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Charles City FFA attends Iowa Leadership Conference

  • Charles City’s Blake Frascht was a state winner in Beef Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency at the 91st Iowa FFA Leadership Conference held at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Sunday through Tuesday. (Photo submitted.)

  • Charles City FFA members attended the 91st Iowa FFA Leadership Conference held at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Sunday through Tuesday. (Photo submitted.)

  • Iowa FFA Degree recipients from Charles City were Dylan Bilharz, Jordan Wulff, Caleb Hejna, Jacob White, Tanner Heitz and Madelyn Tjaden, at the 91st Iowa FFA Leadership Conference in Ames. (Photo submitted.)

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Charles City’s Blake Frascht was named the Iowa FFA state winner in Beef Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency earlier this week at the 91st Iowa FFA Leadership Conference held Sunday through Tuesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

Frascht was among 51 Charles City FFA members who attended the annual conference, where they took part in workshops, career development events and other activities.

Charles City’s Drew Staudt was a Rising Star Finalist as a top sophomore FFA member in Iowa, while Charles City’s Dylan Bilharz, Caleb Deetz, Tanner Heitz, Caleb Hejnia, Madelyn Tjaden, Jacob White and Jordan Wulff all earned the Iowa FFA Degree.

Additionally, Charles City’s Parliamentary Procedure team of Gillian Anderson, Kiki Connell, Justin Heyer, Ryan Nettleton and Drew Staudt earned fourth place gold; the Charles City Marketing Plan group of Laurie Hart, Anna Krumwiede and Daniel Laube earned 10th place gold and the Charles City Team Ag Sales group of Marissa Daniels, Bronson Forsyth, Nathan Shultz and Jacie Wink earned 14th place gold.

Charles City FFA members received Silver Ratings in the following categories:
— Job Interview: Madelyn Tjaden.
— Greenhand Quiz: Brayton Quade.
— Poultry Evaluation: Allie Cross.
— Conduct of Meetings: Lydia Staudt, Chase Crooks, Brady Frascht, Landon Luft, Rachel Chambers, Ashlyn Hoeft and Ryan Kvernevig.
— Experience the Action: Max Deeter, Cassie DeBower, Sarah Mitchell, Cael Ruzicka and Nathan Shultz.
— Agricultural Issues and Perceptions: Lauren Connell, Ally Faulkner, Evan Bjelica, Joey Heidebrink, Jodie Sindlinger, Lynn Hoeft and Alex Staudt.
— Chapter Display: Delaney Ruzicka, Lily Luft, Kaylie Banks, Taylor Quade, Aubrey Hoeft and McCoy Bilarz.

The Charles City Farm Business Management team of Tanner Heitz, Caleb Hejna, Dylan Bilharz and Jordan Wulff earned a bronze rating.

Charles City Middle School Workshop Attendees were Taylor Quade, Reed Peters, Zach Chambers, Natalie White, McCoy Bilharz, Delaney Ruzicka, Lily Luft, Kaylie Banks, Aubre Hoeft and Olivia Kreger.

More than 6,000 FFA members and guests from across the state gathered at the conference to learn about careers in the agriculture industry, compete for scholarships, volunteer in the community and shape the future of the Iowa FFA Association.

The keynote speaker was Matt Stutzman, known as the “Armless Archer.” Stutzman, from Fairfield, was born without arms and learned to do everything one might normally do with one’s arms with his feet.

He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics, winning a silver medal in 2012. He holds a world record for longest accurate shot in archery.

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