Honorary degree recipients, from left, Cara Maxey, Amanda Barndt, Kyla McCoy and Bruce Belleville, representing Belleville Meat Market.
On April 13, Bowling Green FFA members, parents and community supporters were able to come together and celebrate 93 years of Bowling Green FFA.
The chapter had the opportunity to celebrate the fact that the Bowling Green FFA Chapter was named a top chapter not only in the state of Ohio, but a top chapter in the nation.
The awards ceremony started with announcing the four honorary degrees.
• Cara Maxey, the marketing teacher and DECA advisor at Bowling Green High School. In her role, Maxey has supported the FFA chapter by partnering with our program on events such as Bobcat-A-Thon, serving as a judge for career development events and overall support of all that we do.
• Amanda Barndt, a 2014 graduate of the program. Barndt has served as a judge for career development events and as a valuable member of our program advisory committee offering industry insight to keep our program up to date and relevant.
• Belleville Meat Market, which donates hot dogs to the FFA tailgate every year and provides the sausage links for the pancake breakfast. They have also employed many of our students throughout the years helping them to earn State and American FFA Degrees.
• Kyla McCoy, who has spent the last 12 weeks with our program as our student teacher. McCoy will be graduating from Ohio State University this spring and will have a classroom of her own this fall.
The Blue and Gold Award is given each year to a faculty member, administrator, or employee of the Bowling Green School District. This award recognizes a person that has promoted or supported the FFA in a multitude of ways. This year’s Blue and Gold recipient is Michele Wolf, athletic director for Bowling Green High School. Her support of our FFA chapter is truly appreciated. Coordinating gym space for our various FFA events, providing athletic passes for us to use as giveaways at Bobcat-A-Thon and her overall support of our chapter makes Wolf essential to our success.
The ceremony also allowed for the chapter to recognize Proficiency Award winners. Proficiency Awards are given to members in recognition of outstanding Supervised Agricultural Experience projects. This year’s winners were:
Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication: Ben Hardy, Jerrad Main and Cole Brokaw
Ag Processing: Natalee Harris and Drew Thomas
Ag Sales: MJ Walters, Addie Naus, and Annie Urban
Ag Services: Landen Naus and Brynn Wilhelm
Beef Production: Henry Strow (Brian and Stacie Anderson-sponsor)
Dairy Production: Wyatt Bechstein
Diversified Crop: Henry Strow
Diversified Horticulture: Cece Dye
Goat Production: Ben Hardy
Landscape Management: Tanner Amos
Poultry Production: Zack Bechstein and Addison Schurger
Outdoor Recreation: JT Webb and Kate Suter
Sheep Production: Drew Thomas
Small Animal Production and Care: Cece Dye
Vegetable Production: Aiden Meyer
The next award that was presented this year was the Jamie Belleville Beef Award. Jamie Belleville was a four-year member of the Bowling Green FFA and held the office of president his senior year, 1964-1965. Agriculture was a huge part of his life, he co-owned the family farm with his brother Mike. They raised beef cattle and owned a meat processing plant and a retail market, Belleville Brothers Market, in Bowling Green. The “Jamie Belleville Beef Award” is a $300 scholarship awarded to a deserving student. The recipient of this year’s award was Natalee Harris.
The members were also presented with the Chapter Awards. These are presented to members who excel in the areas specified by each award which are:
Star Greenhand: Aidan Thomas and Juliana Firsdon
Star Agriscience: Cece Dye (Wood County SWCD-sponsor)
Star Chapter Farmer: Henry Strow (Mark and Melissa DeSmith-sponsor)
Star Ag Placement: Cole Brokaw (Gene and Rita Klotz-sponsor)
Star Ag Business: Wyatt and Zack Bechstein (Germann Family Enterprises-sponsor)
Ag Credit 110% Award: MJ Walters (Ag Credit-sponsor)
Outstanding Senior Award: Drew Thomas (Mike and the late Mary Lou Shertzer-sponsor)
Star Accounting Award: Aiden Meyer (Premier Bank-sponsor)
Spirit of FFA Award:
Freshmen: Grace Hovest, Luke Strow, Isabella Belleville, Levi Bateson
Sophomores: Gavin Roessner, Casey Naus, Kierstan Hendricks, Shawn Carney
Juniors: Natalee Harris, Landen Naus, Clare Tussing
Seniors: Brynn Wilhelm, Kate Suter, Jerrad Main, Ben Hardy
This year’s Senior Scholarships were awarded to three deserving students of the graduating class of 2024. Scholarship recipients were Cece Dye, Drew Thomas, and MJ Walters.
The night ended with the induction of BG FFAs 2024-2025 officer team:
President: Addie Naus
Vice-President: Averie Crawford
Secretary: Clare Tussing
Treasurer: Annie Urban
Reporter: Casey Naus
Historian: Grace O’Connell
Sentinel: Shawn Carney
Student Advisor: Gavin Roessner
Bowling Green FFA is a satellite program of Penta Career Center.
