Another Year of Success Celebrated by the Central Trail FFA

Story Submitted by Adeline Stone ’25 and Jamie Oesch ’24

Pictured Above: Community Service Pin – Annika Evertsen ’23

Another year of success and accomplishments was celebrated by the Central Trail FFA at the annual parent-member banquet on Tuesday, March 21st in the High School Gym. A total of 93 FFA members, 200 family members, and 37 guests, with a grand total of 330 people in attendance, attended the banquet to reflect on the accomplishments of our members, as well as recognize the guests that always go above and beyond to support our chapter!  

We were able to kick off the banquet with an amazing meal provided by the Decatur County Cattlemen and Joy Everstsen, along with the much-appreciated help from Kala Leeper throughout the night! 

At the conclusion of the meal, we were able to recognize those that excelled in Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events with certificates for their achievements! 

We were very happy to award appreciation certificates to the following supporters of our chapter: Mrs. Becky Andrews, Becca Crouch, Dustin and Ashley Dittmer, Craig and Brenda Onstot, Porter Electric, Matt McElfish, Kala Leeper, Mr. Brent Mueller, Becky Broich, Cindy Havens, Mr. Mark Huppert, Carter Wilken, Galen and Patti Jimmerson, Carol Saxton, BTC Bank, Bill and Sharon Hamaker, Mike Craig, Mary Frisbie, Jason and Cassy Allen, and Tanner Bettin. Our School Board and Administration also received great recognition for all of the support and assistance that they provide our chapter with throughout the year. 

The senior members of the Central Trail FFA commemorated their parents for their ongoing support during their high school careers with yellow roses tipped in blue during the presentation of the senior slideshow.  

During the banquet, we were very pleased to take the time to recognize two great individuals/groups for their outstanding service and ongoing support for our chapter! 

We were very honored to award Brian Broich with the Honorary FFA Degree Award. Brian goes above and beyond with his support to our chapter and is always willing to help with all of the crazy ideas that our membership turns into a reality. We appreciate Brain and his continued support very much!

Joy Evertsen was awarded the Outstanding Service Award. Joy is always there to help us implement new ideas to provide for our school and community, as well as support each and every member in everything they do! She has shown amazing support to our chapter in tremendous ways. 

Many individual members were awarded for their accomplishments throughout the years. These included: Dekalb Outstanding Senior – Grant Boyd; Star Chapter Farmer – Kyle Linhart and Gunnar Smith; Star in Agriculture Placement – Cody Craig; Star in Agribusiness – Adrianna Benda; Rising Star Award – Wade Hill; Star Greenhand – Leighanna Bundt; BTC Bank Award – Wade Hill and Addy Stone; Lewis Webster SAE Grant – Jamie Oesch and Mildred Waugh; Deer Run Farms Registered Red Angus Heifer Recipient – Bailey Dittmer; Leadership Pin – Adrianna Benda; Community Service Pin – Annika Evertsen; Scholarship Pin – Matthew Coffelt and River Hammaker. 

4 Star Farmer
Star Chapter Farmer – Kyle Linhart ’23 and Gunnar Smith ’23
5 Star Placement
Star in Agriculture Placement – Cody Craig ’23
10 BTC Bank
Rising Star Award, BTC Bank Award – Wade Hill ’25, and BTC Bank Award Addy Stone ’25
6 Star Agribusiness
Star in Agribusiness – Adrianna Benda ’23
11 Webster SAE
Lewis Webster SAE Grant – Mildred Waugh ’25 and Jamie Oesch ’24
12 Red Angus Heifer
Deer Run Farms Registered Red Angus Heifer Recipient – Bailey Dittmer ’25
14 Scholarship Pin
Scholarship Pin – Matthew Coffelt ’23 and River Hammaker ’23

We would also like to thank Maizee Lindsey and Corey Lindsey of the Leon Journal Reporter for catching memories of those that we honor! 

We were very honored to have Jason Allen of Lamoni Livestock Auction serving as the live auctioneer for our annual Servant and Pie Auction, which brought in over $6,000. The freshman and sophomore servants and pies were auctioned off in a silent auction, while the junior and senior servants and pies were auctioned off live! The generosity of our parents and community members throughout this auction will allow us to send 3-4 FFA members to the Washington Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. this summer! We would also like to give a special thanks to Tanner Bettin for taking bids for Mr. Allen during our auction. 

We are very proud of our membership and were honored to recognize our members for their accomplishments throughout the year by bestowing the appropriate pin on each member that showed achievement. 

As we retired our former ‘22-’23 officer team, we were very pleased to install our new officer team at the conclusion of the banquet. The following Central Trail FFA officers for 2023-2024 include President; Hadley Bell, Vice President; Matthew Foltz, Secretary; Annabell Edwards, Secretary; Quinn Kernen, Treasurer; Angel Keeny, Treasurer; Brayden Frisbie, Reporter; Jamie Oesch, Reporter; Addy Stone, Sentinel; Jeffrey Richards, Chaplain; Leighanna Bundt, Historian; Olivia Saylor, and Parliamentarian; Dominic Florke. 

Thank you to all that attended and CONGRATULATIONS to all of our award winners!