April 4th, 2013 was a night to give credit where credit is due for the Rugby FFA Chapter. The 79th annual Rugby FFA Parent Member Banquet was another night to remember as parents, FFA members, sponsors, community members, and Rugby High School faculty gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of students with bright futures. This year, the banquet was dedicated to Mr. Warner S. Johnson and his many years of support and dedication to the Rugby Agriculture Education department and FFA program. The keynote speaker was Mr. Terry Fleck, the Attitude Doctor.

Many awards were given out during the ceremony. FFA fruit and pizza sales are important to the Rugby FFA Chapter. The Five high salespersons were Clay Vannett, 5th; Nikki Atkinson, 4th; MyKell Bosch, 3rd; Josh Pfeifer, 2nd; and Kayla Koehmstedt Top Salesperson. These awards were sponsored by Rugby Homes, the Windshield Dr., and Center Mutual Insurance.

The 2012 Rugby FFA Proficiency Awards are as follows:

Ag Mechanics Repair and Maintenance Joe Cennamo, Jordan McCoy, Karson DeMers, Dillen Volk, and Ryan Harmel. Dillen and Ryan were selected as state qualifiers and received a gold award. Sponsoring this award is Gooseneck Implement and Marv’s Construction.

Ag Processing Zach Baillie was named a state qualifier and earned a gold award. Rugby Eagles Club is the sponsor of this award.

Ag Sales Jordan Brossart was named a state qualifier from District 3, earning a gold individual award. This award is sponsored by Rugby Lumber and Hardware Hank.

Ag Services Kaelin Schneider was selected as a state qualifier and earned a gold award. Also receiving a gold award was Kyle Halvorson. These awards were sponsored by Heart of America Ag Services and Schneider Aerial Spraying.

Beef Production Entrepreneurship Brian Jordan earned a gold award and was selected as a state qualifier. These awards are sponsored by Rugby Livestock and Schneider’s Custom Hauling.

Beef Production Placement Nikki Atkinson, Travis Burgard, Brody Haakenson, Nate Bohl, Jesse Mitzel, and Jaedon Haman. Travis and Jaedon earned a gold award and have been selected as state qualifiers. This award is sponsored by Rugby Livestock and Bremer Bank.

Diversified Agriculture Production Hunter Tuchscherer, Alex Senger, Maverick Gronvold, Sheldon Thompson, and Matt Mattern. Sheldon and Matt both earned gold awards and have been selected as state qualifiers. This award is sponsored by Precision Auto Body and Farm Credit Services.

Diversified Livestock Production – MyKell Bosch earned a silver award. This award is sponsored by Rugby Vet Service and Farm Credit Services.

Food Science Benji Miller and Sam Wurgler. These awards are sponsored by McGuires.

Forage Production Preston Vetsch and Kylie Scherr both earned gold awards, and Preston is a state qualifier. These awards are being sponsored by Farmers Union Insurance and Berube Crop Insurance.

Small Animal Production Patricia Pfeifer earned a silver award and is a state qualifier. Sponsoring this award is Voeller Crop Insurance.

Turf Grass Management Jack McClintock earned a gold award and was named a state qualifier for this award. This award is being sponsored by St. Michel Furniture.

Wildlife Production Austin Harmel was named a state qualifier and earned a gold award. Sponsoring this award is C & H Repair.

The Rugby Star Chapter Farmer award winner was Brian Jordan. This award is sponsored by Hartley’s School Bus Service and Gault’s Trucking. Josh Pfeifer was given the Star Chapter Agribuisiness Award. Northern Equipment and Harper Oil sponsored this award. Receiving the Star Chapter Ag Placement Award was Jaedon Haman. This award is sponsored by Pierce County Farm Bureau. Abagail Volk was name the Outstanding Junior High Member. Deplazes Redi-Mix was the sponsor of this award. Matt Johnson was awarded with the 2013 Dekalb award. The FFA Achievement Award went to Nikki Atkinson. Sponsoring this award is B & J Excavating. Cole Genetzky was named the Outstanding FFA Member. This award is sponsored by Northern Equipment. Receiving the Ed Volk Leadership Scholarship of $500 was Matt Johnson. Sheldon Thompson was the recipient for the Bennie Selland Memorial Scholarship of $500. Receiving the Rugby FFA Meat Science Scholarship of $500 was Sheldon Thompson. Matt Johnson was awarded the Rugby FFA Foundation Scholarship of $500. Kaelin Schneider was the recipient of the the Richard Heilman Memorial Scholarship of$500.

The Rugby FFA Alumni was honored to give away two high school scholarships and three college scholarships. Sheldon Thompson received a high school scholarship for $1000, and Matt Johnson was awarded a $650 scholarship. Josh Stutrud was awarded the $1000 college scholarship, followed by Chris Fedje and Monica Pritchett, who each received $650 scholarships.

The following businesses were sponsors for this event: B & J Excavating, Berube Crop Insurance, Bremer Bank, C & H Repair, Cenex, Center Mutual Insurance, D & S Motors, Deplazes Redi-Mix, Farm Credit Services, Farmers Union Insurance, Farmers Union Elevator, Fossum Trucking, Gault’s Trucking, Gooseneck Implement, H E Everson’s, Hardware Hank, Harper Oil, Hartley’s School Bus, Heart of America Ag Services, Marv’s Construction, McGuires, Merchants Bank, Nodak Mutual Insurance, North Star Community Credit Union, Northern Equipment, Pierce County Farm Bureau, Precision Autobody & Glass, Ramsey Bank, Rugby Eagles, Ray’s Repair, Rugby Homes, Rugby Insurance, Rugby Livestock, Rugby Lumber, Rugby Manufacturing, Rugby Veterinary Service, Rugby Welding, Schneider Aerial Spraying, Schneider Custom Hauling, Schmaltz Farms, St. Michel Furniture, Subway, Voeller Crop Insurance, and Windshield Doctor.

– Submitted by Nikki Fideldy, Rugby FFA