What makes an organization outstanding? Is it the amount of members involved? Having representation in leadership positions in the state organization? How about having a great Web site? Maybe it is having a great leader/ advisor? Kimball FFA exemplifies all of these characteristics. Kimball FFA has had a very successful year, which may explain why they received the award for outstanding chapter for Region V. Their success also explains why 90 different awards were given out at the annual FFA banquet held on Monday, May 19, at the Playland Ballroom. Highlights of the awards banquet included a skit organized by Whitney Thielman, and a speech given by Kimball’s past state officers, Jillian Becker and Andy Klein. For the skit, FFA members dressed up as Mr. Meyer, dairy judges and a team of students. The students were heading off to the state convention. Upon Mr. Meyer’s request, the team went into their room to study. The next day at their competition, they realized that they studied for the wrong event. They had studied how to judge poultry but ended up judging dairy cattle. The four-member team worked together to try to find the cow’s eggs. They looked in his hoof and udders. Not finding any eggs, the team turned the cow over. The “judges” and audience had an enjoyable time watching this team judge the cow as a chicken. Becker and Klein showed their appreciation to Kimball with a speech centered around Powder Ridge and living in this small town. They talked about how their experiences at the “little ski hill” in Kimball prepared them to ski mountains and explore larger territories. They compared this to their experiences in FFA, saying if they hadn’t started here, they may not have been as successful as they were in their endeavors. Awards were presented throughout the evening to different FFA members. Thirty-six students received their first-year Greenhand Degree and 28 Chapter degrees were awarded. Fifty certificates of appreciation were given to community members and businesses. Specific awards were given to members for outstanding achievements. Luke Becker and Alanna Bowman were chosen as FFA’s two scholarships recipients. Steve Landwehr was chosen for the Dekalb award. Scholarship pins were given to Alanna Bowman and Chris Hunt. Amanda Schiefelbein won the Star Greenhand Award and Outstanding Greenhand was Whitney Thielman. Luke Becker was also awarded a state degree and the Hokkala Memorial Award. The Leadership Award went to Chris Sheehan in the junior high and Alanna Bowman in the senior high. Community member Frank Schiefelbein III was given the honorary membership award for his support of FFA. Playland Ballroom was given the chapter’s blue and gold award for their continued support and help in the community. The event wrapped up with Mr. Meyer thanking the students for all of their hard work. He told the audience how he was particularly going to miss this group of students, because they were his ninth-graders when he started. Feeling a special bond with each of them, Meyer did not know how to thank them for their hard work and effort. He gave each student a hug and showed his appreciation by talking about his expecting wife. “I often wonder what my child will be like. And I realize that if my child is as great as any of these 75 FFA members, I will be a lucky man.”
