WORTHINGTON — Worthington High School senior Jacob Meyer was presented with the DeKalb Agricultural Accomplishment Award Monday evening during the school’s annual FFA chapter banquet at the school.
The award is given to one FFA member per chapter each year who “exemplifies scholarship, commitment, work ethic and passion for pursuing a career in agriculture.” Recipients are chosen for demonstrating promising talent and are considered rising stars of agriculture.
Additional Star awards were also presented during the evening, including the chapter’s Star in Ag Placement, which was presented to Lauren Nelson. The award was based on Nelson’s Supervised Agricultural Experience, which included working for Jon E1 BBQ and as a lifeguard.
Grace Barber was presented with the Star Greenhand award, which is given to a student who had an outstanding year as a freshman FFA member.
The chapter’s Honorary FFA Degree was presented to Bailey Kruse, who has assisted the chapter with its FFA food stand at the Nobles County Fair for several years. Kruse assists with the day-to-day operations of the food stand and puts in a lot of time to ensure things run smoothly during the fair, it was noted.
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Several college scholarships were presented to Worthington High School FFA seniors Monday night, including the Jerry Russell scholarship, presented to Lilly Mahlberg. Ivy Jenson was the recipient of the Worthington FFA Advisory Board scholarship, while Karissa Bickett received the Lowell Haack scholarship. Abigail Reetz and Tarren Spartz were recipients of scholarships from Wyffels Seed.
Leadership and scholarship pins were awarded to one individual each in the freshman through senior classes to recognize students who excel in the FFA. The following individuals were honored: Liv Vander Kooi, freshman leadership; Kennedy Woodbury, freshman scholarship; Angela Bousema, sophomore leadership; Autumn Luinenburg, sophomore scholarship; Vince Vander Kooi, junior leadership; Mathias Noble, junior scholarship; Kaden Teerink, senior leadership; Karissa Bickett, senior scholarship.
Recognized as 2023 State FFA Degree recipients were: Karissa Bickett, Kaden Teerink, Lilly Mahlberg, Lauren Nelson, Ivy Jenson and Bryn Donkersloot.
Additional awards were presented to the following:
Retiring President: Lilly Mahlberg
Golden Spatula: Kaden Teerink
Senior Student of Merit: Mia Nixon
Creed Speaker: Myranda Widboom
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FFA jackets: Vince Vander Kooi, Stephanie Dykstra, Madison Sieve, Myranda Widboom and Liv Vander Kooi.
Richard Fellows Memorial Jacket Scholarship: Brandon Bosma, Tarryn Joens, Ben Mahlberg and Morgan Reetz.
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