Local Student to Receive National Degree

October 22, 2004

Ryan Trosper will receive the American FFA Degree at the 77th National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, October 30, 2004. It is the highest degree awarded by the National FFA Organization and recognizes Ryan's demonstrated leadership abilities and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing and service programs.

Less than one in 165 FFA members advance through their local chapter and state FFA degree programs to earn this national degree. Ryan, the son of Bill and Linda Trosper of Eads, is currently a sophomore at Lamar Community College. Ryan is currently a member of the LCC Golf team, and has been invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. As a freshman he received LCC’s "Wings of Knowledge" award and the State Student Council’s "Rising Star" award. He is a member of the Eads FFA Chapter and his agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor is Lance Jagers.

Ryan will receive a gold American FFA Degree key and a certificate to commemorate the achievement. The recognition program is sponsored by BASF, Case IH, Farm Credit System and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. The National FFA Convention is the nation's largest annual youth gathering, welcoming students, parents and educators from all across the United States.

FFA is a national youth organization of 464,267 student members preparing for leadership careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture with 7,194 local chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. FFA strives to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Visit www.ffa.org for more information.