Pillatzki Selected as Milbank FFA Chapter President

Abigail Pillatzki will be the Milbank FFA Chapter President for 2022-2023. Pillatzki was elected at the annual FFA member and parent banquet on May 11. Additional FFA senior chapter officers were also elected and include: Vice President, Veronica Fonder; Secretary, Keara VanHoorn; Treasurer, Raul Berrones; Reporter, Nicholas Fonder; Sentinel, Tice Muru; Student Adviser, Landon Novy; Parliamentarian, Luis Berrones; and Community-Student Relations, Lydia Street. The officers form the Milbank FFA Executive Board that plans and conducts FFA activities throughout the year. The chapter will also have a new adviser next fall as Jerry Janisch plans to retire this summer.

L. Berrones was also selected to receive the chapter’s Member of the Year Award. The award goes to the student who is the most involved. L. Berrones served as the 2021-2022 parliamentarian for Milbank and was a member of the Senior Parliamentary Procedure Career Development team that participated in the South Dakota State FFA Leadership Parliament Procedure event. He also entered Meat Evaluation Career Development events. Throughout the year, L. Berrones worked on chapter projects, activities, and fundraisers. Janisch said, “When given a project, Luis will make sure the project is completed to its fullest.”

Korbin Leddy received the Seize the Moment – Justin Maass Award. The award is voted on by the Milbank FFA members and given to the student who best represents enthusiasm and dedication for the chapter. He received a plaque from the Lynn and Brenda Maass family in memory of their son, Justin Maass.  He was also awarded scholarships from the South Dakota FFA Association. During the year, he participated in the Employment Skill Leadership Development event at the state level and Natural Resources at the 2022 South Dakota State FFA Convention.

V. Fonder was named the Star FFA Greenhand — the top award given to a first-year Milbank FFA member who is also a Greenhand member. She placed in the South Dakota State FFA Creed Speaking in December and served on Milbank’s milk quality team that participated in the 2022 South Dakota State FFA Convention. V. Fonder also was involved in the meal the chapter provided for first responders during National FFA Week, and she participated in fruit sales and several other fundraisers.

Natalie Meyer earned Star FFA Chapter Placement. Star FFA Chapter Placement is the top award given to the student who is involved in agriculture placement as part of the FFA member-supervised agriculture experience project. Meyer worked at Subway as part of her project and was also a member of the Milbank FFA’s food science team. She received her South Dakota State FFA degree in April.

Kaden Leddy received the Star Chapter Production Award — the top award for the student who is involved in agriculture production as part of their supervised agriculture experience project. He was recognized for taking an active role in the family dairy farm, being a member of the Milbank agronomy team, conducting fruit sales, and working on chapter activities.
Shane Spiering, Cailey Sime, Harley Davis, and Natalie Meyer each received a Leadership Award. The awards are given to FFA members who “stepped outside the box” to try different things, kept the group going, and stayed with a project until the end. 

Scholarship awards based on the student’s grade point average in the agriculture education course throughout the 2021-2022 school year were presented to: Emmett Hanson, freshman; Grace Weston, sophomore; L. Berrones, junior; and Kaden Leddy, senior.

Photo- Back Row–Luis Berrones, Raul Berrones, Tice Mursu, Landon Novy, Keara VanHoornFront–Lydia Street, Veronica Fonder, Abigail Pillatzki, Nicholas Fonder