Decorah FFA to celebrate its 75th anniversary this coming Saturday

This coming Saturday, February 11th, the Decorah FFA is celebrating its 75th anniversary with an open house from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Danan Lansing building at the Winneshiek County Fairgounds.  The open house is open to past FFA members, past and present parents and to members of the public.  A light meal will be served at no cost.  Many FFA items will be on display, such as paraphernalia used throughout the years, chapter scrapbooks and trophies and plaques won by the chapter.

The Decorah FFA dates back to the 1935-1936 school year, when Kenneth Reeves was hired to begin a brand new program for the Decorah Community Schools.  As part of the new agriculture program, the school applied for—and was granted on February 5th, 1937--a charter to begin a brand new chapter of what was then called "Future Farmers of America."

The name "Future Farmers of America" changed to "The National FFA Organization" in 1988 to reflect a broader base of students interested in what is now being referred to as "Agricultural Education" or "AgriScience."

The past 75 years have seen a number of major accomplishments for the Decorah FFA:
*One National FFA Dairy Judging Champion Team and a trip to the International Dairy Judging Contest in Scotland
* 4 State FFA Dairy Judging champion teams
* 4 State FFA Champion Leadership Career Development individuals or teams with numerous top ten and state runners-up finishes.
*Two State FFA Officers
*10 Northeast District FFA Officers
*11 American FFA Degree Recipients
*115 Iowa FFA Degree Recipients
*20 National FFA Chorus Members
*5 National FFA Band Members
*One state FFA Idol champion
*66 Dekalb Achievement Award Winners
*The first female FFA member in Iowa (Johanna Seegmiller in 1969)

The Decorah FFA is currently one of the largest FFA chapters in the state of Iowa, its 111 members ranking it in the top 15 of around 225 FFA chapters in Iowa.

Decorah FFA Advisors from 1937 to the present:
Kenneth Reeves-1937-1967
Roger Hare-1968
Harold White-1969
James Boyle-1970-1972
Dennis Rud-1973-1980
Rick Twedt-1980-present