The Annual FFA Banquet was held at the New Lexington High School Cafeteria on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022. At the start of the banquet, the officers of 2021 performed their opening ceremonies and called the banquet to order. All enjoyed the delicious dinner which was provided by Hiney's Smoke Shack, located in New Lexington, Ohio. It was served by members of New Lexington’s National Honor Society and FCCLA. After dinner was concluded, the Awards Ceremony and Induction of New Officers began. The FFA Chapter gave out awards, FFA jackets, scholarships, and recognized exemplary members. Those awards and scholarships included:
Star Awards:
Star Freshman- Emily Anderson and Novalye Christian. Star Greenhand- Bethany Bailey and Megan Howdyshell. Star Sophomore- Stephenie Tish. Start Junior- Emma Givens, Kaylee Anderson. Star Seniors- Zane Ortman and Grace Baker. Star Chapter Farmer- Nevaeh Ogle
Top Leadership Awards:
Freshman- Emily Anderson, Bethany Bailey, Novalye Christian, Lilah Carson, and Megan Howdyshell. Sophomores- Stephenie Tish, Lauren Penrod, Lane Baker, Bree Wright, and Jacob McGlothlin. Juniors- Kaylee Anderson, Emma Givens, Cody Fout, Garrett Harris, Kelly Gordon, Trinity Pollock, Ella Burton, and Kenzie Carroll. Seniors- Nevaeh Ogle, Zane Ortman, Alex Posey, Grace Baker, and Jori Kinsel.
Honorary Chapter Farmer Recipients:
Bryan McCoy and Corey Hill.
Top Fruit, Beef, and Cheese Sale Awards:
These people sold more than 20 Units and went on the Cabela’s trip: Lilah Carson, Zane Ortman, Lane Baker, Eli McCord, Ben Givens, Bryanna Wright, Jon Spangler, Bianca Friesner, Janae Goodyear, Ella Burton, Mason Klingler, Cassandra Coey, Isabella Rehart, Amelia Binkley, Emma Givens, Novalye Christian, Emma Bell, Alex Posey, Stephenie Tish, Kord Shriner, Reagan Parkerson, Gracie Newlon, Emerson Decore, Storm Stimmel, Sawyer Smith, Tessa Hubble, Shauna Littleton, Karen McGlothlin, Allison Cannon, Jenna Howdyshell, Gabe Lavender, Breanna Dowling, Bethany Bailey, Gauge Klingler, Kenzie Carroll, and Trinity Cook. There were 7 members who sold 50 or more units, those include Nevaeh Ogle, Lauran Penrod, Jacob McGlothlin, Andrew Mohler, Jacob Seals, Jori Kinsel, and Emily Anderson.
Top Strawberry Sale Awards:
These members sold 10 flats or more of strawberries: Jade Simpson, Ella Burton, Lauren Penrod, Sydney Middaugh, Emmerson Decore, Josh Dold, Saydee Allen, Orrin Miller, Nevaeh Ogle, Kylie Fink, Sophia Nutter, Jayden Preece, Stephenie Tish, Ben Givens, Colton Seymour, Makina Wood, Emily Anderson, Kaylee Anderson, Amelia Binkley, Nolan Carson, Aiden Dutiel, Maylynn Finley, Caden Gibson, Kenedi Kunkler, Nevaeh McCord, William Skidmore, and Cooper Talbot.
We had 14 members who sold 20 or more flats of strawberries. These include: Zane Ortman, Mason Klingler, Lilah Carson, Kenzie Carroll, Bethany Bailey, Bryanna Wright, Emmie Danison, Isabella Rehart, Gabe Lavender, Gracie Newlon, and Jerrah Poling. Cody Fout was our top seller with a total of 74 flats of strawberries.
Big Buck Contest:
Lane Baker won our Big Buck Contest.
Backhoe Rodeo Champion:
Kaylee Anderson and Cody Fout were our Backhoe Rodeo Champions.
District, State, and National Judging Teams:
Districts for Job Interview- Kaylee Anderson, Megan Howdyshell, Stephenie Tish, and Grace Baker. District Public Speaking- Megan Howdyshell. District Ag. Soils- Emily Anderson, Novalye Christian, and Bethany Bailey. District Urban Soils- Ryan Boyle and Kelly Gordon. District Outdoor Power- Cody Fout, Alex Posey, and Garrett Harris. State level judging teams: Ag. Mechanics- Alex Posey, Cody Fout, and Garrett Harris. Public Speaking- Grace Baker, Nevaeh Ogle, and Bethany Bailey. Forestry- Emily Anderson, Emma Givens, Nevaeh Ogle, and Zane Ortman. Urban Soils- Nevaeh Ogle, Kaylee Anderson, Emma Givens, Ryan Boyle, and Alex Posey. Advanced Parliamentary Procedures- Grace Baker, Bethany Bailey, Olivia Friesner, Megan Howdyshell, Zane Ortman, Egan Hoffman, Lane Baker, and Jade Simpson. Meats Evaluation- Emma Givens, Zane Ortman, and Egan Hoffman.
Russell Brown-Bill Newlon FFA Scholarship and FFA Alumni Scholarship:
Russell Brown-Bill Newlon FFA Scholarship: Grace Baker, Alex Posey, Zane Ortman, Nevaeh Ogle. FFA Alumni Scholarship: Ryan Boyle, Olivia Friesner, Maylynn Finley, Emma Abrams, and Sydney Hambel.
State FFA Degree Recipients:
Kaylee Anderson and Emma Givens.
Proficiency Degree Applications:
Zane Ortman applied for a State Proficiency Award in Poultry Production and has qualified as a top 4 finalist for the state of Ohio. Zane went through an extensive interview process and his final placing will be revealed at the 2022 Ohio FFA Convention in May.
State Books:
Kaylee Anderson got a Gold rating on her Reporter’s Book and Olivia Friesner also received a Gold rating on her Treasurer’s Book.
2022-2023 FFA Queen:
This year's New Lexington FFA Queen is Kaylee Anderson.
Officer Inductions:
Retiring President: Grace Baker installed our newly elected President, Stephenie Tish. Retiring Vice President: Nevaeh Ogle installed Emma Givens, our newly elected Vice President. Retiring Secretary: Andrea Groves installed our newly elected Secretary, Natasha Bailey. Retiring Treasurer: Olivia Friesner installed Bethany Bailey, our newly elected Treasurer. Retiring Reporter: Kaylee Anderson installed our newly elected Reporter, Emily Anderson. Retiring Sentinel: Zane Ortman installed Megan Howdyshell, our newly elected Sentinel. Retiring Student Advisor: Stephenie Tish installed our newly elected Student Advisor, Novalye Christian. Retiring Liaison: Bethany Bailey installed Gracie Newlon, our newly elected Liaison. Retiring Chaplain: Lane Baker. Retiring Historian: Emma Givens.
This banquet displayed the great accomplishments and highlights of our year. Thanks to everyone who supports our FFA program and all of the wonderful students who make our chapter so successful.
Respectfully Submitted:
Emily Anderson, New Lexington’s FFA Reporter