Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Davidson, Amborn
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 6/23/2021
Greenwood’s Davidson Earns State FFA Degree (2021)
Recent Greenwood graduate Holly Davidson has earned her State FFA Degree
Submitted photo
By Valorie Brecht
A recent Greenwood graduate will soon be recognized for all the hard work she put into FFA over her four years of high school.
Holly Davidson has earned her State FFA Degree, the second highest degree an FFA member can earn. She will be presented with her degree at the State FFA Convention in Madison, July 5-8.
“Holly is a great example of our FFA leadership in Wisconsin and is very deserving of the State FFA Degree. She constantly challenges herself, tries new things and has succeeded in exploring all three circles of the agricultural education philosophy [classroom and laboratory instruction, leadership development, and experiential learning],” wrote Greenwood FFA advisor Loghan Amborn in an email.
One major requirement for the State FFA Degree is having worked at least 300 hours outside of scheduled class time, or having earned and productively invest at least $1,000 through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE). Davidson worked on multiple local diary farms for her SAE. She's been involved in milking, feeding, equipment and facility maintenance and repairs, caring for calves and many of the other tasks that go into running a farm.
“She is very passionate about dairy,” Amborn said of Davidson. “She was also beginning to learn about first aid and medical care of the cattle.”
Davidson has also completed a SAE in the equine science field, in which she learned about caring for and training horses. She showed a horse and was involved in its daily care.
Another requirement for the State FFA Degree is having been an active FFA member for at least two years, with participation at the chapter level and beyond. The applicant must also complete at least 25 hours of community service.
Davidson has been involved in FFA since middle school, and served as Greenwood FFA president for the 2020-21 school year. As president she oversaw multiple community service activities in her local chapter. At the start of pandemic, the FFA began a milk-donation campaign that lasted until the end of 2020. The FFA donated 150 gallons of milk to the school lunch program to send home with families who picked up meals during that pandemic, and the chapter made roughly 15 donations of milk to the local food pantry over the course of nine months.
“Holly was very active in these activities, often being the person who picked and delivered the milk on behalf of the chapter. We also adopted a stretch of highway south of Greenwood and have conducted two cleanups so far. Holly has participated in both of these cleanups and recruited other memes to help. Our chapter hosts two blood drives each year for the Red Cross and Holly always volunteers for these events, usually working for multiple hours throughout the day,” Amborn wrote.
The academic requirements for the State FFA Degree include having a “satisfactory academic record” and having completed at least two years of systematic school instruction in agricultural education at or above the ninth grade level. Davidson met those requirements and even went above and beyond, said Amborn.
“She has taken as many agriculture classes as she was able to, and successfully lobbied to be given an agricultural independent study class her senior year where she advanced FFA projects and experiments,” Amborn wrote.
Additionally, State FFA Degree recipients must have demonstrated leadership ability by performing 10 parliamentary law procedures, giving a six minute speech on a topic relating to agriculture or FFA, and serving as an FFA officer, committee chairperson or committee member.
“She has advanced in FFA, taken on leadership roles, and developed her professional skills competing in FFA contests and attending conferences. … I am proud that she was able to achieve her State FFA Degree,” Amborn wrote.
Amborn also praised Davidson as a person. “She is a fantastic leader in our school. Always positive and inclusive, she works hard to lead by example and challenge her peers to be their best selves. She is an incredibly hard worker, and is unafraid to take on new challenges . I could always rely on her, no mater the task. She would take on extra projects, excels in school, and always tried to help those around her.”
In what may not come as a surprise, Davidson’s future plans involve her passion for agriculture. She plans to attend UW-River Falls to study animal science.
