Todd West, professor and woody plants improvement project leader, and Barb Laschkewitsch, horticulture research specialist, were awarded Honorary State FFA Degrees during the 88th annual North Dakota FFA State Convention held at NDSU June 5-9.
The award is the highest honor by the North Dakota FFA, and is presented to persons who advance agricultural education and contribute to the success of the organization through outstanding service. Recipients are nominated by student members and affiliated groups.
West coordinates the setup for the Nursery/Landscape contest during the state convention. He arranges for a variety of trees and shrubs to be brought in for the plant identification portion of the contest. Laschkewitsch sets up the floral identification portion of the Floriculture written exam during the state convention. She selects 50 plants to be used for the exam out of the list of 100 house plants, annuals, perennials and florist flowers FFA allows for the contest.
The National FFA Organization is dedicated to developing students’ leadership skills, and enhancing career success through agricultural education. It is the largest student organization in the world.
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