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Name: Blake VanPelt

Grade: 9

Hometown: Austin, MN

Parents: Bob and Jodi VanPelt

What are some activities you are involved with at Austin FFA?

With this being my first year in FFA, I have been able to participate in Feed the Farmer, Fruit and Butter Braid Sales, Virtual 3rd Grade Day on the Farm, 2020 Virtual FFA Convention, and most recently Virtual Greenhand Camp. As a freshman, I was a member of the Ag Mechanic’s Team, where we finished in first place during the Regional VIII virtual contest, and I personally finished fourth overall. My team is advancing on and we will be competing in the State FFAvirtual contest at the end of April.

What does it mean for you to be involved with FFA?

Being involved in FFA means many things to me, but if I had to choose a couple it would be following a tradition and pride. Both of my parents were in FFA and now I am carrying on that same tradition. The other is pride. I am proud to be involved in an organization like FFA that promotes values like teamwork and leadership, which become more important in the world every day.

What do you hope

to accomplish during your FFA career?

Over the next four years I am looking forward to participating in the Chapters events as they arise. Most of all I am looking forward to getting my SAE started and working through the different areas that it will take me.

What other clubs and activities are you involved in?

Besides being involved with my regular school activities, I am a member of the Enterprise 4-H Club. I do things with our Youth Group at Church, and I enjoy being involved with the Golf Team.

What CDE/LDE/SAE activities do want to explore?

In the future I am looking at possibly participating in extemporaneous speaking or prepared speaking, ag issues and ag sales. I am also looking forward to continuing my SAE and can‘t wait to see how it ends. The possibilities to be involved are endless.

What are your future plans?

I am not really sure where I want to go for school past high school but I will most likely end up at SDSU in Brookings, South Dakota, (GO JACKS!) pursuing a career in precision ag or ag engineering.

Austin Ag Ed/FFA Advisors/Leaders: Kim Schechinger and Nick Schiltz. Follow the Austin Ag Ed/FFA program on Facebook by ‘liking’ the Austin FFA page. Visit the Austin FFA webpage at www.austinffa.theaet.com.