Ryan Sell and Marissa Meiners learned a
lot from their experience of attending Boys State and Girls State.
Both will be seniors at Winner High
School and spoke to the Winner Rotary Club on July 8.
Boys State was held at Northern State
University and Girls State was held at the University of South Dakota. They are
sponsored by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary.
Meiners represented the city of Seattle
and was elected a police woman. She was also elected a senator. In the senate
she served on the health committee and read bills that had been proposed.
Meiners said she enjoyed listening to
the speakers and being around so many different girls. “It felt like we were
part of a community,” she said.
Among some of the speakers at Girls State and also Boys State were Gov.
Kristi Noem, Sen. John Thune and Rep. Dusty Johnson.
Sell represented the city of New York.
He ran for the position of chief
justice of the supreme court.
He explained this is one of the hardest
positions to win and the reason he ran was because there was scholarship money
tied to the position.
Sell noted it was basic campaign and
hanging up posters asking other Boys Staters to vote for him. As a candidate he
also had to give a speech on why he should be elected chief justice. Thought he
was not elected, he explained it was a good experience.
At Boys State Sell got a strong sense
of community. “I had a lot of fun and enjoyed listening to the speakers,” he
said.
For some fun at Boys State, an Olympic
day was held.
Meiners and Sell will find their
experience at Boys and Girls State helpful in government class this year.
The South Dakota FFA Association conducted
its annual Leadership Retreat July 6-9, at Storm Mountain, Rapid City. A total of 85 FFA members in grades 7 – 12
attended the Storm Mountain Camp from across South Dakota.
The Winner FFA Chapter had four members in
attendance. Those attending were Adam
Bohnet, Clay Sell, Madaline Watzel, and Amanda Blare.
Winner received two special awards. They
were named best represented at the retreat and Watzel received the Hype girl
award for her positive and upbeat attitude.
The retreats centered on a survivor theme,
focusing on teaching members how to “Learn, Lead and Succeed”. FFA members developed and enhanced their
leadership skills and self-confidence through interactive learning. The program featured workshops that helped
members discover the value of servant leadership, personal values, personal and
team strengths, creating effective teams, Ag advocacy, positive mindset, and
conflict resolution. They will use these new skills and ideas to benefit their
local chapters and communities. Retreat
attendees also participated in a service-learning project helping with
beautification projects at the Central States Fairgrounds in Rapid City and
attending the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.
The retreats were directed by the 2021-2022
State FFA Officers: President, Tessa
Erdmann, Groton; Vice President, John Petersen, Sturgis; Secretary, Hadley
Stiefvater, Salem; Treasurer, Paige Lehrkamp, Hermosa; Reporter, Alexis Hughes,
Rapid City; and Sentinel, Trinity Peterson, Willow Lake. Retreat staff also included Kayleigh Thill,
Chancellor; and Kylie Harriman, Parker; SD FFA Ambassadors.
The retreat was sponsored by the CHS
Foundation, Northland Ford Dealers, Farm Credit Services, Army ROTC, South
Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Bayer. Retreat t-shirts were sponsored by SoDak
Labs, SD Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers, Army ROTC, Plains Towing and
Recovery, Hogemeyer Seed, Kibble Equipment, Latham Hi-Tech Seeds, SDSU
Farmhouse Fraternity and Tractor Supply Company.
Scholarships for individuals to attend
sponsored by: SD FFA Foundation, West River Electric Association, Sioux Valley
Energy, Walt Johnson Memorial and Doland FFA Chapter.
South Dakota FFA Members discover their
superpowers at summer leadership training
The South Dakota FFA Association conducted
its annual Leadership Retreat July 6-9, at Storm Mountain, Rapid City. A total
of 85 FFA members in grades 9-12 attended the Storm Mountain Camp from across
South Dakota.
The Colome FFA Chapter had two officers in
attendance. Those attending from Colome were: President, Morgan Gill; and
reporter, Landi Krumpus.
The retreats centered on a survivor theme,
focusing on teaching members how to “Learn, Lead, and Succeed.” FFA
Members developed and enhanced their leadership skills and self-confidence
through interactive learning. The program featured workshops that helped
members discover the value of servant leadership, personal values, personal and
team strengths, creating effective teams, Ag advocacy, positive mindset, and
conflict resolution. They will use these new skills and ideas to benefit their
local chapters and communities.
Retreat attendees also participated in a service-learning project helping with beautification at the Central States Fairgrounds in Rapid City and attending the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.
The retreats were directed by the 2021-2022
State FFA Officers: President, Tessa Erdmann, Groton; Vice President, John
Peterson, Sturgis; Secretary, Hadley Stiefvater, Salem; Treasurer, Paige
Lehrkamp, Hermosa; Reporter, Alexis Hughes, Rapid City; and Sentinel, Trinity
Peterson, Willow Lake. Retreat staff also included Kayleigh Thill, Chancellor;
and Kylie Harriman, Parker; SD FFA Ambassadors.
The retreat was sponsored by the CHS
Foundation, Northland Ford Dealers, Farm Credit Services, Army ROTC, South
Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Bayer. Retreat
t-shirts we’re sponsored by SoDak Labs, SD Farm Bureau Young Farmers and
Ranchers, Army ROTC, Plains Towing and Recovery, Hogemeyer Seed, Kibble
Equipment, Latham Hi-Tech Seeds, SDSU Farmhouse Fraternity and Tractor Supply
Company. Scholarships for individuals to attend sponsored by: SD FFA
Foundation, West River Electric Association, Sioux Valley Energy, Walt Johnson
Memorial and Doland FFA Chapter.
Tom Renner and Mark Gubbles were the
winners of the first flight of the Winner Area Chamber of Commerce golf
tournament July 16.
Second place in this flight went to
Lucas Jedlicki and Tanner Best. Taking third was Justin and Kara Zeigler.
The winner of the second flight was
Rusty Arthur and Lisa Halverson. Second went to Grayson Andel and Keegan
Littau. Third went to Stacy Halverson and Megan Shippy.
James and Kyle Mathis won the third
flight. Casey and Levi Heenan took second and third went to Wayne and Shelly
Kindt.
Dallas crop and cattle producers Hank and Melissa Wonnenberg were selected to participate in the 2021 Farmers Union Enterprise Couples Leadership Program.
“Ever since we learned about the program a few years ago, we were hoping we’d have the opportunity to participate,” says Hank, who also works off the farm as a banker.
Hank explains that the reasons the couple was eager to participate in the year-long leadership development program are many.
“We’ve been involved in South Dakota Farmers Union now for a while, and we are interested to learn more about the national organization, understand how other states’ Farmers Union organizations do things, learn about agriculture outside South Dakota and have the opportunity to network with other young producers.”
This program provides all those opportunities and more, explains Doug
Sombke, SDFU President and FUE President. “This program is designed to empower
agriculture leaders and it includes producers from five states,” Sombke says.
“It provides the family farmers and ranchers who participate with leadership
and advocacy training through workshops, training and tours in the five
participating states as well as D.C.”
Along with South Dakota, farm couples from the states of North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin and Minnesota are also involved.
Sponsored by Farmers Union Enterprises, the organization which oversees Farmers Union Industries, throughout the year, the couples involved meet up for several sessions. The sessions begin with a summer family session where the participants and their families will meet for the first time. Couples will also meet up during one of the participating state’s annual conventions, attend the 2022 National Farmers Union Convention and participate in the National Farmers Union Washington, D.C., Fly-In.
“Farmers Union is good about providing members with opportunities that help us grow,” Melissa says. “When Hank and I joined Farmers Union, we were looking for a way to be involved outside our community because we both volunteer a lot in our community.”
Actively engaged in South Dakota Farmers Union, Hank and Melissa have advocated on behalf of the organization’s grassroots policy in D.C. and in January 2020, Hank participated in World Trade Organization (WTO) Global Forum on Food and Agriculture held in Berlin, Germany, during International Green Week, the world’s largest agriculture and food exhibition.
“It was quite the eye-opening experience because I was there with farmers from around the world. So, it gave me a global perspective of agriculture – how we are different, but yet share many of the same challenges,” Hank says. “We think this experience will be similar in the fact that we will learn about what agriculture outside of South Dakota looks like.”
Hank and Melissa raise crops and cattle on
Hank’s family’s farm near Dallas. Although their financials are separate, the
family shares labor with Hank’s mom and dad, Steve and Joan, and his brother
and sister-in-law, Andy and Aliza.
Since the beginning, they have focused on
raising high performing genetics which exhibit strong maternal, as well as
paternal, traits. The family sells breeding stock during their annual private
treaty sale.
Hank adds that their herd is also known for
a gentle disposition. “I think working around dairy cows all the time, us kids
learned how to work cattle from a very young age – people are always impressed
with how we move our stock cows,” he says.
Like Hank, Melissa also has a second job,
but it’s one she can do from their farmhouse. She works part time, providing
online English tutoring to Chinese students. And she is a full-time mom to
their daughters, Elizabeth, 9, and Lydia, 8.
Their girls are active in softball and 4-H,
so Hank and Melissa volunteer as coaches and club leaders. They are also
advocates for agriculture education and Melissa helps organize the local
Farmers Union day camp.
“Volunteers are the way you have activities
that keep your community going,” explains Melissa. “If people aren’t
volunteering it is tough to keep a small community going. And the same goes for
Farmers Union, if we don’t have volunteers, it is tough to get things
accomplished at the state and national level, so we get the help we need for
our farms.”