Several Belleville FFA members participated in the Downtown Madison Kiwani's luncheon on March 14th, at the Madison Club.  All Dane County FFA Chapters are invited to this event and the members who attended from Belleville were Adam Laufenberg, Leah Hanna, Tara Hanna, Brianna Halverson and Denise Rankin.  We had lunch and enjoyed conversations with the Kiwani's members, as well as FFA members from the other area chapters.  During this meeting, Tara Hanna received the Louis M. Sasman award for Belleville. This award is given to one member from each Dane County FFA Chapter in recognition of their dedication to FFA and agriculture. Tara was well-deserving of this award!

Melissa Knudson

Adam Laufenberg, Brianna Halverson, Denise Rankin and Leah Hanna with Belleville's Louis M. Sasman Award recipient, Tara Hanna.

Later in that week, on March 19th, Belleville FFA members participated in the Janesville FFA Alumni Career Development judging events at the Rock County Fairgrounds. Members David Statz, Adam Laufenberg, Tara Hanna, Leah Hanna, Brianna Halverson and Amanda Lettman made up our two Livestock judging teams. These teams judged two classes for each species of beef, swine and sheep. They also had to give reasons to justify and explain how and why they placed the class as they did. Denise Rankin participated as an individual in the Dairy Products judging event. This event includes identifying cheeses and milk off-flavors, as well as identifying dairy vs. non-dairy products. All teams had a good morning of judging with other members from around the area.

The next upcoming event is our annual awards banquet, which will be held on Sunday, April 17th, at 7:00 p.m., in the high school commons and auditorium. The evening will begin with a meal and then continue on into the awards ceremony. This night will recognize students for their accomplishments throughout this last year. No reservations are needed and all family, friends, and community members are invited to join us in celebrating and remembering our year!