Mattoon FFA Chapter Earns National Ranking
by Krista Lewin
After learning that Mattoon High School FFA will be recognized nationally for its efforts, Mattoon FFA Adviser Ryan Wildman credits the honor to the dedication, hard work and diligence of the students.
The National FFA Organization recently selected Mattoon High School's FFA Chapter as a two-star winner in the National FFA Chapter Award program.
"In just a few short years, we have been able to accomplish a great task," said Wildman of the MHS FFA Chapter just starting its fourth year. "Now we are looking ahead to further develop our activities to improve upon last year's success."
MHS FFA was selected from a pool of more than 650 candidates nationwide. The chapter members have been invited to attend the 83rd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis set for Oct. 20-23, where they will be recognized.
A chapter earns the national ranking based on how it conducts student, chapter and community development activities. A couple of MHS FFA student development activities include the Member of the Month Program and the Be In Blue Campaign. Chapter Development activities includes the annual FFA banquet and the fundraisers, while examples of community development events include the FFA Barnyard and food drive.
"After conducting the activities, it is the responsibility of our officer team to formally apply for the award through a very lengthy application which describes, the goals, planning and achievements of our 15 -best activities throughout the year," Wildman added
Alex Elliott, Mattoon High School FFA Chapter president, was thrilled with the announcement.
"Last year's officer team worked very hard to make sure that all of our chapter activities were well presented on our POA (Program of Activities) application," Elliott said. "It will be great for our chapter to be recognized and for two of our members to be able to walk across stage at the National Convention in October."
MHS FFA has celebrated earning Gold Chapter honors at state level for the past three years. Wildman explained there is a point ranking/ evaluation system at the state level and in order to receive a gold, the chapter has to score within the given point value.
The announcement this week they had earned their first national recognition was an outstanding way to kickoff the 2010-2011 school year.
"It is wonderful to be named a "Gold Chapter" at the state level, but to be forwarded to the national level and be named two-out-of -three stars, is something to be proud of," Wildman said. "Only about 270 chapters across the United States earn Three Star Recognition- that is out of around 7,000 chapters total, so earning two stars is definitely something for our members to be proud of. Obviously it is our goal to earn three stars in the future."
MHS Principal Michele Sinclair commended the chapter on earning such a prestigious recognition.
"We are very proud of the Mattoon High School FFA Chapter," said Sinclair. "Mrs. Wildman has worked so hard to develop a quality program. She and her students work many hours after school in order to be the best organization possible. Mrs. Wildman's commitment to the program and to our students has absolutely been a tremendous asset to Mattoon High School. We are pleased with the growth and level of production of the program!"
