Garden Spot FFA holds annual banquet

The Garden Spot FFA Annual Awards and Recognition Banquet was held on March 15, 2018 at Martin Meylin Middle School. The banquet highlighted activities our members participated in throughout the year and commended them for their hard work. The banquet also provided opportunities to show our appreciation to people in our community who have made an impact on our FFA chapter.


The evening started fellowship over a delicious meal served by Hess’s Catering.

Our 2017-2018 Officer Team opened the banquet and introduced guests. Lampeter-Strasburg High School District Administration, Lampeter-Strasburg School Board, Pennsylvania State Government, Current FFA State Officer, Agriculture Advisory Board, High School Teachers, High School Teacher Support Staff, District and Building Secretaries, West Lampeter Community Fair Board, Chapter Supporters, Former Agriculture Teachers, and Garden Spot FFA Alumni members were are introduced and recognized.

They were all thanked for their continual support of our FFA chapter. Following introduction the 2017-2018 PA State Chaplain Kelsey Stewart shared leaving a legacy and sharing our voices.


After all of the opening remarks, our members were awarded with various degrees. The Discovery Degree was awarded to 6 middle school students who have been active participates in Junior FFA. 14 members who are active first year members received the Greenhand Degree, and Bryce Johnson was awarded with Star Greenhand. 10 second year members earned their Chapter Degrees, and Jessica Herr was awarded with Star Chapter. 4 members received the Red Rose degree, and Jordan Martin and Leah Welk received the Star Red Rose Degree at the county level.

Megan Mellinger and Kyle Spots were recognized for receiving their Keystone Degrees. Matt Harnish, Mark Mellinger, Becca Brian, Donovan Weaver, and Ben Welk were recognized for receiving their American Degrees.

Following the degree awards, members shared about different activities that took place throughout the past year. Members that attend State Convention last June were recognized with their CDE teams.

Any member that helped with the food stand or participated in the West Lampeter Fair was acknowledged for their hard work. The 5 members that attended National Convention shared their highlights and experiences. Conferences such as LCLC and ACES were highlighted and members shared their favorite parts. CDE teams were introduced, and Citrus Sale and SAE Award winners were awarded.

The Scholarship Award was given to 11 members who had a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the first semester. The Agriculture Achievement Award was given to Jordan Martin. The Certificate of Appreciation was given to Mr. Dave Beiler, Dr. Ben Feeney, Mr. Andrew Lefever, Mr. Chris Burkhart, Mr. Marty Grimm, Mr. Ben Krothe, and Mrs. Cathy Lynch. The Honorary Chapter Degree was awarded to Mrs. Anita Martin, Mr. Jeff Landis and Mrs. Barb Beiler.

Mikayla Miller and Megan Mellinger shared their senior speeches and the advisors introduced the 2018-2019 Officer Team. The 2018-2019 President is Leah Welk, Vice President is Jess Herr, Secretary is Gracie Hess, Treasurer is Bryce Johnson, Assistant Treasurer is Skylar Reese, Reporter is Danae Ranck, Assistant Reporter is Brayden Emmerling, Sentinel is Jared Risser, Chaplain is Carter Meck, and Student Advisor is Bryce Good.

--By Danae Ranck, FFA reporter

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