El Capitan FFA Members Receive Greenhand and Chapter Farmer FFA Degrees
By Branyon Bliss, El Capitan FFA Chapter Reporter
El Capitan FFA held its annual Greenhand and Chapter Farmer Degree Ceremony on November 16th in the El Capitan Theater with over 200 members and guests in attendance. First year members were awarded their Greenhand Degree, and second year members were awarded their Chapter Farmer Degree. This banquet was an excellent place for new members to learn and become excited about the growing and expanding FFA program, along with everything that they can achieve as FFA members.
The ceremony was introduced by the El Capitan Chapter Officer team with opening and closing ceremonies. 101 Greenhand members received their degree certificate and a pin for their jacket. The Greenhand Degree is awarded to those members who have excelled as first year agriculture education students. “We are very excited to have such a great group of Greenhands,” said El Capitan FFA Advisor Mrs. Michaela Pignone. “We have seen them accomplish so much already, and can’t wait to see how they fulfill their potential over the next four years.” Five of the Greenhand members also presented the FFA Creed at the banquet. According to the National FFA Organization “the FFA Creed outlines the organization’s values and believes regarding the industry of agriculture, FFA membership, and citizenship and patriotism.”
Following the presentation of the Greenhand Degrees, Chapter officers performed the Chapter Farmer Degree Ceremony. This degree is for second year agriculture education students who have shown progress in their coursework, Supervised Agriculture Experience Projects, and their FFA involvement. “We are very proud to have such great retention in our program,” said El Capitan Agriculture Instructor, Mrs. Kaylyn Davenport. “It says a lot about the success of our program and the opportunities that it provides for our students.” Fifty-seven Chapter Farmer members were awarded with their degrees during the event.
After the degrees were awarded to students the Chapter Officer team thanked all of their members, supporters, and parents for making it possible for students to get their awards. In the end, the annual Greenhand and Chapter Farmer degree banquet was a huge success, with excellent numbers of members receiving awards. The El Capitan FFA Chapter Officers would like to thank everyone that attended the Banquet and look forward to next year, and seeing more amazing students receive their Greenhand and Chapter Farmer degrees. Approaching soon, we will see who receives their state degree in the near future.