At the 94th annual Ohio FFA Convention held May 5-6 in the Celeste Center at the Ohio Expo Center, East Knox FFA seniors Trenton Comer and Andrew Poff and junior Ethan Phillis received their State FFA Degrees. This is the highest degree that an FFA member can receive at the state level and is earned by only about 2% of the state membership. To receive this award, the members had to complete the 14-page degree application, then submit it to the county and district levels before the final evaluation at the state level.
Requirements for the degree include having net earnings from Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects of at least $2,500, productively investing a minimum of $2,000, serving as an FFA officer or committee member, participating in FFA career development events on the state level, completing school and professional activities, participating in at least eight FFA activities above the chapter level, completing a minimum of 25 hours of community service, having a satisfactory GPA, and having at least 93% attendance at school.
Ethan Phillis’ SAE projects include job placement at Mills’ Farms, welding and constructing horse treadmills, and completing home improvement projects. He is serving as the 2022-2023 chapter vice president and was the 2021-2022 chapter Sentinel. Ethan has competed in Poultry, Greenland Quiz, Parliamentary Procedure, and Agricultural Technology and Mechanics Career Development events. He attended state and national FFA conventions, state leadership nights, and district officer training. Ethan is the son of Darren Phillis and Alicia Burwell of Bladensburg.
Job placement at Apple Valley Marina as well as various home improvement projects are Andrew Poff’s Supervised Agricultural Experience projects. Poff has competed in Agricultural Soils, Parliamentary Procedure, Forestry, Nursery Landscape, Wildlife Management, Envirothon, Farm Business Management, and Agricultural Technology and Mechanics Career Development events. He competed in Environmental/Natural Resources in the U.S. Eastern Regional (Big “E”) in Massachusetts in 2019 after finishing second in the state. He was a member of the fourth-place State Agricultural Soils team this year that represented Ohio in the National Land Judging Contest in Oklahoma on May 5. He was also part of the first place State Nursery Landscape team that represented Ohio in the national contest in 2021 in conjunction with the national convention in Indianapolis. He has attended the state FFA convention, state OLLC, district officer training as well as state leadership nights and served as the 2021-2022 East Knox FFA Vice President. Andrew is the son of Richard and Sarah Poff of Howard.
Trenton Comer’s SAE projects include job placement at Mow and Go, as well as placement at Ohio Truck, where he is a welder/fabricator. He has also completed various home improvement projects. He served as the 2021-2022 chapter Student Advisor and was the 2020-2021 chapter parliamentarian. Trenton has competed in forestry, Greenland quiz, parliamentary procedure, poultry, and agricultural technology and mechanics career development events. He attended state and national FFA conventions, state leadership nights, and district officer training. Trenton is the son of Shane Comer and Tara Mertler of Millwood.
This year’s three State Degrees now make 110 total East Knox State FFA Degree recipients since East Knox FFA was chartered in 1964.
