Greene County FFA Chapter is going to be traveling to the State Convention next week.

Advisor Steve Kehoe says ten students will be attending and doing various activities such as being courtesy corps workers, voting delegates, preparing Meals for the Heartland and one senior will be receiving the Iowa Degree on the final day of the convention.

He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that Austyn Smith has earned the highest degree by the Iowa FFA Association and that she has fulfilled the requirements in the three-circle model of FFA, classroom/laboratory and a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) among other criteria. Smith describes two aspects of her SAE with a paid placement at Fairview Veterinary Clinic and an unpaid placement at Pine Grove Quarter Horses. 

She met the 1,000 hours of service threshold and she talks about why she wanted to achieve a goal that only five percent of FFA’ers reach in their career.

“I just love to be involved, and I love to try new things, and I love to put work into things. And I felt that even if I didn’t make it, the work that I put into doing this, it would all be more of an accomplishment to me than actually earning it. And I just feel like putting work into things, it really has a good outcome.”

The 98th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference and State Convention is from April 19th-21st on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames.