Excitement and relief were in the air as members of the FFA gathered for another memorable season filled with competition, achievement, and leadership. From challenging contests to the election of new officers, this year promises growth, achievement, and a stronger community than ever. On Thursday, March 19, 2026, the Lewis Cass FFA chapter will wrap up their successes with the exception of livestock judging and the National Soils Competition in Oklahoma later this spring in May.
The month of March was filled with various contests and events. The contests included the Leadership Development Event, Livestock Judging, and Envirothon. The results of these contests were as follows: in the Lewis Cass FFA invitational judging contest, the top team placed eighth. Members of the team included senior, Matt Minnick, who was the fourth individual, junior, Lexi Gotshall, who placed fourteenth individual, and other members of the team, consisting of senior, Lily Yax, and sophomore, Jenna Gotshall. At the Lewis Cass Invitational, contest members judged ten classes of cattle, sheep, swine, and goats, and then gave three sets of reasons (explaining why they placed the class the way they did). Livestock judging is just kicking off this spring, and more contests will come after spring break. Another recent contest was Enviorathon, and Mr. Plank shared the results of this and how they prepared, and said, “We held practices Tuesday and Thursday mornings where members judged classes and gave sets of reasons. For the Enviorathon, they reviewed scores from last year and reviewed soils, wildlife, and forestry concepts in terms of Enviorathon. They did not place in the top three, and that is all the results we have currently.” Now, members will move on and compete in the State Livestock judging contest and will attend the National Soils contest in the coming months.
The month of March is a full schedule, especially the week leading up to spring break. This week, members are preparing for the FFA banquet, which will take place on Thursday, March 19, 2025. At the banquet, FFA members will celebrate this year’s success, thank their sponsors, and induct new officers for 2026-27. New officers include the following president – Lexi Gotshall, vice president – Landen Thorpe, 2nd vice president – Brystalin Gillem, secretary – Maddy Willis, treasurer – Bekah Birkey, reporter – Izzy See, 2nd reporter – Kollin Robertson, sentinel-Jenna Gotshall, student advisor- Brian LeDonne, parliamentarian – Maleia Landes, historian – Khloe Arvin, 2nd historian – Brooklynn Kraner, ag facilities director – Jackson Klimes, growing leaders chair- Delaney Mclaughlin, strengthening agriculture chair – Kohlton Woolever, and building communities chair – Trevor Johnson. These officers will work hard next year to fill the shoes that the retiring officers have left to fill. Current president, Lily Yax, was asked how it felt to be graduating and giving her office up to the next officer team, and she said, “ It is definitely a bittersweet experience. I’ve enjoyed my time in FFA and am looking forward to a new officer team getting to learn about FFA in leadership roles.” She was also asked what her favorite FFA memory was, and added, “My favorite FFA memory was all the National Soils trip in Oklahoma.” Lily Yax illustrated great leadership in her time as president for the Lewis Cass FFA, and was asked to share some advice to younger members. She answered with, “To go all in, take every opportunity offered to you and do not be afraid to try something you have never done before.”
All in all, this year was filled with success from national trips to leadership development events, and members became better, well-rounded individuals. This year was one to remember, full of memories and good times, and this was truly thanks to the senior officers. Good luck to the graduating seniors and members in their future endeavors, and congrats on a year full of great success.
