Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The Pocahontas County High School FFA Chapter celebrated another great year at its annual banquet Friday evening. Students and community members received honors and thanks for their dedication to the promotion of agriculture education.
FFA officers presented Honorary Degrees to four individuals who have assisted the chapter with fundraising, field trips and preparation for competitions. Honored this year were Jason Brock, Susan Davis, Morgan McComb and Michelle Wilfong.
Club secretary Michelle Murphy explained why the individuals were selected to receive the award.
“Jason Brock helped with training for forestry and he’s donated T-shirts for forestry,” Murphy said. “His business, High Mountain Timber, has also spent time and money on students when they competed on the state and national levels. Susan Davis assisted our equine team with the horse judging competition at Potomac State. She helped their team learn how to judge different classes of horses and taught students about horse genetics and breeds. She also chaperoned our trip to the state judging contest where the freshman team placed fifth in the state.
“Morgan has been a major factor in the success of our meats lab and greenhouse,” Murphy continued. “He maintained the fire in the morning. Over the years, Morgan has been instrumental in helping with our Ham and Bacon Sale. In October, Mrs. Wilfong and her husband, Charles, chaperoned a trip to the National FFA convention in Louisville, Kentucky.”
PCHS graduate and former FFA president Kindra Carr, who is Southeast Region State Vice President of FFA, gave an update on her year as a state officer.
“This past year of being a state officer has been one of the most humbling experiences as I traveled across West Virginia,” she said. “One thing I really enjoyed was getting to see how every school did something different. That’s what makes FFA so unique. Everybody does something different.”
Through her visits to chapters throughout the state and her continued participation in FFA, Carr said she has learned many valuable lessons.
“Because of my SAE [Supervised Agricultural Experiences], it really taught me so many things that have helped me this past year as I kind of moved out of the house and as I started my first year at college,” she said. “The main thing I learned would be responsibility. Without responsibility, I wouldn’t have had the work ethic to get through everything.”
Carr also presented the Star Chapter Farmer award, which is presented to the individual with one of the best SAEs. This year the award went to Ashlyn McKenney.
Members of FFA presented several awards during the evening. Jacob Pyne presented the Leadership Award, which went to club president Ashlyn McKenney.
“Because of her willingness to help others, her leadership on our officers team, her help in community service activities and the example she sets in the classroom and in her community, Ashlyn McKenney will receive this year’s Leadership Award,” Pyne said.
Other awards given were:
Scholarship Awards: freshmen Taylor Tegtmeyer and Ben Davis, both ending the year with a 4.0 GPA; sophomore DeWayne Lambert, with a 3.8 GPA; junior Brady Jones, with a 3.8 GPA; and senior Michelle Murphy, with a 3.6 GPA.
Greenhand Degrees: Justin Ames, T. J. Arbogast, Savannah Arbogast, Shalyn Arbogast, Noah Barkley, Preston Beverage, Jason Brock, Aliza Carr, Peyton Coleman, Ben Davis, Charity DeHaven, Tara Doss, Austin Duncan, Ragan Haney, Brady Jones, Bryce Kranc, DeWayne Lambert, Patrick McComb, Wyatt McComb, Nathan Morrison, Trevor McPeak, Harlie Nelson, Chriss Riffe, Christian Smith and Shawn Sharp.
Chapter FFA Degrees: Sallie Arbogast, Haley Bennett, Ryan Bennett, Brandal Carr, Justin Conley, Logan Dilley, Darryl Foster, Michael Long, Troy Lusk, Jesse McCarty, Tanner Moore, Caleb Mullenax, Drake Pauloswki, Travis Paulowski, Shane Peacock, Isaac Pritt, Jacob Pyne, Kenny Queen and Matthew Warder.
CDE Recognitions: Equine Judging: Noah Barkley, Ben Davis, Aliza Carr and Harlie Nelson. Soils judging: Ashlyn McKenney, Kurtis Kiner, Noah Barkley and Ben Davis. Creed speaking: Noah Barkley. Public speaking: Ashlyn McKenney. Ag mechanics: Ashlyn McKenney, Logan Dilley, Troy McPeak, Troy Lusk and Brandal Carr. Livestock: Sallie Arbogast, Michael Long, Caleb Mullenax and Kurtis Kiner. Plant pathology: Sallie Arbogast and Brandal Carr. Meats teams: Charity DeHaven, Savannah Arbogast and Tara Doss.
DeKalb Award: Ashlyn McKenney.
Citrus Sales Recognitions: fifth place, Ashlyn and Trace McKenney; fourth place, Angel Bigg; third place, selling 29 boxes, Justin Ames; second place, selling 41 1/2 boxes, Patrick McComb; and first place, selling 57 boxes, Brandal Carr. The citrus sales raised more than $20,000.
Proficiency Awards: Ag Mechanics and Maintenance: Jesse McCarty and Nathan Morrison. Beef Placement: Ashlyn McKenney. Beef Production Entrepreneurship: Kurtis Kiner. Forest Management: Caleb Bennett and Nathan Morrison.
Greenhouse Management: Kelsey Brooks, Buddy Harper, Taylor Tegtmeyer and Bryce Kranc. Home and Community Development: Devin Adams. Home and Farm Improvement: Jacob Pyne. Market Lamb Production: Michelle Murphy. Market Goat Production: Melissa Murphy. Swine Production: Logan Dilley, Sallie Arbogast and Tanner Moore. Specialty Animal Production: Trevor McPeak. Star Greenhand: Noah Barkley.