The Wisconsin FFA has bestowed honor on Karen Knipschild and Rick Daluge, elected a CALS student as its president and recognized several  recent Farm and Industry Short Course (FISC) grads. Knipschild, FISC assistant director, received the Honorary State FFA Degree Award. Daluge, FISC assistant dean emeritus, received the FFA Distinguished Service Citation. Both honors were bestowed at the Wisconsin Association of FFA State Convention held in Madison on June 10.

Karen Knipschild is among 16 individuals to receive the FFA Honorary Degree, which recognizes individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the agricultural education/FFA program. As contest manager of the State FFA Career Development Contest held in Madison every April, she has spent many hours of dedicated service working with high school agriculture instructors, UW faculty/superintendents and students.

Richard Daluge is one of two people to receive the Distinguished Service Citation this year. This is the highest award that FFA bestows on an individual, organization, agency, business or industry. This recognition is for Daluge’s outstanding contributions made to the State FFA Organization and the total program of agricultural education during his many years of service to the UW and the FFA organization.

At the same meeting, Wisconsin FFA elected CALS student B.J. Chris (an agricultural education major) as its next president and named recent FISC grad Wade Kessenich as State FFA Star Farmer. Bradley Sternweiss and Tyler Schwartz, both recent FISC graduates, were finalists in the Star Farmer competition.