New London FFA holds awards ceremony

Students celebrate their accomplishments

Members of the New London FFA gathered to celebrate their accomplishments throughout the year on May 5.

FFA members, their families, alumni members of the chapter and special guests, as well as Section 8 State Vice President Amber Bunnell attended the ceremony.

New London FFA President Wyatt Adamovich, Vice President Hanna Gorman, Secretary Carolynn Backes, Treasurer Evan Retzlaff, Reporter Kimberly Murphy and Sentinel Jake Flocker served as masters of ceremonies.

Discovery Degrees were given to Sadie Belling, Egen Retzlaff, Keeley Phillips and Randy Zitzelsberger. This award goes to first year middle school members.

The Star Discovery Degree was presented to Sadie Belling for going above and beyond in her first year in FFA.

Greenhand degrees are given to first year members at the high school level. To earn this, members must have participated in FFA events, learned about what the FFA does and planned or started an SAE.

Earning their Greenhand Degrees were Taylor Klotzbuecher, Elizabeth Murphy, Lauren Nollenberg, Onan Retzlaff and Evan Schuelke.

Lauren Nollenberg was recognized as a Star Greenhand.

The Chapter Degree is the highest degree the New London FFA can bestow upon a member. In order to earn this the member must have received their Greenhand Degree, earned at least $150 or completed 50 hours in their SAE, participated in three chapter activities, enrolled in one agriculture class and sold pizzas.

This year the Chapter Degree was presented to Jake Flocker, Danielle Tank and Zachary Korth.
Each month members vote on who they think has gone above and beyond in participation in chapter activities to be selected as member of the month. They included Elizabeth Murphy, Lily Hoffman, Laine Fiane, Brya Schmidt, Kylee Wegner, Lauren Nollenberg, Morgan Williams, Vincent Backes and Danielle Tank. Morgan Williams was recognized s the member of the year.

Each year the New London FFA recognizes a senior who has excelled in their proficiency and completed the star application award. This application can be given out in four different areas. The Chapter Star Farmer was presented to Wyatt Adamovich through his poultry production entrepreneurship. The Chapter Star in Agricultural Placement was presented to Hanna Gorman through her Diversified Agricultural Placement.

Next members were recognized for their state accomplishments.

Evan Retzlaff and Lily Hoffman were selected to perform in the State FFA choir at the Wisconsin State FFA Convention and Wisconsin State Fair this summer.

Wyatt Adamovich and Hanna Gorman will be receiving their State FFA Degrees this June at the State FFA Convention. These two have committed over 1,000 hours or $1,000 into their SAE, as well as given agricultural speeches, participated in agriculture courses, demonstrated parliamentary procedure and performed community service.

This past January Evan Retzlaff represented the New London FFA at the Half-time Leadership Conference. This workshop helps chapters prepare for FFA week, Career Development Events, banquet planning, scholarships, state award applications and community service projects.

This past fall three members also attended the I am/ Connect Conference which was held in Green Bay to grow their leadership skills. Jake Flocker, Layne Eidenberger, and Evan Schuelke attended this conference.

Members who attended the FIRE Conference were also recognized. This conference is only for middle school students who are just getting started in FFA. The members who attended were Devin Korth and Vincent Backes.

Members were also recognized for attending the state and national FFA conventions in 2023 as well as competing in the recent state and regional CDEs (Career Development Events) and LDEs (Leadership Development Events).

The New London FFA chapter could not participate in as many activities as they do without sound fundraisers. This year the middle school and high school sold 1,064 pizzas and sold over 100 flats of strawberries. The top three sellers for pizzas were Jalaina Hintzke, Zach Korth and Caleb Bauer. Top three for strawberry sales were Keeley Phillips, Sadie Belling and Lauren Nollenberg.

Each year the New London FFA recognizes academic achievements for members. The Scholarship Award is designed to recognize students who have achieved a 3.0 grade point average or higher this past year. A student with the highest GPA in each class is given this award and this award can only be received once. Freshmen Onan Retzlaff and Taylor Klotzbeucher, Sophomore Zachary Korth, Junior Kimberly Murphy and Senior:Samantha Prahl were awarded scholarship pins.

Top leaders at each grade level are also recognized and can receive this award only once. Freshman Logan Ebben, Sophomore:Danielle Tank, Junior Kimberly Murphy and Senior Samantha Prahl received the leadership award.

Each year the chapter recognizes an individual for their outstanding service to the chapter by designating them as the Honorary FFA Chapter Degree recipient. This year it was presented to Michelle Backes.

To end the night the 2024-25 officer team was installed. The new officer team for the New London FFA is President Carolynn Backes, Vice President Evan Retzlaff, Secretary Kimberly Murphy, Treasurer Danielle Tank, Reporter Morgan Williams and Sentinel Claire Klotzbeucher.