Oklahoma FFA members across the Sooner State recently gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the BOK Center for the 97th Oklahoma FFA Convention and Expo. More than 10,000 FFA members attended the convention’s general sessions and tradeshow. Proficiency awards, scholarships, and speaking awards were presented to FFA members leading up to highest honors on the final night of the event, including Oklahoma State Star in Agribusiness, State Star in Placement, State Star in Agriscience and State Star Farmer.
Steven Sanders of the Guthrie FFA Chapter was awarded the State Star in Agribusiness award. His project focuses on buying sows that were scratched from the Oklahoma Youth Expo gilt sale and adding them to his hog-breeding program.
Gage Slagell of the Hydro-Eakly FFA Chapter received State Star in Agricultural Placement. Slagell is employed by his grandfather and great-uncle at Triple S Farms in Hydro, Oklahoma, which produces watermelons, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cantaloupe, wheat, soybeans and peanuts.
Abigail Burton of the Stillwater FFA Chapter was awarded the State Star in Agriscience award, which is presented to the FFA member with the top agriscience research project. Burton qualified for the National FFA Agriscience competition last year and received third place.
The highest award a member can receive is State Star Farmer and that honor was bestowed on Luke Gallagher of the Altus FFA Chapter. Gallagher’s project includes a 400-head stocker steer operation utilizing wheat pasture and a small cow-calf herd.
Chapter officers announced
The final ceremony of the convention was the announcement of the 2023-2024 Oklahoma State FFA Officer Team. Pedro Valles of the Dover FFA Chapter was announced as secretary; Clara Duncan of the Chickasha FFA Chapter won the office of reporter; Garrett Case of the Skiatook FFA Chapter was elected northeast area vice president; Alec Anderson of the Ringwood FFA Chapter was selected as the northwest area vice president; Trey Myers of the Perkins-Tryon FFA was announced as central area vice president; Kayla Poling of the Silo FFA Chapter received the southeast area vice president office and Kylee Falasco of the Weatherford FFA Chapter was elected to the southwest area vice president office.
Caleb Horne of the Morrison FFA Chapter, who previously served as the 2022-2023 Oklahoma FFA northwest area vice president, was elected as the Oklahoma State FFA president for the next year. Horne is a biochemistry and molecular biology major at Oklahoma State University.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
