HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — Three Maryland FFA Chapters have earned national “Star Chapter” awards from the National FFA Association. Boonsboro FFA Chapter earned Three Stars, Parkside FFA earned Two Stars and North Garrett earned One Star. They have been recognized in 2020 National Chapter Award Program from the National FFA Organization.
The program recognizes outstanding FFA chapters from throughout the country that actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization. These chapters improve chapter operations using the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards and a Program of Activities that emphasizes growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture. Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership.
Chapters that received star ratings during judging in late July will be recognized at the 2020 National FFA Convention & Expo, Oct. 28-31 in Indianapolis.
All star-rated FFA chapters receive honors made possible by corporate sponsor John Deere.
“Feeding some 9 billion people by mid-century brings with it unprecedented challenges for today’s farmers,” said Amy Allen, manager, national corporate contributions for John Deere. “The skills and experiences learned though the National Chapter Award Program will help meet the critical needs.”
FFA provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 760,113 student members who belong to one of 8,739 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation is a 501c3 non-governmental nonprofit established in 1989. Through the Maryland FFA, teacher workshops, scholarships, grants, Mobile Labs and Showcases, and revenues from the Ag Tag license plate sales, the Foundation pursues its mission to promote the understanding and appreciation of the importance of agriculture in everyone’s lives. The Maryland FFA Association’s staff team is partially funded through a $40,000 federal Perkins grant facilitated by the Maryland State Department of Education. The Maryland FFA Association has 2,500 student members in 54 local chapters throughout the state.
For more information, please contact Naomi Knight at knight@maefonline.com.
–Amie McDaniels, Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation
