The Riverton Parke FFA Chapter held their Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 7th. Members and guests enjoyed an evening of dinner (catered by Moe’s), a keynote address and awards. The speaker for the evening was the current Indiana FFA State Sentinel, Madisen Carns. Madisen spoke about different experiences she has had in life and FFA and how it has helped shape her into the person she is today. After her speech, the awards program started with recognition of the ‘Top Fruit Salesmen’ of 2021. The top three junior high salesmen were Colton and Izzy Suggs in third, Emma Ugoletti in second and Brayden Griffin in first. These three junior high members were also the top 3 salesmen overall. The top three high school salesmen were Dalton Keltz-Purcell in third, Wyatt Koch in second and Leah Clark in first. FFA degrees were then awarded. Members who received their Discovery Degree included Lane Anstett, Mary-Claire Featherling, Alexis Fisher, Ryder Gregg, Brayden Griffin, Bradley McElheny, Taylor Melvin, Mary Pruitt and Jaydon Shaffer. Members who received their Greenhand Degree included Leah Clark, AJ Goff, Jack Harrah, Logan Johnson, Katilynn Koch, Karlie Marion, Kara Melvin, Hadley Newman, Taylor Parker, Kyle Price, Abbie Roderick and Kenzie Travis. Those receiving their Chapter Degree included Kelsie Blair, Sarah Brown, Wyatt Koch, Seth McConnell, Natalie Pruitt, Collin Watson and Katie Watson. Honorary Chapter Degrees were given to Kyle Kersey and Doug Burgess. The Honorary Chapter Degree is given to individuals in the community who have rendered outstanding service to the FFA chapter. Members were then recognized for their involvement in various Career Development Events (CDEs) and Leadership Development Events (LDEs) this past year. Riverton Parke had members compete in eight different CDEs and LDEs. Those included Livestock Skillathon, Soil Judging, Crops Judging, Forestry, Welding, Chapter Meeting (Parliamentary Procedures), District Contest and Livestock Judging. The 2021-2022 Officer Team then presented their “Officer Awards.” The “Rising Sun Award” was awarded to Jack Harrah. Sophie Sanders was awarded the “Workhorse Award.” The “Unity Award” was presented to Colton Suggs. The “Red, White and Blue Award” was awarded to Jase Martin. Karlie Marion was the recipient of the “Washington Award.” The “Shield of Friendship Award” was presented to Emily Adams, and the “Owl Award” was awarded to Abbie Roderick. High point FFA members were recognized. Members gain points for the various activities and events they participate in throughout the year which are then calculated to determine the “Top 5” for both junior high and high school members. For the junior high, Sophie Sanders was the “High Point Junior High Member” followed by Rhylie Cannon, Emily Adams, Emma Ugoletti and Kenzie Mundell. Sarah Brown was the “High Point High School Member” followed by Katilynn Koch, Collin Watson, Katie Watson and Dalton Keltz-Purcell. FFA members graduating with the Class of 2022 were recognized. Those members included Ray Brown, Seth McConnell, Blake Miller, Kelsie Blair, Dalton Keltz-Purcell, Mason Rickard, Thomasina Archey, Katie Watson, Hayden Martin and Luci Lientz. The advisors, Michaela Woods and Micah Humphreys, presented special advisor awards. The first being the “Outstanding Member of the Year” awards. For the junior high, Sophie Sanders was presented with the “Outstanding Junior High Member of the Year” award. Dalton Keltz-Purcell was awarded the “Outstanding High School Member of the Year.” Next, two members were awarded the “Rising Star Award.” Jaydon Shaffer was named the “Rising Star” for the junior high, and Natalie Pruitt was presented the “Rising Star” award for the high school. Academic Scholarship awards were given to the following individuals: 7th grade - Taylor Melvin and Jaydon Shaffer, 8th grade - Emily Adams, Rhylie Cannon, Kenzie Mundell and Carson Sutton, 9th grade - Hadley Newman, 10th grade - Sarah Brown, 11th grade - Natalie Pruitt, and 12th grade - Kelsie Blair. The 2022-2023 officer team was installed into their new positions. The team consists of Sarah Brown (President), Collin Watson (Vice President), Kenzie Mundell (Secretary), Jack Harrah (Treasurer), Sophie Sanders (Reporter), Annie Campbell (Sentinel), Rhylie Cannon (Junior Advisor), and Bradley McElheny and Jase Martin (Junior High Representatives).
Pictured after the Awards Banquet include, in front from left: Michaela Woods (Advisor), Izzy Suggs, Cathleen McKee, Emily Adams, Annie Campbell, Madisen Carns (Indiana FFA State Sentinel), Sophie Sanders, Sarah Brown, Kenzie Mundell, Leah Clark, Thomasina Archey, Carson Sutton, and Micah Humphreys (Advisor); middle row: Alexis Fisher, Katie Watson, Brayden Griffin, Colton Suggs, Jase Martin, Jack Harrah, Collin Watson, Rhylie Cannon, Bradley McElheny, Taylor Parker, Kelsie Blair, Jayden Simpson (District VII President); back row: Mason Rickard, Ray Brown, Dalton Keltz-Purcell, and Seth McConnell.