On April 16, Eastwood FFA celebrated its 61st annual banquet. There were approximately 84 members and 200 guests present. Adults were recognized for their contributions to the chapter and FFA members were all acknowledged for their achievements.

First awarded were Nichole Brown, Jeff and Brooke Hahn, Skip Recker, and Rick and Dana Ruffner with honorary membership in the chapter. Then the degree recipients were all thanked for supporting the Eastwood FFA Chapter.

Senior Kaite Oestreich was recognized for serving this past year as State FFA Treasurer. She is one of 11 state officers to serve the over 27,000 Ohio FFA members over the past year. Emma Ruffner was also recognized as being one of 15 FFA members from across the state to perform at the FFA Talent Showcase at this year’s State FFA Convention.

Members were then recognized for their State and American Degrees. American Degree candidates recognized were Jacob Gallant, Ava Kiefer, Hannah Lang, Kaitlyn Luidhardt, Ashlyn O’Brien, Sam Rapp and Jesse Sundermeier. State Degree recipients were Logan Brinker, Luke Brinker, Joshua Carpenter, Ethan Chlebowski, Sophia D’Amore, Carter Foos, Blake Hitchcock, the late Skylar Roberts and Amelia Ward

Chapter reporter Sophia D’Amore, chapter secretary Mariah Hahn and chapter treasurer Olivia Newsome were recognized for their officer books for the year. All three are receiving gold medallions for their work at the State FFA Convention.

Grace Kingery was recognized for her work for her Supervised Agricultural Experience Program. She is one of four finalists in the state for the Equine Placement Proficiency Award.

Numerous members participated in Career Development Events throughout the year and many placed at the state level.

The Parliamentary procedure CDE is a very competitive event for the chapter. Mariah Hahn, Mallory Kramer, Olivia Newsome, Katie Oestriech, Wyatt Oestreich, and Elle Ruffner placed 1st at the sub-district, 2nd at the district, and moved on to the state and placed third in their room.

Several other members participated in the Food Science CDE: Avery Charville, Sophia D’Amore, Grace Kingery, and Olivia Newsome made up the team. They placed first in the district and moved on to state and placed sixth overall.

First-year FFA members had the opportunity to take a test known as the Greenhand Quiz about the knowledge of the FFA organization. The team placed 10th overall at State and 1st in District 1. The top four team scores were Kamryn Sundermeier, Makenna Nelson, Cameron Brinker and Kennedy Ameling.

In the Job interview CDE, representing the chapter for division 1 at the state level was Kamryn Sundermeier. She placed first at the county level, first in the district and eighth in the state.

In the Advanced Prepared Public Speaking CDE, Katie Oestreich placed first in the county and advanced to the District level where she placed second. She then advanced to the state CDE where she placed sixth in her room.

The top fruit sellers recognized were Collin Chamberlain in first place, Drew Luidhardt in second place, Elle and Emma Ruffner in third place, Carter Foos in fourth place, and Lila and Emma Kiefer in fifth place.

The chapter did a chicken barbecue in the fall, and prepared and sold 1,100 meals. The top three sellers for the meals were Noah Lang in third place, Luke and Logan Brinker in second place, and Emma and Lila Kiefer in first selling 71 meals.

The Star Greenhand is an award given to our first-year FFA members. This year Frances Lockyer, Whitley Lubash, Jackson Schuerman and Kamryn Sundermeier received this award.

Each year a senior receives the Dekalb Award and receives a certificate and pin. The recipient is Mariah Hahn. She has been a huge contributor to the chapter and was a part of the Parliamentary Procedure team and won the Division 3 Job Interview State CDE as a junior.

The Ag Credit 110% goes to a junior or senior and was received by Quinten Farmer.

“Quinten is a pleasure to be around and always brings a positive attitude to what he does” FFA Adviser Jerry Swartz said.

The Star Production Award is given to a member who shows strong production in their SAE. This year’s winner is Katie Oestreich. She has raised market chickens, lambs, cattle and a field of soybeans. Outside of FFA, she is in 4-H and has been a member of the Eastwood softball and basketball teams, the National Honor Society, Wood County Junior Fair Board, and is serving as the Ohio FFA State Treasurer.

Graduating seniors were then presented with scholarships. These included the Mitch Aring Memorial Scholarship awarded to Claire Carpenter, Mariah Hahn and Katie Oestreich; the Howard and Helen Grover Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Grace Kingery, Emma Ruffner and Austin Shiffler; the Eastwood 2000 FFA Scholarship was awarded to Emma Buchman, Avery Charville and Lily Sterba; the Clarence C. Spoerl Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ethan Rapp and AJ Thompsan; the Jim Eckel Memorial Scholarship was received by Mallory Kramer; the David Extra Mile Scholarship was awarded to Elle Ruffner; the Lang Family Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Mallory Kramer; the Jerry Farmer Memorial Scholarship was received by Tristan Schuerman, Mallory Kramer, and Katie Oestreich; the Eastwood Four Year FFA Scholarship was awarded to Emma Buchman, Claire Carpenter, Avery Charville, Quinten Farmer, Mariah Hahn, Grace Kingery, Mallory Kramer, Olivia Newsome, Katie Oestreich, Ethan Rapp, Elle Ruffner, Emma Ruffner, Tristan Schuerman, Austin Shiffler, Lily Sterba, AJ Thompson, Lydia Thornton and Kailin Wargo.

The ceremony ended with the 2023-24 officers being installed. They are Logan Brinker, president; Wyatt Oestreich, vice president; Amelia Ward, secretary; Carter Foos, treasurer; Ethan Chlebowski, reporter; Joshua Carpenter, sentinel; and Sophia D’Amore, student adviser.

The retiring 2022-23 officers included Katie Oestreich, president; Mallory Kramer, vice president; Mariah Hahn, secretary; Olivia Newsome, treasurer; Sophia D’Amore, reporter; Logan Brinker, sentinel; and Emma Ruffner, student adviser.