NOTE – Montezuma FFA students came home from the 93rd annual Iowa FFA Leadership Conference (April 18-20) with seven state championships, two seconds, two fourths . . .and, the top individual award in Iowa for Michael De Jong. FFA member Elise Boulton wrote most of this piece, with a personal aside near the end from Marie Rabenold Boulton. She and her husband, Buddy, have three children in the program.- Keith Brake, Montezuma Magazine Editor
By Elise Boulton
of the Montezuma FFA
I want to recap the successful, busy, and memorable 2021 State FFA Convention on behalf of our members. The entire chapter had tremendous success, and every member and team performed to their best abilities and represented Montezuma FFA in the best way!
First up – the Agriculture Communications Team. This team was STATE CHAMPION!
They also won these two areas of the contest: Team practicum and team presentation. Elise Boulton and Mia Boulton won their individual practicums, website design and journalistic writing, respectively. This team is on to nationals in Indianapolis!
Team members and alternates were: Owen Cook, Maguire De Jong, Elise Boulton, Abby Pope, Madison Johannes, Mia Boulton, Kallie Robison, and Abby Cheney.
2021 Iowa Degree Recipients
All eight of our chapters’ seniors earned their Iowa Degrees at State Convention. These seniors have shown dedication, leadership, and have had outstanding SAE projects.
The Iowa Degree is the highest degree Iowa FFA members can reach. Another fun fact: Each senior that competed at state convention came home a state champion! This does not happen without hard work and the help of our advisor, Mr. Rick Swenson.
As these seniors’ FFA careers begin to come to a close, we are confident they will continue make us proud!
Seniors and Iowa Degree Recipients: Alyssa Cline, Dylan Holland, Elise Boulton, Michael De Jong, Gavin Tindle, Alex Cheney, Brayden Stockman, and Ashlyn Huff.
Iowa FFA Star in Agriculture Placement:
Michael De Jong was also selected as an Iowa FFA Star Nominee. Michael prepared portfolios, videos, and went through an interview process prior to and during state convention.
On stage along with other Star nominees, Michael was announced as the STATE WINNER in Agriculture Placement. Michael is an Iowa FFA Star, which is extremely rare and hard to do! This is the highest award given to an FFA member in Iowa – and Michael has earned it! We are so proud he is a part of the Montezuma FFA Chapter!
Farm Business Management:
These students put in many hours and were STATE CHAMPIONS!
Not only did they win, but they placed first, second, third, and fourth in the state individually as well!!
Brayden Stockman was the individual state champion in the Farm Business Management contest.
This was a very special group that won by over 136 points and scored 472 points out of 500 points possible… which is a new STATE RECORD for the highest team score in this competition!!! This is an amazing feat and we have no doubt this team will continue their success at nationals in Indianapolis!
Team members and alternates are: Jaemi Hartman, Matthew Ranfeld, Sawyer Tindle, Korrinn Kehoe, Michael De Jong, Brayden Stockman, and Haylie Moore.
Proficiency Awards:
Elise and Michael ran proficiency awards at the state level in Ag Sales Placement and Ag Engineering, respectively. They were both STATE CHAMPIONS in their categories!! These two put in a ton of effort into their SAEs and applications and were rewarded for their dedication. Congrats!!
Agriculture CSI:
In their first contest, these seventh graders qualified for the state competition!! They learned the ropes of an FFA contest and gave an outstanding presentation that earned them runners-up honors in the contest.
We are so proud of them and we know this is just the beginning of their FFA careers that will soon flourish.
Team Members were: Claire Erselius, Krista Cheney, Brady Boulton, Luke Erselius, Broox Stockman, and Payton Tindle.
Agriculture Impact:
This group of 8th grade girls were STATE CHAMPIONS! After missing state convention due to COVID-19 last year, this team was determined to make their mark this year! They did just that, and brought home a first place trophy. We are so proud of their hard work and dedication!
Team members were: Ava Pargeon, Ellen Cook, Elizabeth De Jong, Emily James, Taylor Wickham, and Kylee Larmore.
Radio Broadcasting:
Elise Boulton also did two contests this year, with her second being Agriculture Broadcasting. This was a contest that was out of her comfort zone, but she was able to earn a gold rating at state and placed fourth, also missing the awards stage by one place. We know Elise was thankful for the opportunity and learned a ton from this experience!
Job Interview:
Michael De Jong took on two contests this year, and his individual contest was Job Interview. He did very well at all levels, and earned runner-up honors at state! This is a vital skill Michael will continue to use as he searches for jobs, and this is a contest not many can succeed in! Congrats, Michael!
Conduct of Meetings:
These 7 girls spent a lot of time with Mr. Swenson this winter preparing for the sub-district, district, and state contests. They placed 4th at state, receiving a gold rating and only missed being on the awards stage by one place. We are so proud of their improvement and dedication, and this is just the beginning of their amazing FFA careers!
Team members were: Lydia Singleton, Ashlee Eilander, Alivia Cline, Madison Van Zee, Camryn Brennan, Makenna Johannes, and Laila Kercheval
Market Plan:
This team of seniors were STATE CHAMPIONS! They flew past the preliminary round of their contest after giving a convincing 5-minute presentation, placing them in the finals. There, they gave one of their best presentations that earned them first place!! We are so proud of the hours this team has put in!
Team members were: Gavin Tindle, Dylan Holland, and Ashlyn Huff.
A personal aside, from Marie Rabenold Boulton:
The people in these pictures have put in a ton of time – before, during, and after school for months.
When they arrive at State FFA, there’s even more hard work and preparation, along with the stress of waiting to present and to get results, but it’s all worth the ride in the end.
I can’t put into words what our kids have gained from these experiences.
This year Brady (Boulton) competed for the first time, and his 7th grade team gave a terrific presentation to earn State Runner Up in Ag CSI.
Elise and Mia got to compete together in Ag Comm where their team was crowned State Champs. The team is on to Nationals in the fall! Elise and Mia also won their individual practicums of web design and journalistic writing.
As a senior, Elise got her Iowa degree, was the State Champ in Ag Sales Placement Proficiency, and was 4th place in Ag Radio Broadcasting!
We are thankful they are part of this great tradition at MHS and appreciate the Swensons’ dedication to these students and the FFA program!
From Al Rabenold (a proud grandparent):
“Rick and Molly Swenson make FFA a ‘must’ for students who want to be prepared for the future.
You cannot be a ‘slacker’ in this program. You will be pushed and pushed hard to be the best you can be.”
