Nearly 70 members and guests attended the Mohawk Valley FFA’s 75th Annual Banquet, which was held on June 14 at the Oppenheim-Ephratah School.
Retiring Chapter President Kaitlyn Isaac, who has been recently installed as District 5 President in May, welcomed the guests and addressed her colleagues.
“2012-2013 MVFFA officer team, it was such an honor to serve as president this past year,” Isaac commented. “I can’t believe how quick the time passed but I just wanted to say I’m so glad I had all of you with me. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Liam Sammons and Aiden Eggleston presented the flags while the National Anthem was played.
Guests included keynote speaker New York State FFA Sentinel, Kaylin Broadwell, who spoke about her experiences with FFA, and Canajoharie FFA alumni, Bill Jones.
Jones awarded Liam Sammons with the Most Outstanding Young Member Trophy for the work he had contributed to the Chapter over the past year.
Isaac, Aiden Eggleston, Kyle Hayes and Ashley Chapman presented annual reports and summaries.
Accomplishments of the members were recognized with the awarding of FFA Degrees.
Discovery Degrees were presented by Dustin Viccarelli, while Robert Christman handed out Greenhand Degrees and Liam Sammons presented Chapter Degrees.
Chapter Advisor Chris Smith shared short stories about the retiring officers and presented each of them with a small gift.
New officers were installed with Liam Sammons as Secretary, Ashley Chapman as Treasurer, Robert Christman as Vice President, and Stephanie Arndt as President.
“I have many plans for the chapter this upcoming year,” said Arndt. “I would like to get the community more involved and expand our small chapter as much as possible. With the cooperation of our current members and the help of my fellow officers, I believe that we can prove to people what FFA is really about.”
“The FFA is a great organization,” Christman agreed. “Through this organization you can learn many leadership skills. It helps kids prepare to work in the Ag field by helping them learn animal science, agricultural mechanics and Ag business management through hands-on experiences.”