle Futrell was elected National Eastern Region Vice President. Futrell and five other National Officers will lead the 550,000+ member organization for the next year. During her year of service, she will travel over 100,000 miles and have the opportunity to speak to thousands of FFA members and interact with agriculture, education, and government officials. She is the eleventh National FFA Officer from Kentucky and the first female National FFA Officer from Kentucky. Futrell is a member of the Daviess County FFA Chapter and is a junior at the University of Kentucky where she is majoring in Agricultural Education.
Spencer County FFA won the distinction of being named the first ever National Model of Excellence Chapter. This prestigious award was established this year to recognize the top chapter in the nation. Spencer County has a long history of excellence in all areas of agricultural education including classroom instruction, FFA, and Supervised Agricultural Experience. Chapter advisors are Bland Baird and Darryl Matherly. Kentucky is honored to say that we have the number one chapter in the nation!
Jordan Lucas of the Lincoln County FFA received first place in the National Agriscience Fair in Division 1 of Power Structural and Technical Systems. Lucas completed research related to the effectiveness of various hay storage methods using the scientific method. He is the first National Agriscience Fair winner from Kentucky. His advisors are Matthew Anderson, Harvey Franklin, and Denise Thomas.
Alexander Richardson of the Meade County FFA was named one of four National Finalists for the American Star Farmer Award. Zachary Cotton of the Spencer County FFA was named one of four National Finalists for the American Star In Agribusiness Award. The Star Awards are based on a students progress in developing their Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, FFA accomplishments, record of scholarship, and community involvement and are the highest awards given by the National FFA Organization.
For a complete listing of National Convention winners, visit https://www.ffa.org/Events/conventionandexpo/highlights/2012/Pages/Awards.aspx.
