Amy Leitch, Joel diebel are ffa stars
In 1949, Bruce Krohn became the first. Since then, 21 hard-working young men and women have followed his lead, making their mark as successful students and positive role models in agriculture and beyond.
They’ve all been FFA Stars Over Michigan and they’ve all represented one very successful chapter – the Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker FFA.
The jaw-dropping number of trophies and plaques on display in the FFA room and around Laker High School is proof of this success, along with the number of Stars Over Michigan the chapter has had over the years. Longtime Laker FFA adviser/ag teacher Don Wheeler said for a chapter to have a Star Over Michigan every so often is pretty typical for FFA chapters.
“To have the number we’ve had is unheard of,” he said.
This year, Amy Leitch and Joel Diebel brought home these special awards from the FFA State Convention. Leitch received the Star in Placement category and Diebel won the Star in Agribusiness category. Both were honored at the Laker FFA spring banquet recently.
Star finalists were selected from a pool of close to 400 FFA students across the state who excelled in their FFA supervised agricultural experience, earned and invested $2,000, performed 25 hours of community service and received their FFA Chapter Degree. These 400 students were chosen from several thousand FFA students in Michigan.
There are only four categories for the Star award, so for Lakers to take home two in one year is phenomenal, Wheeler added. This also occurred in 2012, when Nathan Krohn and Jeff Diebel (Joel’s brother) brought home Star awards.
The Laker FFA also has had seven Star finalists since 1992.
Leitch, daughter of Angie Peyerk and Jim Leitch, is the vice president of the Laker FFA chapter and is a senior. She said receiving the Star in Placement award is “a really big honor and a really good opportunity – it should open a lot of doors for me. It showed how my hard work and dedication have paid off.”
Leitch has been in the FFA since eighth grade, but she’s been involved in agriculture most of her life.
“I’ve shown pigs (at the county fair) since I was 7,” she said.
Her family raises goats and Leitch has worked for three years at Zwemmer Dairy Farm.
“Animals have been a big part of my life,” she said.
In addition, four generations of her family have operated a maple syrup business.
As a younger student at Lakers, she saw how much fun FFA students were having and she knew when she was able to join, she would.
Over her years in the FFA, Leitch has been part of several activities, including Conduct of Meetings, Poultry, Soil Judging, Ag Issues, Quiz Bowl, Demonstration, and Veterinary Science. She’s competed in many state and national conventions and attended the Washington Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. in 2013.
This year, Leitch also received a Proficiency Award in Diversified Production at the FFA state convention, along with a top state degree.
Leitch has accomplished many feats during her years in the FFA, and one of her proudest accomplishments, she said, was being state runner-up in Demonstration. It was an area she wasn’t very familiar with, but she gave it her all and was pleased with the results.
While she’s made many wonderful memories in FFA, one of her favorites occurred in her first year. She said she and her FFA teammates were on a bus ride and they burst out in song – just for the fun of it.
“We just started singing ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ (by Journey) at the top of our lungs,” she said.
With this being her last year at Lakers, it’s been an emotional time in the FFA, knowing each experience will be her last. She said each year in the FFA, she’s wanted to reach new goals.
“Every year has been a little tougher than the last,” she said. “You set yourself to a higher standard that you want to beat. (This year), I wanted to go out with a bang.”
Leitch plans to attend Michigan State University to study animal nutrition.
Diebel, like Leitch, is involved in his family’s business – a metal fabrication business. He’s 25 percent owner and shares ownership with his father, Jeff, and his brother. Diebel helps in planning, making and selling parts and takes care of the bookkeeping.
Also like Leitch, Diebel has been involved in the FFA since eighth grade and has been involved in many activities: Conduct of meetings, agronomy, ag mechanics and poultry. The senior also has worked in the FFA Community Garden project. He said going to the national competition and earning a bronze medal in Conduct of Meetings was his favorite FFA experience overall.
This year, Diebel also received a Proficiency Award in Ag Mechanics at the FFA state convention, along with a top state degree.
He said being involved in the FFA allowed him to learn leadership skills and he’s enjoyed the opportunity to try new activities and “get outside my comfort zone.”
The Star in Agribusiness award is a special honor and a great way to round out his time with the Laker FFA, he said.
“I see I’ve worked harder than most and my hard work has paid off,” he said. “How much work you put into something is what you get out of it.”
Diebel said it’s been rewarding to be a part of such a successful chapter. He said the Laker FFA has achieved so much because “we have an excellent teacher who is good at getting people involved in events.”
“The more people you have involved, the more contests you can enter and win,” he added.
His plans after high school involve attending Delta College and getting an accounting degree. He would like to be a certified public accountant someday and work locally, because he still wants to be able to work in the family business “as a hobby.”
They’ve all been FFA Stars Over Michigan and they’ve all represented one very successful chapter – the Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker FFA.
The jaw-dropping number of trophies and plaques on display in the FFA room and around Laker High School is proof of this success, along with the number of Stars Over Michigan the chapter has had over the years. Longtime Laker FFA adviser/ag teacher Don Wheeler said for a chapter to have a Star Over Michigan every so often is pretty typical for FFA chapters.
“To have the number we’ve had is unheard of,” he said.
This year, Amy Leitch and Joel Diebel brought home these special awards from the FFA State Convention. Leitch received the Star in Placement category and Diebel won the Star in Agribusiness category. Both were honored at the Laker FFA spring banquet recently.
Star finalists were selected from a pool of close to 400 FFA students across the state who excelled in their FFA supervised agricultural experience, earned and invested $2,000, performed 25 hours of community service and received their FFA Chapter Degree. These 400 students were chosen from several thousand FFA students in Michigan.
There are only four categories for the Star award, so for Lakers to take home two in one year is phenomenal, Wheeler added. This also occurred in 2012, when Nathan Krohn and Jeff Diebel (Joel’s brother) brought home Star awards.
The Laker FFA also has had seven Star finalists since 1992.
Leitch, daughter of Angie Peyerk and Jim Leitch, is the vice president of the Laker FFA chapter and is a senior. She said receiving the Star in Placement award is “a really big honor and a really good opportunity – it should open a lot of doors for me. It showed how my hard work and dedication have paid off.”
Leitch has been in the FFA since eighth grade, but she’s been involved in agriculture most of her life.
“I’ve shown pigs (at the county fair) since I was 7,” she said.
Her family raises goats and Leitch has worked for three years at Zwemmer Dairy Farm.
“Animals have been a big part of my life,” she said.
In addition, four generations of her family have operated a maple syrup business.
As a younger student at Lakers, she saw how much fun FFA students were having and she knew when she was able to join, she would.
Over her years in the FFA, Leitch has been part of several activities, including Conduct of Meetings, Poultry, Soil Judging, Ag Issues, Quiz Bowl, Demonstration, and Veterinary Science. She’s competed in many state and national conventions and attended the Washington Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. in 2013.
This year, Leitch also received a Proficiency Award in Diversified Production at the FFA state convention, along with a top state degree.
Leitch has accomplished many feats during her years in the FFA, and one of her proudest accomplishments, she said, was being state runner-up in Demonstration. It was an area she wasn’t very familiar with, but she gave it her all and was pleased with the results.
While she’s made many wonderful memories in FFA, one of her favorites occurred in her first year. She said she and her FFA teammates were on a bus ride and they burst out in song – just for the fun of it.
“We just started singing ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ (by Journey) at the top of our lungs,” she said.
With this being her last year at Lakers, it’s been an emotional time in the FFA, knowing each experience will be her last. She said each year in the FFA, she’s wanted to reach new goals.
“Every year has been a little tougher than the last,” she said. “You set yourself to a higher standard that you want to beat. (This year), I wanted to go out with a bang.”
Leitch plans to attend Michigan State University to study animal nutrition.
Diebel, like Leitch, is involved in his family’s business – a metal fabrication business. He’s 25 percent owner and shares ownership with his father, Jeff, and his brother. Diebel helps in planning, making and selling parts and takes care of the bookkeeping.
Also like Leitch, Diebel has been involved in the FFA since eighth grade and has been involved in many activities: Conduct of meetings, agronomy, ag mechanics and poultry. The senior also has worked in the FFA Community Garden project. He said going to the national competition and earning a bronze medal in Conduct of Meetings was his favorite FFA experience overall.
This year, Diebel also received a Proficiency Award in Ag Mechanics at the FFA state convention, along with a top state degree.
He said being involved in the FFA allowed him to learn leadership skills and he’s enjoyed the opportunity to try new activities and “get outside my comfort zone.”
The Star in Agribusiness award is a special honor and a great way to round out his time with the Laker FFA, he said.
“I see I’ve worked harder than most and my hard work has paid off,” he said. “How much work you put into something is what you get out of it.”
Diebel said it’s been rewarding to be a part of such a successful chapter. He said the Laker FFA has achieved so much because “we have an excellent teacher who is good at getting people involved in events.”
“The more people you have involved, the more contests you can enter and win,” he added.
His plans after high school involve attending Delta College and getting an accounting degree. He would like to be a certified public accountant someday and work locally, because he still wants to be able to work in the family business “as a hobby.”
brandon Krohn receives top junior award in state
Another top performer in the Laker FFA chapter is Brandon Krohn, who received the top Outstanding Junior Award out of 150 juniors statewide who competed. The award focuses on those juniors who have been involved in many FFA and ag-related activities. Krohn – honored at the recent Laker FFA spring banquet - certainly fits the bill (he's pictured here with Amy Leitch).
Krohn, whose parents are Jeff and Stephanie, is part owner of the family farm of 2,000 acres, which also is owned by his father and his brother, Nathan (who earned an FFA Star award in 2012). Krohn also rents 30 acres on his own. He grew black beans last year and this year, he’s growing wheat. He works part time for Herford and Sons, too.
He’s taken feeder steer to the county fair for seven years, as well.
With the Laker FFA, Krohn has competed in the ag issues, agronomy and soil judging events. He said being a part of the ag issues team is his favorite. This year, the ag issues team focused on the pros and cons of wind turbines in the Thumb. The team placed fifth in the state.
“I get to accomplish goals and share achievements with my teammates,” he said.
Krohn is one of 17 juniors from Lakers to receive an Outstanding Junior Award, but he is the top in the state, which is a wonderful reward for his hard work.
“I was able to be one of the most successful out of a lot of students,” he said.
As a member of the FFA, Krohn is learning important lifelong skills, such as working with other people with different viewpoints than his own.
“Not everyone is like you and you have to work with that,” he said.
Krohn recently was selected to be on the 2014-15 board of directors for the Laker FFA chapter. He hopes to be a regional officer. He expects his senior year to be even busier than his junior year with the FFA.
After high school, he plans to attend Michigan State University and then move on to a two-year gunsmithing program in Denver, CO. Gunsmithing is something he’s enjoyed for many years, he said.
Krohn is very thankful to be a member of an FFA chapter that has accomplished so much.
“It’s been rewarding to be part of a group with so many successful students,” he said. “By being a member of the Laker FFA, it’s taught me what a great organization can do.”
Krohn, whose parents are Jeff and Stephanie, is part owner of the family farm of 2,000 acres, which also is owned by his father and his brother, Nathan (who earned an FFA Star award in 2012). Krohn also rents 30 acres on his own. He grew black beans last year and this year, he’s growing wheat. He works part time for Herford and Sons, too.
He’s taken feeder steer to the county fair for seven years, as well.
With the Laker FFA, Krohn has competed in the ag issues, agronomy and soil judging events. He said being a part of the ag issues team is his favorite. This year, the ag issues team focused on the pros and cons of wind turbines in the Thumb. The team placed fifth in the state.
“I get to accomplish goals and share achievements with my teammates,” he said.
Krohn is one of 17 juniors from Lakers to receive an Outstanding Junior Award, but he is the top in the state, which is a wonderful reward for his hard work.
“I was able to be one of the most successful out of a lot of students,” he said.
As a member of the FFA, Krohn is learning important lifelong skills, such as working with other people with different viewpoints than his own.
“Not everyone is like you and you have to work with that,” he said.
Krohn recently was selected to be on the 2014-15 board of directors for the Laker FFA chapter. He hopes to be a regional officer. He expects his senior year to be even busier than his junior year with the FFA.
After high school, he plans to attend Michigan State University and then move on to a two-year gunsmithing program in Denver, CO. Gunsmithing is something he’s enjoyed for many years, he said.
Krohn is very thankful to be a member of an FFA chapter that has accomplished so much.
“It’s been rewarding to be part of a group with so many successful students,” he said. “By being a member of the Laker FFA, it’s taught me what a great organization can do.”