The FFA State Convention was held at the BOK Arena on Wednesday, May 7.
Inola alum Anna Jo Helling (2024) was serving as the Northeast Area Vice President as well as running for the President role. She was able to make it past the first round (seven candidates) and make it to the runoffs which came down to two candidates. However she was not elected back to an office position, she represented Inola FFA very well throughout her year of service to the organization.
Inola had 12 students apply for the Making Things Better Challenge, which is an application they had to fill out based on community service activities they completed since August. All 12 of them were recognized on stage and Inola was one of the largest chapters that had students represented.
Additionally, Inola had four students fill out proficiency applications. Proficiency applications are intense applications that began back in October and was due in February. These applications included 12 essay questions, income and expense entries, animal/equipment inventory, 10 AFNR Pathway Standards with short descriptions, and six pictures showcasing their project based on the students' agricultural project that they have been working on for several years. In each of their categories our students competed against 3-20 applicants. Results show the best Inola has ever had! These students will compete this summer against the other state winners while they will be representing Oklahoma FFA on the National Level.
Beef Entrepreneurship - Will Willhour - STATE CHAMPION
Outdoor Recreation - Bryce Spurlock - STATE CHAMPION
Poultry Production - Wyatt Sterling - STATE CHAMPION
Sheep Production - Delaney Gibson - STATE CHAMPION
This past year, Inola also had three students fill out their Oklahoma State FFA Degree Application which included an application and either a scrapbook or a portfolio of their FFA career. This year, Inola had three students receive their State FFA Degree which means they had to have completed at least two years in FFA, earned at least $2,000 net profit, invested $2,000 in inventory, given a speech at any contest, represented the chapter in a minimum of 20 different activities above the chapter level, and had at least 25 hours of community service. These students that earned their FFA State Degree are:
Samantha Lankford
Bryce Spurlock
Will Willhour
Lastly, Inola's FFA has reached a milestone that has not been accomplished since the start of the chapter in 1954. Inola FFA was awarded the NATIONAL 3 STAR SUPERIOR CHAPTER and out of 369 chapters in Oklahoma only 30 chapters were awarded the National 3 Star Award this year. This is based on the activities that hosted and student participation.
