Missouri FFA News Releases

COLUMBIA, Mo., April 16, 2009 – Eldon FFA placed tenth out of 317 chapters in the state, earning a Top Chapter Award at the 81^st Missouri FFA Convention. Only 10 percent of state chapters receive the Top Chapter Award each year.

Chapter activity awards, sponsored by FCS Financial, are given to chapters achieving excellence in student, chapter and community development. Eldon FFA Chapter advisors are Matt Biddle, Gary Reichel and Adam Wolf.

The Eldon FFA student development activities included sending seven officers to attend FFA Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) this past summer. They were given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by meeting new people, attending leadership sessions and exploring the nation’s capital.

Chapter development activities are designed to promote excellence within the chapter. Their annual FFA hog roast and work auction proceeds totaled $12,000.

Their entire membership was involved to make this financial venture a success. Members practiced financial management, encouraged thrift and budgeted disbursements.

Eldon’s community development included FFA members who advertised and promoted the Eldon Turkey Festival by placing posters in local business windows. Ninety members worked the carnival rides which brought an economic boost to their community as 7,000 visitors attended the annual festival.

The top chapters are submitted to the National FFA Organization where they compete for the National FFA Chapter Award. The competition will be this fall at the National FFA convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Missouri FFA has 24,410 members representing 317 chapters. The national organization has over 507,000 members representing 7,439 local chapters in 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

The FFA Mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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