MdCV FFA officers for 2019, Frank Warner, Cole Lacey, Koby Vanderpool, Bayleigh Lacey, Sadie McGowin, and Kaelin Criqui stop at KSU McCain Auditorium following a session. Courtesy photo.

By Sadie McGowin
MdCV FFA Reporter

The MdCV FFA officers team attended the 91st annual Kansas State FFA Convention May 29-31, 2019, in Manhattan, Kan. This year’s convention theme was “Just One.” The Kansas FFA had around 2,500 members and guests in total attendance from 207 chapters for the convention. The officer team assisted in a meal service program, convention sessions, and a career fair to help get them inspired and motivated for the coming school year.

MdCV FFA president Bayleigh Lacey, vice-president Frank Warner, and secretary Kaelin Criqui also served as delegates at the convention. The members were able to speak with each other and bounce around ideas for things their chapter can do to grow their membership numbers. There were many speakers at the convention sessions including the state officers with their retiring addresses and motivational speakers from across the country such as Cord McCoy, professional bull rider and winner of the Amazing Race, Luke O’Leary, National FFA President, and Kurt Dillon, State FFA Advisor and KSDE Ag Ed Consultant.

MdCV FFA members also participated in the national program “Give Lunch Service Packaging Event,” in which members packed healthy, easy-to-prepare meals to be given out to hunger relief groups across Kansas. More than 5,000 meals were packaged during their one-hour session.

Throwing their caps, the 2019 SFTHS grads celebrate their accomplishment. Photo by Brad Shaffer, allsportsdigital.com.

Santa Fe Trail High School’s 2019 honor students offered an abrupt reminder that you can’t live life to its fullest while sitting on the bench – you’ve got to get in the game. At the school’s 49th commencement exercises on May 11, 2019, the salutatorian and valedictorian, Josh Stone and Reegan Sisson, encouraged their fellow graduates, family and friends, to face challenges as life presents them.

Salutatorian Stone congratulated the graduates for reaching their important milestone, but noted they wouldn’t be there without the help of people around them and also their own involvement in their educations.

“For me, the biggest lesson of high school is that it’s important to get involved,” Stone said. “That’s a lesson I will take with me and hope you do too as we go out into the world today. To get involved and not stay on the sidelines.”

Quoting Benjamin Franklin, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn,” Stone said.

“I hope we can all remember the importance of staying involved as we take our next steps,” Stone said.

“The last four years have been filled with moments of learning and moments of experience,” he said.

Valedictorian Sisson noted the graduates would soon go separate ways, reminding of Mr. Hug’s comment that students “were all going to disperse from this school one day like a covey of quail.”

He was right, Sisson said, “Some of us are going to be moving far from home in the next step our journey. Today, with this ceremony, things got real very quickly. I know we are all thinking about our next big step in life.”

The 2019 graduating class of Osage City High School. OCHS photo.

OSAGE CITY, Kan. – A community came together on May 19, 2019, to celebrate its collective accomplishment – sending 41 graduates of Osage City High School out into the world. Guided by its class motto, “Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I’m glad for that,” by author Ally Condie, leaders of the OCHS class of 2019 recognized that all of their achievements were tied together.

During the graduation ceremony, the class’ top honor students, Claire Crawford and Aliks Serna, offered gratitude to parents, school administration and faculty, and their fellow classmates for helping the students achieve their goals and believing in them.

I’m so grateful for the people that believed in me when I failed to believe in myself,” Crawford said. “If that taught me one thing, it’s that the value of not giving up on people is so important. So don’t give up on others, because we’re human.”

In her comments, Serna echoed Crawford’s gratefulness, “You all believed in us when we didn’t believe in ourselves and for that we’ll never be able to repay you.”

Crawford noted, “Without people … we have nothing – no purpose to laugh, work hard, be successful, or do anything we want to do.”

She said the graduates’ accomplishments happened with their families’ support. “I believe it’s important that I thank my amazing family for loving me through everything,” she said. “I can’t say enough how undeservingly blessed I am to have been able to grow up with them standing by my side.”

Serna agreed, “To all our families, thank you for the endless love and support that you’ve given all of us. Without you we wouldn’t be the individuals that we are today.”

Serna reminisced that her high school years began with feelings of being alone.

“Now that my four years have ended I feel as if I have a whole tribe behind me leading me into my next chapter of life,” she said. “In four short years of high school I’ve gained friendships, mentors, and received outpouring support from my family and the community.”

Both honor students urged the class to give back to the community that supported them and know they will also have an impact on those around them.

Lyndon High School class of 2019. Photo thanks to Bill Patterson.

Imagine, if you will, attending a graduation ceremony where seven valedictorians will give seven valedictorian speeches. First you might be ‘thankful,’ knowing your local public school had such free flowing knowledge to produce so many honor students. Second thought about lengthy speeches makes you think about the “courage” of the graduates to get to this point – added to “passion” and “positive” thinking reinforced by “confidence” and “integrity.” And then you realize all your trepidation has been “overcome” as the valedictorians show their wisdom by weaving a collaborative valedictorian speech – featuring succinct words that had been sewed into the fabric of their lives.

No imagination was needed for friends and family of the 36 seniors in the Lyndon High School class of 2019, as they gathered to celebrate the class’ accomplishments on Sunday, May 12, 2019, in the school gymnasium.

Jerry Rice, longtime mathematics teacher and guest speaker, was first to wish the graduating seniors good luck in their future, sharing his four steps to success – faith, family, passion and hope. Then he gave them one last assignment – give thanks to all those who supported them over the years and helped give them “the freedom that you have so you can be whatever you would like to be.”

Rice’s well wishes to the class served as a lead in for the valedictorians’ knitted speech. The 2019 LHS valedictorians and the words important to them were Cassidy Anderson, “thankful”; Kennedy Criqui, “courage”; Regan Martin, “passion”; Sadie Sellers, “positive”; McKenzy Harsch, “confidence”; Meghan Wendling, “integrity”; Madison Smitha, “overcoming”.

In a final farewell to Burlingame High School, class of 2019 graduates throw their hats in the air. Photo by Keri Welch.

Life is the result of changes, the Burlingame High School class of 2019 heard from their valedictorian and salutatorian during graduation ceremonies on May 11, 2019.

In the elementary school gymnasium filled with friends and family, 2019 BHS salutatorian Seth Greenwood talked about his last-minute realization that graduation was going to change his life significantly.

“I realized that we are about to go into a whole new environment,” Greenwood said, “with new people, and stepping into another level of responsibility and stress.

“But I also realized the potentials of moving on. You get a whole new setting to change what you want to change,” he said. “You have countless opportunities that are begging for you to give them a shot.”

He offered a challenge to his classmates, “I challenge you to change the parts of you that you don’t like for this fresh start.I challenge you to take the leap of faith and pursue the opportunity that you feel strongly pulled towards.”

The 2019 BHS valedictorian Kelsie Quaney asked her classmates to consider how words alone can change them.

“It’s funny how words affect people,” Quaney said. “We never think that the things we say could completely change someone’s life but I know they can, because they changed me.”

Marais des Cygnes Valley High School Class of 2019. Photo by Kramer Photos.

Spring showers brought May flowers and also sprouted a new crop of graduates at Marais des Cygnes Valley High School. At the first graduation honors in Osage County for 2019, friends, family, faculty, administrators, and the USD 456 Board of Education gathered May 4 at the MdCV High School gymnasium to wish well to this year’s dozen MdCV High School graduates.

MdCV’s 2019 salutatorian Chloe Volkman recognized the crowd gathered for the ceremony.

“Thank you all again for coming to help us celebrate this special day in our lives,” Volkman said. “We are very grateful to have such an amazing community who supports us. I would just like to make one last thank you to all of the staff at school, because none of this would be possible without you guys.”

To her classmates, Volkman noted they would be going forward, but remembering their high school years not by class periods and school days they spent at MdCV.

“We only arrived here four short years ago, and its already time for us to leave,” Volkman said. “I know that as I look out to all of you that I will measure my time much differently. I will measure it in the friendships that I have created with all of you and when many of our high school memories will begin to fade, that’s how we will ultimately measure the time we spent here. It won’t be in periods or semesters, but the friendships we made and the times that we all spent together. So congratulations to the class of 2019, and wherever we go and whatever we do, may we always be friends when we meet again.”

MdCV 2019 valedictorian Kathryn Vaught echoed Volkman’s appreciation of their parents’ sacrifices, and the impressions left upon students by teachers and school staff.

“[You] can’t be thanked enough,” Vaught said. “You had an impact in our lives and left lasting impressions … we learned many things from you guys – to be ourselves, be kind, follow our dreams, and not be afraid of failure.”

“Well guys, we made it,” Vaught told her fellow graduates. “It’s been one heck of journey – one we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.”

But, she said, “Today is a milestone, it tells you how far you have come, we aren’t the kids we used to be, even though we sure don’t feel like adults.”

She offered advice she had received from a mentor: “Keep playing the game.”

“There’s a feeling all of you should have – pride, accomplishment, happiness – whatever it is, take it and use it. Years from now when we look back we’ll be more disappointed by the things we didn’t do rather than the ones we did. So have that courage, find your dream, chase after it with all you got, you won’t get another chance. Go out there believing in your dreams, believe in yourself.”

With Principal Ben Gordon presenting the Marais des Cygnes Valley High School Class of 2019, board of education members presented diplomas to the following graduates: Nocona Renae Brinkley, Ethan Alexander Cannon, Kayla Louise Garber, Brookelyn Shae Janssen, Alaina Hollyann Marsh, Destiny Hope Massey, Gannon Austin Isiah Schimmel, Tannar Ray Smith, Aniyah Marie Sypher, Kathryn Elizabeth Vaught, Cloe Elizabeth Volkman, and Morgan Sue Williams.

Accepting the Challenge Award from Kansas State Board of Education Member Ann Mah, left, are Osage City Elementary School teachers Jessi Kirkpatrick, Amie Parsons, and Brian Stromgren.

OSAGE CITY, Kan. – Kansas State Board of Education Member Ann Mah recognized students and teachers at Osage City Elementary School for making differences in student achievement over the past year, during a presentation April 30, 2019, at the school.

“I’m here today to present your school an award called the Challenge Award,” Mah told students gathered in the school gymnasium for the early morning assembly. “Last year you scored great on tests in reading and in math, and in coming to school – in your attendance.”

The Challenge Awards program, administered by the Confidence in Education Task Force, recognizes Kansas schools that are making a notable difference in student achievement despite facing significant challenges in their school population.

“We believe in you,” Mah said. “Confidence in Public Education believes in Osage City Elementary School.”

“How many of you try to come to school every day? And why do you do that? Because it’s so important to be in school every day, you can’t learn if you’re not here. You also study and you do well and you excel, and you met the challenge last year of being one of the top schools in Kansas.

“How many knew Osage City Elementary School was a great school?” Mah asked the crowd. “Now the rest of the state of Kansas knows that as well.”

MdCV officers, new and retiring, front from left, Chloe Volkman, Alaina Marsh, State FFA Sentinel Garrett Craig, Kaelin Criqui, Kathryn Vaught, back, Danny Rice, MdCV FFA advisor, Bayleigh Lacey, Sadie McGowin, Koby Vanderpool, Wyatt Lingenfelter, and Frank Warner. MdCV FFA photo.

The annual Marias des Cygnes Valley FFA Chapter Banquet was held on Friday April 11, 2019. Approximately 100 people, including members, families, and friends, gathered in the Melvern Community Center for pork chops and a potluck meal, awards and the installation of the 2019-2020 chapter officers.

An invocation from Frank Warner was followed by the dinner consisting of pork chops, sponsored by Don and Janise Hook, and side dishes and desserts brought by our members and their families. Following the dinner and chapter scrapbook video produced by Kathryn Vaught, the chapter officers president Chloe Volkman, vice-president Brookelyn Janssen, secretary Kathryn Vaught, treasurer Bayleigh Lacey, reporter Frank Warner, sentinel Alaina Marsh, and advisor and KSU student intern Cassandra Ebert began with opening ceremonies. KobyVanderpool, chapter student-council representative, introduced special guest speaker Garrett Craig, Kansas FFA Sentinel, with his speech “Focusing and Committing to Your Talents and Passion”.

Other guests included members of the USD 456 Board of Education, Marais des Cygnes Valley High School Principal Ben Gordon, members of the MdCV Ag Education Advisory Board, Joe and Shirley Litchtenauer, Dale and Peggy McCurdy, Jeff and Merrilyn Casten, Jennifer and Peter Roy, Janae and Caleb McNally, Jarah and Mike Hauger, and Joe and Shirley Lichtenauer.

A young chef carefully turns in her entry for Kids-Q to KCBS reps, from left, Dave and Peg Rogers, Linda and Dennis Polson, Mark Collier, and not pictured, Kim Collier, as local judges wait in anticipation. Jan Williams photo.

It’s a part of Smoke in the Spring that most folks don’t know is going on Friday evening, but you can bet there are some young cooks that have a watchful eye on their smokers for about three hours while everyone else is out enjoying the community barbecue party.

In the annual Kids-Q Competition, kid chefs compete in two age divisions, 10 and younger, and 11 and older. The cooks must be sponsored by one of the competition teams and cook their entries on site. At the cook’s meeting, the cooks are each given one pound of ground beef, donated this year by Allen Meat Processing, Allen, Kan., to cook however they choose.

Others who make Kids-Q possible are 24 local celebrity judges, who are instructed on the Kansas City Barbeque Society judging process before the kids’ turn-in time of 8 p.m. The kids contest is not a KCBS sanctioned part of Smoke in the Spring, but it is conducted according to KCBS rules and scoring. Judges are sequestered in the community building during the judging process.

At turn-in, the chefs bring their samples to the turn-in window at the community building, where the judging is conducted. The samples go to one of four tables of six judges each, where they are scored according to appearance, taste, and texture or tenderness. The judging process is the same as the sanctioned contest the next day.

Here are placing and payout results for the Smoke in the Spring Kids-Q held April 12, 2019:

Travis Clark, Clark Crew BBQ, left, accepts his grand champion awards Saturday from contest organizer Corey Linton, right, and Amy Linton.

OSAGE CITY, Kan. – A Yukon, Okla., barbecue team has become the first team to be a three-time grand champion at the Smoke in the Spring State BBQ Championship, at Osage City, Kan, after claiming that title again Saturday.

Clark Crew BBQ, with head cook Travis Clark, has been sweeping barbecue championships across the Midwest the last few years, and added another Smoke in the Spring State BBQ Championship to that tally after a tight competition among top cooks on April 13, 2019, at Jones Park, in Osage City. The team previously won grand champion at the Osage City competition in 2016 and 2017.

Clark Crew squeezed out last year’s grand champs, Hogline BBQ, Dustin and Mary Reese, of Owatonna, Minn., who claimed reserve grand champion this year. Coming in third overall was Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Rub, Chris Hoisington, of Olathe, Kan.