By: Addy Hunt, Paulding FFA Reporter
The Paulding FFA Chapter recently took 36 students to the Ohio FFA State Convention held on May 1st-3rd at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
The chapter left on May 1st in their matching FFA state convention shirts sponsored by Might Cubes and Dumpsters and visited the Columbus Zoo on the way down to the fairgrounds. At the zoo students were able to see and interact with some of the animals. After the students departed from the zoo, they went to the hotel to unload the bus and headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner sponsored by the Paulding FFA Alumni.
After they finished eating they had the opportunity to go shopping at the Polaris shopping center.
On May 2nd, in the morning, the students attended the first general session where they listened to Keynote Speaker Krista Simpson Anderson, who talked about her experience as a military wife and getting through tough times.
Then our chapter received the Charitable Giving Award for contributing at least $500 to a charitable organization in our community. After the session, the students headed to the Expo Center and Career Show, to eat lunch and explore the different booths.
Then the students went back in to listen to the second session. During this session they listened to the Keynote Speaker Morris Morrison and our chapter received the Gold Rated Chapter Award. Paulding was 1 of 35 chapters out of the 329 chapters in Ohio to receive this award.
After the session ended the students went back to the hotel until it was time to go to TopGolf, where they were able to eat supper and golf. Friday marked day two of the FFA State convention, in which students attended the fourth session where officers Grace Goyings, Tyler Schlatter, and Jalyn Klopfenstein received awards for their gold rated officer books.
Our chapter also received plaques for placing in CDEs. After the session, the students left and had Donatos Pizza for lunch at the hotel. Then, after lunch students went to the OSU campus for a session about Livestock Judging. They returned back to the fairgrounds to attend session 5 where the Ohio FFA president, Luke Jennings, gave his retiring address and the 2024-2025 Ohio FFA Officers were announced.
During Session 5 there were 13 Paulding FFA members who received their State FFA Degree, the highest degree a state can bestow upon their members.
Students who received this degree were Matthew Bail, Allison Carnahan, Anna Clemens, Makenna Dunham, Grace Goyings, Maci Kauser, Brooke Kilgore, Jalyn Klopfenstein, Johnathan Lipps, Marley Parrett, Hopeful Rose, Brooklyn Schlatter, and Jack Woods. The Paulding FFA Chapter definitely had a lot of fun during these 3 days and they want to thank the Paulding FFA Alumni for their support of this trip. We are very grateful for the support of our community and school district as we celebrated the many accomplishments and awards of our chapter.
