Charles City FFA members win state honors

To The Press

Two recent Charles City High School graduates have received state FFA honors.

Bronson Forysth was elected to serve as the 2020-21 north central state vice president of the Iowa FFA Association last Thursday, and Blake Frascht was named the 2019-20 Star in Agricultural Production for the Iowa FFA Association.

Forsyth will serve as one of five regional vice presidents for the Iowa FFA officer team.

Typically the officer elections are held in April during the Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference held in Ames, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the interviews and elections were pushed back and done in a virtual format.

Forsyth took part in two days of interviews, was selected for the ballot and then gave a speech and answered questions to a group of delegates from the north central district.

Forsyth and the eight other state officers will serve their year in office speaking with FFA members from across the state, presenting leadership camps and workshops, and traveling around Iowa and the United States.

They will have the opportunity to take part in Iowa FFA Foundation activities, FFA district leadership programs, Iowa FFA Legislative Symposium, the national FFA convention, and a wide variety of FFA career development events.

Their biggest responsibility will be to coordinate and conduct the 93rd Iowa FFA Leadership Conference for more than 6,000 FFA members, advisors, parents and guests.

Frascht’s Star in Agricultural Production award recognizes him as the top FFA member in the area of production agriculture for his farming operation.

His supervised agricultural experience consists of a partnership with his parents in their beef cow/calf, feeder cattle, and crop production operation. After high school he plans to stay on the farm and expand his operation.

The Stars Over Iowa program is made possible with support from Beck’s Hybrids through the Iowa FFA Foundation. The National FFA Foundation sponsors cash awards for the four overall star winners.

In addition to Frascht’s award, honors went to 2020 Star in Ag Placement winner Gabe Knobloch of the West Lyon FFA Chapter at Inwood, Star in Agribusiness winner Collin Witte of the West Fork FFA Chapter, and Star in Agriscience winner Chase Krug of the Linn-Mar FFA Chapter at Marion.

The Iowa FFA Association is a youth organization of more than 16,100 student members as part of 246 local FFA chapters across Iowa.