Streator FFA wins highest honor at state convention

STREATOR, Ill. — The Streator FFA Chapter was named the 2022 Illinois Association FFA Premier Chapter, which is the highest honor that a chapter can receive.

Twenty-six Streator FFA members represented the chapter at the state convention in June.

The State Premier Chapter Award denotes the Illinois FFA Chapter of the Year and is sponsored by the Illinois Farm Bureau Family of Companies Youth Education in Agriculture Committee.

Each year, 355 ag programs and FFA chapters throughout Illinois complete the National Chapter Award, an application which highlights the activities that chapters complete to grow leaders, build community and strengthen agriculture.

This award is then judged among agricultural educators across the state where they are ranked 1 to 355 with the top chapter being named the Premier Chapter throughout Illinois.

The State Premier Chapter Award is given to the chapter in the section with the highest overall score on the National Chapter Award application.

Members of the Streator FFA chapter attended the 94th annual Illinois State FFA Convention along with more than 5,000 other FFA members, advisers and guests.

Throughout the course of the three-day event, Streator FFA members were recognized.

The Streator FFA Chapter also received additional awards for the National Chapter Award.

Growing Leaders National Chapter Award Section Winner: As part of the National Chapter Award program and the chapter’s program of activities, Growing Leaders is designed to encourage the chapter to develop individual and cooperative activities to enhance students’ life skills. The University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is the statewide sponsor of the Growing Leaders National Chapter Award.

Building Communities National Chapter Award Section Winner: As part of the National Chapter Award program and the chapter’s program of activities, Building Communities is designed to encourage the local development of FFA partnerships with alumni affiliates and other organizations while taking a leadership role in making the community a better place to live and work. Cargill is the statewide sponsor of the Building Communities National Chapter Award.

Strengthening Agriculture National Chapter Award Section and State Winner: As part of the National Chapter Award program and the chapter’s program of activities, Strengthening Agriculture is designed to encourage opportunities and service for members, such as promoting increased member participation and financial responsibility, creating a positive image and interacting with support groups and cooperatives through organized activities. Farm Credit Illinois is the statewide sponsor of the Strengthening Agriculture National Chapter Award.

Streator FFA Members competed in two different Career Development Events while at state FFA convention.

The ag communications team was named the state winner of the Ag Communications CDE and will represent Streator and Illinois at the 2022 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October.

This team is composed of Jeniece White, Brayden Matsko, Palmer Phillis and Sydney Long. Long also was named the state winner in journalistic writing.

Nolan Lukach represented Streator in the Creed Speaking Public Speaking CDE. Lukach placed as one of the top 10 individuals within the state.

The chapter celebrated the success of eight State FFA Degree recipients, the highest degree that Illinois FFA members can achieve in Illinois, and three American FFA Degree recipients, the highest degree FFA members can achieve throughout the nation.

Gwen Heimerdinger was recognized by the Illinois Association FFA as a new agricultural educator and will be working alongside the current ag teacher, Riley Hintzsche, as a two-teacher ag program.