Touchdown Audrain County R-VI FFA Chapter! Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is the home to the Indianapolis Colts, however last week it was commandeered by FFA students from around the country. The Audrain County R-VI FFA Chapter led by Advisor Stacy French did very well. Audrain County R-VI FFA Members won two National Titles

Emily Hoyt of the Audrain Co R-VI FFA Chapter was named the National Winner in the Agricultural Education Proficiency Award at the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo. When she was a freshman, Emily Hoyt of the Audrain Co. R-VI FFA Chapter in Missouri was encouraged to take part in an Ag in the Classroom program. She was soon challenged to grow the existing program and even applied for Ag Ed on the Move, a program that provides resources to teach 10 lessons on agriculture commodities to third grade classrooms. She incorporated hands-on activities to apply the concepts before teaching the lesson. Hoyt also has an unpaid internship with the school district, serving as a teaching assistant for the seventh and eighth grade exploring agriculture classes. Emily is supported by her parents, Becky and Brad of Martinsburg.

Justin Duenke of the Audrain Co R-VI FFA Chapter was named the National Winner in the Diversified Agriculture Production Proficiency Award at the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo. Justin has a supervised agricultural experience in multiple areas including beef, grain, oil crops and forage production. His placement is on a third-generation family farm consisting of row crops, Haflinger draft horses, a commercial cow-calf operation, and backgrounding feeder cattle. Duenke performs various duties related to all aspects of the farm, from cattle and corn to horses and hay. Duenke is supported by his parents, Vicki and Mike of Laddonia.

Audrain County R-VI FFA Earns a National 3-Star Chapter Award

Audrain Co R-VI FFA Chapter was recognized at the 95th National FFA Convention & Expo with a National 3-Star Chapter Award, the highest rating that can be earned by chapters. This is awarded to chapters that have an outstanding Chapter Program of Activities, with chapter involvement in Growing Leaders, Strengthening Agriculture, and Building Communities.

Over the course of 2021-2022, the chapter participated in many activities to earn this award. Some of these activities including completing a “Digital Diet”, planting trees around the Community R-VI Baseball Field, and hosting a recruitment event for all prospective students. 

FFA Chapter Vice Presidents Lance Fort and Aaron Carter accepted the award at the National FFA Convention.

Over the 4 days, members of the chapter experienced the largest Career Show and Agriculture Expo, seeing hundreds of agriculture businesses and colleges represented.

They attended general sessions where members were recognized for their accomplishments and heard retiring addresses from the 2021-2022 National FFA Officers. Members also got to learn about agriculture topics on tours in the area, including Churchill Downs, Louisville

MegaCaverns, and Louisville Slugger. The Convention trip wrapped up on Saturday morning, where 5 members from R-VI were awarded the American FFA Degree - the highest degree of membership awarded in FFA. Earning their American Degree was Emily Hoyt, Justin Duenke, Ethan Fort, Cheyenne Becker, and Landon Wright.