Stanley FFA Hosts Annual Banquet
By Erika Littlefield
The Stanley FFA Chapter held its annual banquet on Thursday, March 26, at the Mountrail County South Complex. This event serves as a way to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of FFA members over the past year. The evening featured a guest speaker from the state FFA officer team, keynote speaker Callie Thorne, and the highly anticipated Cake Wars auction.
Chapter officers opened the evening with the traditional ceremony, followed by a welcome from Chapter President Tylie Johnson. Landon Hunting led a table prayer before dinner was served, which included hams cured by the Ag 2 class.
Evelyn Seil, North Dakota State FFA Reporter, was a special guest at the banquet. She congratulated Stanley FFA members on their dedication and shared an inspiring message about looking at things from a new perspective. “Take a step back and look at the bigger picture,” she talked about not running from the things you don’t want to do, because they help shape you in ways you never could imagine.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Callie Thorne, owner of Yellowstone River Beef in Watford City. She spoke about her work with Mental Health First Aid, emphasizing that people are often more likely to use these skills than CRP. One of her main messages was that life is balanced between highs and lows; 50 percent filled with joyful, meaningful experiences and 50 percent marked by challenges and unexpected obstacles. She reminded the audience that “just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” encouraging a mindset that embraces growth through difficulty. Thorne also spoke about overcoming gaps and recognizing the gains in life, sharing the perspective that “God will always feed the birds, but He won’t throw it directly into their nest,” and that “nobody knows what they are doing… until they do it.”
The evening continued with the presentation of degree awards. This year, twenty-two Greenhand Degrees and twenty-two Chapter Degrees were awarded, along with the recognition of twenty Ag 3 students and numerous members who competed in various events throughout the year.
The prestigious Honorary Chapter Degrees were awarded to Nick Miller and Dylan Enger for their outstanding contributions to agricultural education and continuous support of the FFA organization.
The banquet also recognized the graduating seniors for their dedication to the program: Drew Pennington, Brayden Weyrauch, Prayrie Lund, Owen Lund, Nevaeh Charnetzki, Tylie Johnson, CeeJay Bohmbach, Erika Littlefield, Cody Anderson, Carly Rismon, Joseph Wolter, and Grady Nichols.
Bailey Hawbaker and Rivers Bachman then presented the Outstanding Member Awards to students in each grade level: Discovery, Dayne Lund; Freshman, Ziva Ottesen and Trinity Hynek; Sophomore, Marli Honrud and Landon Goettle; Junior, Rebecca Littlefield; and Senior, Drew Pennington.
Hawbaker also recognized her officer team, presenting plaques and graduation cords to the senior officers.
The banquet concluded with the Cake Wars auction, featuring cakes designed and baked by Natalia Rodriguez. The auction, led by John Woodbury, highlighted three standout creations: a John Deere cake purchased by Justin Lund; a Case cake bought by Border Plains; and an FFA letter cake claimed by Bravera Bank. An FFA Creed quilt was also auctioned, with Goettle Ranch placing the winning bid. Overall, this year’s FFA banquet celebrated dedication, leadership, and strong community support, showcasing the lasting impact of agricultural education and the closeknit bond within the Stanley FFA Chapter.