Paulding FFA Attends the 97th Annual Ohio FFA State Convention
By: Vivienne Myers, Paulding FFA Reporter
On April 30th, 2025 the Paulding FFA Chapter took 37 students and 4 staff members to attend the 97th Ohio FFA State Convention at the Ohio Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Columbus.
They departed at 10 a.m. in their matching red convention shirts. Later, they arrived at the Drury Inn to unpack their luggage and afterwards enjoyed shopping time at the Polaris mall. After going to Polaris they were given a guided tour of the Ohio State University Horseshoe, a nickname for their famous football field, as it was under preparations for the college’s graduation ceremonies.
For dinner the students were given a meal at the Cheesecake Factory, courtesy of the Paulding FFA alumni.
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 Johnathan Lipps. After this, the group was given time to explore the expo center and shop. In session two, Grace Goyings and Jalyn Klopfenstein 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 1 of 21 chapters to receive this award in Ohio. The keynote speaker of this session was John Bedee, who spoke of his extreme experiences that include swimming with sharks and climbing Mount Everest. His message was that sometimes, for the sake of progress, one must take a leap to forget their fear. That night students enjoyed a pizza dinner at Scene 75, a popular family arcade. Students received passes that allowed them to play games, go on rides, and even sing karaoke.
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. Brooklyn Schlatter received a secretary book award, Brooke Kilgore received a treasurer book award, and Addison Hunt received a reporter book award. Students also got to see Anna Moeller give her retiring speech as the State FFA President.
In her speech, Moeller described her FFA journey from high school and how her faith and family have left a lasting impact on her life. After her speech, State FFA degrees were awarded to qualifying students from across Ohio.
The Paulding FFA Chapter’s State Degree Recipients were as follows: Grady Barton, Harley Collins, Jackson Griffith, Addison Hunt, Colten Hunt, Blake Rhonehouse, Thad Schneider, and Kadence Thomas.
The 97th 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. The state convention was a major success and we are looking forward to attending again next year!
