By Lilah Heinz, ACGC FFA Chapter Reporter
Four ACGC FFA members will walk across the stage at Lucas Oil Stadium on Oct. 26 to receive their American FFA Degree.
Last spring, all four of these recipients completed the lengthy application to receive their American Degree, the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization. This honor shows an FFA member’s dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association.
Our members’ applications were four of just 135 that were approved to receive this honor this fall at the 97th Annual National FFA Convention and Expo. This degree demonstrates the effort FFA members apply toward their supervised agricultural experience and the outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement they exhibited through their FFA careers.
American FFA Degree recipients show promise for the future and have gone above and beyond to achieve excellence. Sophie Dorsey, Michael Maas, EmmaKay McClain, and Jacob Thomas will receive their certificate and pin at the National FFA Convention on Oct. 26 in the Lucas Oil Stadium.
Sophie is the daughter of Brett and Stephanie Dorsey. She is a 2023 graduate of ACGC High School and was active in many activities outside of FFA as well as an active member of the chapter. While in high school, Sophie competed on multiple LDE and CDE teams as well as held officer positions with the chapter. Her SAE project was in the Beef Production with her Cow/Calf herd. She has kept diligent records on this project and is expanding on it each year.
Michael is the son of Kevin and Darci Maas. He graduated from ACGC High School in 2023 and was an active member of our chapter. While in high school, Michael competed in multiple LDE and CDE teams and held a couple of officer positions within the chapter. His SAE project was in the Beef Production with his Cow/Calf herd. Michael has kept diligent records on his SAE and plans to expand on it each year.
EmmaKay is the daughter of Dennis and Donna McClain. She was a graduate of ACGC High School in 2022 and was a very active member within our chapter. Not only did she hold officer positions in our chapter but she also competed in multiple LDE and CDE contests. EmmaKay went on to receive the Rising Star Award for her production SAE. She held a sheep production SAE while in high school and then an Ag Service SAE after graduation with her Aviation Service Business crop dusting and teaching others how to fly.
Jacob is the son of Mike and Jill Thomas. He is a 2023 graduate of ACGC High School. Jacob was a chapter officer and active in many other committees. He was a gold recipient in the Ag Sales LDE at the state conference and competed in many other LDE and CDE contests. Jacob held a diversified production SAE with his Cow/Calf Operation and row cropping with his family.