Members of John Paulding VFW Post 587 recently visited Lily Creek Farms near Napoleon, Ohio to present a $5,000 donation to support their therapeutic riding center. 

Lily Creek Farms’ mission is to heal mind, body, and spirit through equine-assisted and other farm related activities.

Lily Creek Farms also offers specialized programming for veterans and their families. These programs include riding and unmounted classes designed to help with the emotional and physical scars of military service.

For more information about Lily Creek Farms visit their website at www.lilycreekfarms.org.

By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

The Paulding FFA Chapter recently competed in the Envirothon at the Williams County Conservation Club on Wednesday April 22th, 2026. 

Envirothon is a competition where different schools from Area 1 take multiple tests and practicums involving the environment. The tests these students took as a team were as follows: Wildlife, Forestry, Soils, and Aquatics and the current issue being Point and Non-Point Source Pollution. 

These students went to a practice day with other schools at Defiance SWCD to prepare and learn more about these topic areas before competing.  

The Paulding FFA Chapter took two teams to compete, consisting of a senior team and a sophomore team. Senior team members were Aleah Matty, Delaney Dachenhaus, Addy Hunt and Jacob Harris and placed an Amazing 5th out of 32 teams. 

The Sophomore team members were Addison Arend, Delaney Johanns, Wesley Grindstaff, Ava Leatherman and Kinzley Collard. This team placed 21st. A special thanks to Paulding SWCD for sponsoring the teams! 

The state contest is June 1-3 in Steubenville Ohio and we are very excited to have a team compete in this once in a lifetime experience. 

The team competing at the state contest will be Aleah Matty, Delaney Dachenhaus, Jacob Harris, Delaney Johanns and Kat Burtch. We want to extend a huge thank you to Paulding SWCD for their support and guidance as we get ready to attend this state event. The team members are very excited to compete to represent Paulding at the State level!

By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

On April 30th, 2026, the Paulding FFA Chapter took twenty-seven students and two FFA Advisors to attend the 98th Ohio FFA State Convention at the Ohio Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Columbus. 

They departed at 10 a.m. in their matching blue FFA convention shirts. On the way down to Columbus, they made a stop at MVP Dairy to receive a tour. They had a nice little museum where students learned about the history of the dairy. Then students took a ride on a tour bus around their barns and saw all of their cows. At the last station, we saw their milking carousel where 80 cows ride on in a circular motion as they get milked, which takes around 10 minutes. The students received free Dannon yogurt as all of the milk MVP Dairy produces goes to Dannon. 

They soon after, arrived at the Drury Inn to unpack their luggage and later enjoyed shopping time at the Polaris mall. For dinner the students were given a meal at the Cheesecake Factory, courtesy of the Paulding FFA Alumni. The group then went to Slick City which was an action park filled with slides, basketball courts, and bouncy floors.

The following morning students ate breakfast at the Drury Inn and put on their official dress to go to convention! They found seats and watched the state FFA officer team take the stage for session one. 

The Paulding FFA Chapter was awarded the charitable giving award for chapters that have given over $500 in donations, this award was accepted by Darcy Taylor. 

After this, the group was given time to explore the expo center and shop. In session two, Addy Hunt and Tori Schlatter accepted the Gold Chapter Award for chapters who have performed exceptionally well in their communities and were rated Gold on their National Chapter Application Paulding FFA was one of twenty-five chapters to receive this award in Ohio. The keynote speaker of this session was Brad Hurtig, who spoke of his difficulties without arms. He told of being able to play football with prosthetic arms and through hard work was able to “dominate the field.” They then ended the day by celebrating Jeff Holtsberry as he received his State Honorary Degree award! Jeff is our bus driver and has been supporting our FFA Chapter for over 15 years. 

On the third day of the trip, FFA chapter secretaries, treasurers, and reporters received Gold rated book awards for outstanding work done on their books. Myrriah Manz received a secretary book award, Mariah Klopfenstein received a treasurer book award, and Vivienne Myers received a reporter book award. 

The chapter then received state winning plaques for Aquarium and Ag Biotechnology. Congratulations to both teams. Students also got to see Carter Boyd give his retiring speech as the State FFA President. In his speech, Boyd encouraged everyone to discover their interests and who they are. State FFA degrees were also awarded to qualifying students from across Ohio. The Paulding FFA Chapter’s State Degree Recipients were as follows: Avery Cooper, Kayleigh Dunham, Jayla Griffith, Mariah Klopfenstein, Mackenzie Leatherman, Kate Manz, Myrriah Manz, Gannon Parrett, Addy Pease, Estie Pease, Tori Schlatter and Riley Stork!

The 98th annual FFA state convention was an amazing way to see the fruits of our chapter’s labors and give students lessons on the value of hard work. 

The chapter could not have succeeded without the contributions of the community and we are so grateful for their support. We are so thankful for the Paulding FFA Alumni and their support of our chapter. The state convention was a major success and we are looking forward to attending again next year!

By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

On Saturday, April 11th, 2026 the Paulding FFA chapter held its 99th Annual FFA Banquet. Several people attended the banquet including community, alumni, and staff members. There were 395 people who attended the banquet. The theme for this year’s banquet was “Time Marches On.”

Several awards were given to community and FFA members at the banquet. Members who met the qualifications for Greenhand or Chapter degrees received them. We also recognized twelve students who have earned their state degrees; they will receive their certificates and pins at the State FFA Convention in May. Those members include: Avery Cooper, Kayleigh Dunham, Jayla Griffith, Mariah Klopfenstein, Mackenzie Leatherman, Kate Manz, Myrriah Manz, Gannon Parrett, Addison Pease, Estie Pease, Tori Schlatter, and Riley Stork. In addition, we recognized twelve members who will be receiving their American degrees at the FFA national convention this coming fall. The American degree is the highest degree an FFA member can receive. These members included: Matthew Bail, Anna Clemens, Harley Collins, Grace Goings, Maci Kauser, Brooke Kilgore, Jalyn Klopfenstein, Jonathan Lipps, Marley Parrett, Hopeful Rose, Brooklyn Schlatter, and Kadence Thomas. 

The Blue and Gold Award was given to three individuals to acknowledge all that they have done to help out the Paulding FFA chapter this year. This year’s winners were Mr. Gary Gilbert, Heidi Kauser, and Mr. Jordan Streicher. The Honorary FFA degree was also awarded to Erin Johanns, Jeff Holtsberry, and Kim Couts. Any member who participated in a CDE (career development event) throughout the year received a certificate and pin for their jacket for their outstanding work. Star awards were handed out to a select few students from each grade who showed leadership not only in the classroom, but also in their community and FFA programs and activities. Kendall Kohart and Makenna Manz received the star Greenhand, Ava Leatherman and Delaney Johanns received the star Chapter farmer, Myrriah Manz received the star 3rd year member, Jacob Harris received the star 4th year member, Remington Boroff received the Quiet leader award, Kinzely Collard received the star in Community Service, and Darcy Taylor received the Ag Credit 110% award. The Paulding FFA Alumni awarded scholarships of $200 to Marley Parrett (book scholarship), $200 to Grace Goyings (book scholarship), $350 to Lucy Breier, $500 to Kaitlynn Breedlove, $750 to Jacob Harris, $950 to Jackson Griffith, $950 to Addison Pease, and $1100 to Addison Hunt. 

Chapter President, Addison Hunt, gave an inspirational speech encouraging members to find good friends. Finally, it was time for the installation of the new officers. The 2026-2027 officers are as follows: President- Darcy Taylor, Vice President- Myrriah Manz, Secretary- Delaney Johanns, Treasurer- Ava Leatherman, Reporter- Makenna Manz, Sentinel- Kinzley Collard, Student Advisor- Vivienne Myers, Parliamentarian- Gabby Stork, Chaplin- Remington Boroff, and Historian- Nolan Schlatter. We want to thank everyone who came out to the banquet and the community who made the great year we had possible!

By: Vivienne Myers, Paulding FFA Reporter

On Saturday, March 21st  the Paulding FFA Chapter hosted Arlington FFA for a mini ag basketball tournament.  

Ag ball is for all FFA students that do not normally play basketball with a new rule this year being we could have 1 basketball player on the court if wanted. Paulding has participated in ag basketball for the last several years. Our chapter loves to participate and have fun. It also allows members to mingle with other chapters in the nearby area. Paulding FFA Ag ball team was victorious, winning against Arlington in two out of three games. 

The team was made up of Colten Hunt, Jackson Griffith, Grady Arend, Jose Gonzale, Juice Pessefall, Ridge Hunt, Magdiel Lopez, and Wes Grindstaff with Coaches Gannon Parrett and Zach Barton. Some game highlights included Grady Arend hitting 6 three-point shots. Ridge Hunt and Wes Grindstaff were the best dressed basketball players. We had 2 seniors who have played throughout their high school career which were Colten Hunt and Jackson Griffith.  

The Paulding FFA team received a plaque to commemorate the 2026 tournament. Everyone had a lot of fun playing basketball along with the students who were there cheering on our team.  We are looking forward to next year’s tournament and are thankful that Arlington was able to attend this year, it was a blast to watch.  

February 23rd-27th, the Paulding FFA Chapter celebrated National FFA Week by having many events throughout the district. During this week, every day was a dress-up day for the elementary, middle, and high school. 

When students entered the building on Monday there was an FFA emblem scavenger hunt in all the buildings and once a student found an emblem they turned it in for a candy prize! It was so fun to see the students in all grades finding hidden emblems all week. 

Monday was sleepy farmer day, where students got to wear their pajamas with boots. The FFA officers also made a quiz to educate the entire high school about agriculture in Paulding County. The students took the quiz and once they got 100% they were given a cookie donated by Ag Credit. 

On Tuesday, we had Show Day, where students wore fair show clothing like boots and nice flannels. The Paulding FFA also held their 3rd annual Farmer Appreciation breakfast to give back to the community and all the farmers for all of their support. 

On Wednesday, the dress-up day was Redneck Day. 

Thursday was FFA shirt day where the chapter hosted our annual staff appreciation lunch. 

Friday’s dress-up day was patriotic cowboys day. The Paulding FFA hosted its annual Country Olympics with the entire high school in attendance. The students competed in a wide variety of games and competitions with their teams. These games consisted of balloon stomp, pie eating contest, tug of war, seed spitting, cattle roping, musical chairs, a sack race, a wheelbarrow race, and a milking contest. Blayne Pease and Blake Rhonehouse were the cornhole champions for 2026 and claimed their prize of $100 cash at the end of the games. 

The students had an enjoyable day at the Country Olympics and are very excited for next year. We want to give a big thanks to everyone for their support and dedication to the Paulding FFA Chapter! 

By: Asia Brubaker

On Saturday, the 21st, the Fairview FFA Chapter held its annual Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction. The event brought together community members, families, and supporters for a morning of great food, all while supporting our local chapter.

As a chapter, we would like to give a huge thank-you to the many local businesses and community members who donated items for the silent auction or gave their time to help make the event a success. Your continued support means so much to our chapter and directly impacts the opportunities available to our members.

Because of the generosity of our community, this year’s Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction was another success. We are incredibly grateful for the support and look forward to representing Fairview as 11 of our members receive their State FFA Degrees this spring. 

By: Vivi Myers, Paulding FFA Reporter 

At the end of January, the Paulding FFA secretary, treasurer, and reporter’s books were evaluated and graded. 

The chapter received  a GOLD rating on all three record books. The chapter is so proud of Myrriah Manz, Mariah Klopfenstein, and Vivi Myers for all of their hard work in earning a triple crown for their chapter. 

For the secretary book, Myrriah Manz had to collect all of the meeting minutes and agendas from the year. She also had to write programs for the activities, keep attendance records, and collect correspondence from this school year.

For the treasurer book, Mariah Klopfenstein had to take month-by-month reports and balance the account based on what came in, and what is left in the account. She had to figure out each student’s financial records and kept records of the receipts and disbursements. Mariah also had to keep reports of the beginning and ending balance for each meeting. 

For the reporter’s book, Vivi Myers had to write and then collect newspaper articles and pictures throughout the year to use in the scrapbook. She had to put captions under all the pictures she used and make sure that every page was decorated nicely. 

These officers did an amazing job and our chapter is very proud of all of the hard work that they put into their books. They will each get to walk across the stage at the Ohio FFA State Convention in May for their Gold Ratings.

AgCredit, one of northern Ohio’s largest lenders for farmers, rural homeowners and agribusiness, recently announced that it is awarding $135,900 in Mission Fund grants to 14 community organizations in support of their efforts to improve the quality of life in communities primarily within the cooperative’s 18-county service territory. 

Paulding FFA is one of this year’s recipients of the grant, receiving $12,600.00. These funds will be used to make repairs to the FFA’s commercial-grade greenhouse. The greenhouse was constructed in 2007 and is operated and maintained by Paulding Exempted Village Schools and the Ag Education students. It offers students valuable, hands-on experience in managing and operating a commercial greenhouse. 

“We’re proud to be able to invest in the local community for projects like this, where students are learning and understanding the positive impact of agriculture in their communities”, said Matt Adams, AgCredit Lending Manager. 

Now in its eighth year, the Mission Fund supports AgCredit’s commitment to investing in the future of agriculture and positively impacting the quality of life in rural Ohio. Recipients were selected based on their proposals to meet criteria in one or more of four key areas: Education, environment, technology and quality of rural life. 

Following are all of AgCredit’s 2025 Mission Fund grant recipients:

• Bellevue Fire Department, Huron County, $10,000

• Central Lorain County Joint Ambulance District, Lorain County, $10,000

• Fort Jennings Volunteer Fire Department, Putnam County, $8,000

• Lucas County Ag Society, Lucas County, $15,000

• Ottawa Volunteer Fire Department, Putnam County, $2,026.76

• Paulding FFA, Paulding County, $12,600

• Payne Fire Association, Paulding County, $7,500

• Pemberville Freedom Fire Department, Wood County, $5,000

• Portage Fire District Firefighters Association, Ottawa County, $6,000

• Putnam County Rabbit Poultry Committee, Putnam County, $14,850

• Van Wert County Ag Society, Van Wert County, $15,000

• Vermillion FFA, Erie County, $7,500

• Western Reserve Ag Ed Department, Huron County, $7,500

• Wyandot County Ag Society, Wyandot County, $15,000

Organizations may apply for Mission Fund grants of up to $15,000 per year. The 2026 application process will begin in March, and funds will be distributed by Dec. 31. For more information about the lending cooperative or the Mission Fund, visit AgCredit.net.

By: Paulding FFA Reporter, Vivienne Myers

This past Tuesday, August 26th, the Paulding FFA Chapter held its first meeting of the 2025-2026 school year. This kickoff meeting included first-year FFA members as well as returning members and their parents to give them an introduction to the Paulding FFA Chapter. At this meeting, there were over 150 members and parents in attendance along with many FFA Alumni members. Dinner was provided by the FFA Alumni with   classic sausage sandwiches as well as chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. The meeting was arranged into three stations for the members. The stations consisted of officers explaining different CDE’s with hands-on activities, icebreakers so members could get to know each other, and fun games like volleyball and spikeball for members to get to know each other and the office team. While new members were going through these stations with the officers, their parents were with the FFA advisors receiving a walkthrough of the chapter’s expectations, opportunities, and events.This meeting provided an excellent opportunity for parents and students to better know this year’s officers, advisors, and the chapter. The Paulding FFA is excited for a new school year full of new memories and experiences!