By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The 82nd Illinois FFA State Convention was held June 8-10, 2010 at Springfield’s Prairie Capital Convention.
Diane Loschen, the agriculture education instructor and FFA advisor for the Tri-Point FFA Chapter estimated that more than 3,500 FFA members, advisors, parents, and guests were part of the event.
“There are 17,400 members in 301 different FFA chapters in the state of Illinois,” she added.

The Tri-Point FFA Chapter of Tri-Point High School in Cullom, Ill., walked away with an array of awards, both as a chapter and individual members.

As a group, the Tri-Point FFA Chapter’s Livestock Team was recognized as state winners. The determination was made when the team placed first in the State FFA Livestock Career Development Event held earlier this year. As winners, the team will represent Illinois in the National FFA Livestock Career Development Event which will be held in October during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

On an individual basis, Kaleb Nelson, a member of the Tri-Point FFA Chapter, was the winner of the swine production-placement proficiency award.

“The awards are sponsored by the Illinois Foundation FFA and the National FFA Foundation,” said Loschen. “Nelson was recognized on stage and received a plaque and $250 cash award.”

Nelson will advance as a winner at the chapter, section, and district levels and will also compete at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis this fall. Besides Nelson, club member Jeff Meister, also received a major win. Meister was selected as winner of the wildlife production & management proficiency award. Like Nelson, Meister was recognized on stage and received a plaque and $250 cash award and will also advance as a winner to the National FFA Convention in October.

In a recent press release, Loschen shared how the state award winners were selected.

“Selection of state award winners is based on the student’s records of their supervised agricultural experience program as part of their high school agriculture education classes. The proficiency award areas range from traditional production such as beef, crops, and swine to agribusiness areas such as nursery operations, agricultural processing, and agricultural sales.”

Another exciting win for the Tri-Point Chapter was selection of Tyler Loschen as the Star Farmer of Illinois. Loshen explained that Tyler was one of five District Star Farmers competing for the award.  He was selected as the Star Farmer by a panel of judges based on the quality of his supervised agricultural experience program and his knowledge about his farming program. 

Tyler, along with Edward Ehrhardt, received the Diversified Ag Production proficiency award and will advance as a winner at the chapter, section, and district levels and compete at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October. The Tri-Point FFA also had the high individual overall in the livestock judging contest.

Another team win was when the Tri-Point FFA was also recognized with a Gold Award in the chapter scrapbook competition. This competition is judged by a panel of judges based on the contents of the scrapbook which covers a twelve month period. The scrapbook must include leadership information, membership information, news releases, chapter information, honors earned, and photographs. Questions about the Tri-Point FFA can be directed to Loschen at Tri-Point High School,101 E. VanAlstyne St.; PO Box 316, Cullom, IL 60929, or by phone at 815-689-2110 ext. 301.