FFA April Update: Budding Our Way into Spring

By Jacey Gehl

The chapter has had a busy yet successful spring season with plentiful success in competitions, development of leadership and career skills, celebrations of member accomplishments, and glimpses into the growth we’ll see in the coming year. 

District 1 Parliamentary Procedure and Conduct of Chapter Meetings

Our two teams recently got to compete in District 1 Leadership Development Events: Parliamentary Procedure and Conduct of Chapter Meetings. Both teams earned second-place finishes in their respective contests and will advance to the district competition on May 7th. Talk about leadership being developed!

The Parliamentary Procedure team includes Chairperson Hannah Wildemuth, Floorperson 1 Dawsyn McDonald, Floorperson 2 Annabelle Betcher, Floorperson 3 Jackson Frank, Floorperson 5 Jacey Gehl, and Floorperson 6 Ella Schaaf.

Parliamentary Procedure teaches students how to properly conduct meetings using Parliamentary Law and Robert’s Rules of Order. During the contest, members demonstrate their ability to handle motions, debate, voting procedures, and other official meeting business while working together as a team under timed conditions. 

The Conduct of Chapter Meetings team consists of President Faith Kuster, Vice President Ashlynn Chamberlain, Secretary Delaney Killian, Reporter Faith Schaver, Treasurer Lili Marshall, Sentinel Molly Wannemacher, and Advisor Henry Dwyer.

The Conduct of Chapter Meetings contest focuses on opening and closing ceremonies, officer duties, teamwork, and knowledge of FFA history and procedure. Members are evaluated on their accuracy, professionalism, and ability to perform the responsibilities of their officer position.

Chapter FFA Banquet

The chapter held its annual FFA Banquet on April 17, recognizing members for their dedication, leadership, and accomplishments throughout the year. The evening celebrated student success in competitions, Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs), leadership activities, and community involvement.

Special recognition was given to graduating seniors Bella Bailey, Peyton Kies, James Matthews, Dawsyn McDonald, Isaac Nixon, and Bee Scheider for their years of commitment and service to the chapter. We cannot thank them enough!

Workhorse Award

The Workhorse Award was presented to Cheyenne Hopkey. This award recognizes a member who consistently works behind the scenes to support the chapter through hard work, dependability, and dedication. Whether helping at events, assisting teammates, or volunteering whenever needed, Cheyenne has consistently demonstrated leadership through service and commitment.

Greenhand Degree Recipients

The Greenhand Degree is awarded to first-year FFA members who have demonstrated involvement in agricultural education, participation in chapter activities, and a commitment to learning about the FFA organization. To earn the degree, members must meet requirements including having plans for a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), understanding the FFA creed and motto, and becoming actively involved in chapter events and leadership opportunities. The degree marks an important milestone for new members as they begin building their leadership, personal growth, and career success within agricultural education.

This year’s Greenhand Degree recipients were:

• Ashlynn Chamberlain

• Henry Dwyer

• Camryn Ebert

• Mason Emerick

• Faith Kuster

• Lili Marshall

• Ella Schaaf

• Faith Schaver

• Molly Wannemacher

• Levi Wyffels

Molly Wannemacher was recognized as the chapter’s Star Greenhand, an award presented to an outstanding first-year member for exceptional involvement and achievement.

Chapter Degree Recipients

The Chapter FFA Degree recognizes members who have shown significant growth in leadership, agricultural knowledge, and participation in FFA activities beyond the Greenhand level. Members earning this degree have demonstrated a deeper commitment to the organization through involvement in competitions, community service projects, chapter events, and Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) programs. To qualify, students must meet requirements related to agricultural education coursework, earnings or hours worked in their SAE, and active participation in chapter functions. Receiving the Chapter Degree reflects a member’s continued dedication to developing leadership skills, strengthening agricultural understanding, and contributing positively to the chapter and community.

Recipients included:

• Ella Clementz

• Aidan Daly

• Emilie DeCastecker

• Riley Dwyer

• Jackson Frank

• Jacey Gehl

• Jack Gehling

• Kaylin Heller

• Kali Herberg

• Cheyenne Hopkey

• Jillian McMahill

• Maycie Sims

• Hannah Wildemuth

Jackson Frank was named the chapter’s Star Chapter Member for his outstanding leadership, participation, and contributions throughout the year.

State Degree Recognition

During the banquet, seniors Dawsyn McDonald and Peyton Kies were recognized for being recommended to receive the Illinois State FFA Degree, one of the highest honors awarded by the Illinois FFA Association.

The State Degree recognizes years of dedication to agricultural education, leadership development, FFA participation, and Supervised Agricultural Experience programs. The degrees will officially be awarded during the Illinois State FFA Convention this summer.

The chapter also presented Honorary Chapter Degrees to Troy and Val McDonald in appreciation of their continued support of the FFA program and its members.

2026-2027 Chapter Officers

The newly elected chapter officers for the upcoming year are:

• President — Annabelle Betcher

• Vice President of Growing Leaders — Kolby Causemaker

• Vice President of Strengthening Agriculture — Jacey Gehl

• Vice President of Building Communities — Jackson Frank

• Reporter — Emilie DeCastecker

• Secretary — Hannah Wildemuth

• Treasurer — Maycie Sims

• Sentinel — Kaylin Heller

They are so excited to serve our chapter in the coming year!

Section 3 Public Speaking Contest

Members also competed at the Section 3 Public Speaking Contest hosted by Bureau Valley High School.

In Creed Speaking, participants recite and interpret the FFA Creed while answering questions about its meaning and purpose. Faith Kuster earned first place in the varsity division, while Ashlynn Chamberlain placed second in the junior varsity division.

Prepared Public Speaking requires members to research an agricultural topic, write an original speech, and present it before a panel of judges. Kolby Causemaker placed second in varsity prepared speaking, and Camryn Ebert earned first place in the junior varsity division.

Extemporaneous Speaking challenges contestants to prepare and deliver a speech on an agricultural issue within a limited amount of preparation time. Dawsyn McDonald placed second in varsity extemporaneous speaking, and Jacey Gehl earned first place in the junior varsity division.

Dawsyn, Kolby, and Faith will be moving on to the District Competition!

State Livestock Career Development Event

Henry Dwyer, Lydia Carton, and Kolby Causemaker competed in the Reasons Division at the State Livestock Career Development Event.

The livestock judging contest requires students to evaluate and rank classes of livestock animals based on industry standards for structural correctness, muscling, balance, and overall quality. In the Reasons Division, contestants must also verbally defend their placings before judges, demonstrating communication skills and agricultural knowledge.

Kolby Causemaker earned an impressive fourth-place finish individually in the state competition!

Geneseo FFA Coverage is proudly sponsored by Valley Insurance.

Marching Through the Year: March FFA Update

by Annabelle Betcher

Our Geneseo FFA chapter has had so many events this month it feels like March Madness!

District 1 Proficiencies 

It may be called proficiencies, but our members were WAY beyond proficient! Students who competed in districts first had to advance past the section contest. Competitors received scores based on the points they earned on their record book rubric added to the points they received during their interview about their record book, and they compete in specific areas relative to what their record book is about. Congratulations to the dedicated members who competed at districts including Maycie Simms, Faith Kuster, and Peyton Kies, and to those who advanced onto State Awards Day including Jackson Frank, Kolby Causemaker, Dawsyn McDonald, and Jacey Gehl!

State Awards Day 

After their excellent performance at district proficiencies, Jackson, Jacey, Kolby, and Dawsyn headed to Mt. Zion to showcase their record books scored by a new set of judges one more time. Our members exhibit consistent effort into their passions, and this contest is no exception. Jacey Gehl was a state finalist in the division of specialty crop production placement, Jackson Frank was a state runner up in the division of Vegetable Production Placement, Dawsyn McDonald was a state runner up in the division of Equine Science Placement, and Kolby Causemaker was named STATE CHAMPION in Swine Production Entrepreneurship. That’s some mega piggy power! Massive congratulations to these students who represented the level of excellence our Geneseo FFA Chapter pushes members towards. 

BASF Event on March 5th

Big Awesome Stupendous Farming? Not quite what BASF stands for…It is a chemical company originating in Germany that stands for Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik. BASF works for me! Our members had the privilege to volunteer at BASF’s event at the Davenport River Center. They had the opportunity to listen to presentations that enlightened them on BASF’s role as a major player that focuses on crop protection such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides. Our members enjoyed listening to presentations by field experts from multiple pathways, such as a talk on beneficial ways to use A.I., as well as introductions to BASF’s new fungicide, Zorina. They helped serve lunch, sold John Deere Gator Raffle tickets throughout the day, and later on in the evening, tore up the dance floor at BASF’s dinner gala. O.D. (Official Dress) does not mean Obstacle to Dancing.

Officer Interviews/Elections 

On March 11th, members from our Geneseo FFA Chapter were individually interviewed by a panel of judges. Our chapter appreciates how willing members of our community are to volunteer their time towards FFA events, and thank you to all those who helped! Before qualifying for the interview process, students first had to complete an extensive application, receive 2 teacher recommendations, and create an FFA resume. Members were asked a series of questions by the judges. This experience helps prepare students for future career interviews by asking universal questions such as, “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” Students also encountered more FFA-specific questions, such as, “How will you, being elected as an officer, improve this chapter?”

After a select number of students were chosen to move on from the interview process based on their scores, all candidates were required to give speeches in front of chapter members at a special chapter meeting on March 23rd. Candidates were allowed to select which positions they desired to run for, and could give up to a 90 second speech for their first desired position, and a 30 second speech for any position after that. All members present–excluding those who ran for the position being voted on–immediately voted after all speeches were given for one position. When no one candidate received a majority vote, parliamentary procedure was utilized to exclude the bottom candidates and only vote between the top 2 candidates. The popular vote score was added to the candidates interview score to determine a winner. We are so proud of all our members who developed career skills by running, and congratulations to our outstanding new officer team: 

• President - Annabelle Betcher

• Vice President of Growing Leaders - Kolby Causemaker

• Vice President of Strengthening Agriculture - Jacey Gehl

• Vice President of Building Communities - Jackson Frank

• Reporter - Emilie DeCastecker

• Secretary - Hannah Wildemuth

• Treasurer - Maycie Sims

• Sentinel - Kaylin Heller

Section 3 Livestock Eval - What do you call a cow with no legs…ground beef!

On March 14th our members including Henry Dwyer - 1st in Section 3 Greenhand Reasons, Jackson Frank - 2nd in Section 3 Varsity Questions, Hannah Wildemuth - 12th in Section 3 Varsity Questions, and Kaylin Heller - 14th in Section 3 Varsity Questions, attended the Henry County Havoc Livestock Evaluation contest hosted by the Cambridge FFA Chapter. These students evaluated multiple species such as hogs, cattle, and sheep throughout the day, so this contest highlights the importance of expanding your knowledge because you can’t only appreciate and understand the quality standards of your favorite type of livestock. Kudos to these members for appreciating and understanding the livestock before they are a juicy burger or slab of bacon, and congratulations for their excellent performance at section!

Section 3 Parliamentary Procedure - What the heck is that?

Even though the word parliamentary procedure may not be one everyone is familiar with, it is used more often than you might expect. Parli pro is the most efficient way to run a meeting, so it’s often witnessed at school board, city council, or township meetings for example. It is typical for it to begin with calling the meeting room to order, making a main motion that requires a second, and is followed by debate. Our members familiarize themselves with all motions existent in parli pro so they are prepared to present an 11 minute meeting. Each floormember has to use a motion they assigned when they walk in the door, as well as determine 2 other motions and 3 unique but relevant discussions in order to achieve maximum points. They are also tested on their knowledge of motions such as what percent vote a motion needs or order of precedence of votes with a written test, as well as asked specific verbal questions on their randomly assigned motion. This year's team that competed on March 18th was comprised of:

• Chairperson: Hannah Wildemouth - 2nd Place Chairperson in Section 3

• Floormember 1: Dawsyn McDonald - 1st Place Floormember Section 3

• Floormember 2: Annabelle Betcher - 2nd Place Floormember Section 3

• Floormember 3: Jackson Frank - 5th Place Floormember Section 3

• Floormember 4: Jacey Gehl - Floormember Section 3

• Floormember 5: Ella Schaaf - 8th Place Floormember Section 3

These members' wonderful performance secured them a place at districts for parliamentary procedure, where they will compete in April to attempt to advance to state!

Section 3 Conduct of Chapter Meetings

Conduct is a competition exclusive to Freshmen in FFA. It has a similar foundation to parli pro involving motions, but conduct requires the memorization of a specific role. Each student who participates has an assigned position that they compete in as they run a chapter meeting at the competition. Congratulations to our members who dedicated their time to learning their parts, placed 2nd at section, and are advancing to districts! Participants include:

• President: Faith Kuster

• Vice President: Ashlynn Chamberlain - 3rd

• Secretary: Delaney Killian - 4th

• Advisor: Henry Dwyer - 6th

• Treasurer: Lili Marshall - 9th

• Sentinel: Molly Wannemacher - 10th

Step Into Safety

On March 25th, our Geneseo FFA chapter boogied on over to Cambridge High School to co-host a very successful line dancing/safety event with Cambridge FFA. Geneseo Officers partnered with Cambridge officers to lead 12 different line dances on stage while people in attendance could join right in. During dance breaks, students were able to visit the different booths stationed around the gym that those who help keep us safe set up such as the Cambridge and Bishop Hill Fire Departments, Henry County Sheriff's Department, Grain Elevator Rescue Experts, and Gray Matters. At these stations students were able to learn safety awareness tips from the experts themselves (though they didn’t warn us of the danger of two left feet at line dancing), and we greatly appreciate them volunteering their time to educate us!

FFA Cover Sponsored by Valley Insurance

Geneseo FFA Members See State Success and Celebrate National FFA Week

Submitted by: Dawsyn McDonald 

State Horse Judging and Vet Science Career Development Events

Vet science team

The Geneseo FFA started off the month of February strong with success in two Career Development Events at the State level. In the Horse Judging Career Development event, team members may compete in the Reasons or Non-Reasons area. In the Non-Reasons area, students judged four performance and four confirmation classes of horses and placed them according to the criteria for each class. The Geneseo FFA’s Non-Reason’s team placed third in the state, consisting of Dawsyn McDonald, Jacey Gehl, and Kali Herberg, who also placed within the top ten individually! In the Reasons division of the contest, team members had to judge all eight of the classes, and then also write, memorize, and present a set of reasons explaining how they placed the class to a judge for two of the classes. The Reasons team, which consisted of Ella Schaff, Maycie Sims, Hannah Wildemuth, and Ashlynn Chamberlain also saw success, coming in fifth in the state! On the same day, the Section winning Vet Science team also competed at the state level. In this contest, the competitors are required to ID a variety of animal breeds, equipment, and parasites, take a general knowledge and math test, and demonstrate several real-world practicums while explaining the reason for each step to a judge. The team, which came in second overall in the state, consisted of Annabelle Betcher, who placed second, Kolby Causemaker placing ninth, as well as Bee Scheider and Molly Wannemaker. Additionally, our alternate team also saw success in their division, with Emilie Decastecker taking first and Faith Kuster placing third!

Living to Serve Day

Geneseo FFA members came together with many other FFA members from Section 3, which includes numerous other chapters in the area, for the Section 3 Living to Serve Day on Valentine’s Day! These FFA members showed their love for their community this Valentine’s by participating in the "Valentines for a Cause” event, where they made over twenty tie blankets that were donated to local nursing homes. 

Section 3 Proficiency Awards

Nine Geneseo FFA members interviewed in the Section 3 Proficiency Awards contest this month! At this event, members compete with their Supervised Agricultural Experience record books and partake in an interview based on that book. Students who won their area will be advancing to the District 1 contest on March 4!

Section 3 Competitors

• Hannah Wildemuth: Equine Science Entrepreneurship 

• Emilie DeCastecker: Agriculture Education Placement 

District 1 Contest Qualifiers 

• Faith Kuster: Veterinary Science Placement 

• Kolby Causemaker: Swine Production Entrepreneurship

• Jackson Frank: Vegetable Production Placement 

• Jacey Gehl: Specialty Crop Production Placement 

• Peyton Kies: Beef Production Entrepreneurship

• Maycie Sims: Specialty Animal Production Entrepreneurship 

• Dawsyn McDonald: Equine Science Placement 

State degree recipients

State Degree Interviews

Two senior FFA members, Dawsyn McDonald and Peyton Kies, were recommended to receive their State Degrees after submitting their applications and completing an interview this month! This is a great accomplishment that these members have earned through a long list of requirements that they had to meet. They will receive their State Degrees at State Convention 

National FFA Week Celebrations

The Geneseo FFA Chapter celebrated National FFA Week from Friday, February 20th to Saturday, February 28th with a vast variety of fun events and activities. They kicked off the week with Culver’s ice cream scoops for FFA members during their ag classes and Drive Your Truck or Tractor to School Day! On Tuesday, they started off the week with therapy dogs for the students at the high school. Throughout the week, students also had the opportunity to pay a dollar to wear a hat during the school day, and purchase tickets for a chance to pie a member of the Geneseo chapter officer team or a teacher, which took place during WIN on Wednesday. Wednesday evening included the Ag Olympics Chapter Meeting, where FFA members competed against each other in a hay bale toss, hot wing challenge, milk chug, cubby bunny challenge, hungry hungry hippo, and a three legged race! On Thursday morning, FFA members were up bright and early to make and deliver breakfast to the teachers and staff throughout the school, and Friday finished out with members Emilie DeCastacker, Dawsyn McDonald, Annabelle Betcher, and Jackson Frank attending the Cultivating Connections event. At this event, FFA chapters throughout the District had the opportunity to share their FFA experiences with school board members and administrators in order to help them gain a better understanding of what these FFA chapters are all about!

Trivia Night

February was closed out with the Geneseo FFA’s biggest fundraising event of the year, the annual Alumni Trivia Night! The evening consisted of eight rounds of trivia, with a variety of both live and silent auction items generously donated by the community. It was an excellent event, with approximately 300 supporters attending the event. Thank you to everyone who came out to support!

FFA coverage proudly sponsored by Valley Insurance

Farm Bureau to host Women’s Program: “Strong Enough to Bend; Turning Breakdowns into Breakthroughs!”

Adrienne DeSutter, M.S.Ed., Ag Mental Health Specialist and creator of Sow Hope Grow Hope, will be our featured speaker at this fun and informative workshop. 

Women in ag are tough. We carry families, farms, and futures on our backs, and we still manage to show up to town looking halfway decent (well, some days). But real strength isn’t about never breaking; it’s about being brave enough to bend before you snap. Adrienne’s message is a celebration of the women who hold it all together- even when they’re running on caffeine and sheer willpower- and a reminder that vulnerability isn’t weakness, it’s leadership. Together, we’ll laugh, exhale, and find tools to care for ourselves and the people we love. You’ll leave feeling grounded, hopeful, and remembering that strong women don’t do it all- we do what matters…with grit, grace, and a whole lot of girl power. 

Join us on Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. at Black Hawk College East Campus -Auditorium, Building A, 26230 Black Hawk Rd, Galva, IL.  There is no cost to attend, but please make a reservation by Jan 23 by contacting the Henry County Farm Bureau at (309) 937-2411 or email manager@henrycofarmbureau.org. 

This program is sponsored by the Henry, Stark, Mercer, Rock Island, Knox, Bureau and Marshall-Putnam County Farm Bureaus.