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The Paulding FFA Chapter recently competed in the Envirothon at the Williams
County Conservation Club on Wednesday April 22th, 2026. Envirothon is a competition
where different schools from Area 1 take multiple tests and practicums involving the
environment. The tests these students took as a team were as follows: Wildlife,
Forestry, Soils, and Aquatics and the current issue being Point and Non-Point Source
Pollution. These students went to a practice day with other schools at Defiance SWCD
to prepare and learn more about these topic areas before competing. The Paulding
FFA Chapter took two teams to compete, consisting of a senior team and a sophomore
team. Senior team members were Aleah Matty, Delaney Dachenhaus, Addy Hunt and
Jacob Harris and placed an Amazing 5th out of 32 teams. The Sophomore team
members were Addison Arend, Delaney Johanns, Wesley Grindstaff, Ava Leatherman
and Kinzley Collard This team placed 21st. A special thanks to Paulding SWCD for
sponsoring the teams! The state contest is June 1-3 in Steubenville Ohio and we are
very excited to have a team compete in this once in a lifetime experience. The team
competing at the state contest will be Aleah Matty, Delaney Dachenhaus, Jacob Harris,
Delaney Johanns and Kat Burtch. We want to extend a huge thank you to Paulding
SWCD for their support and guidance as we get ready to attend this state event. The
team members are very excited to compete to represent Paulding at the State level!
By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

On April 30th, 2026 the Paulding FFA Chapter took twenty-seven students and two FFA
Advisors to attend the 98th Ohio FFA State Convention at the Ohio Expo Center & Fairgrounds
in Columbus. They departed at 10 a.m. in their matching blue FFA convention shirts. On the way
down to Columbus, they made a stop at MVP Dairy to receive a tour. They had a nice little
museum where students learned about the history of the dairy. Then students took a ride on a
tour bus around their barns and saw all of their cows. At the last station we saw their milking
carousel where 80 cows ride on in a circular motion as they get milked which takes around 10
minutes. The students received free Dannon yogurt as all of the milk MVP Dairy produces goes
to Dannon. They soon after arrived at the Drury Inn to unpack their luggage and later enjoyed
shopping time at the Polaris mall. For dinner the students were given a meal at the Cheesecake
Factory, courtesy of the Paulding FFA Alumni. The group then went to Slick City which was an
action park filled with slides, basketball courts, and bouncy floors.
The following morning students ate breakfast at the Drury Inn and put on their official
dress to go to convention! They found seats and watched the state FFA officer team take the
stage for session one. The Paulding FFA Chapter was awarded the charitable giving award for
chapters that have given over $500 in donations, this award was accepted by Darcy Taylor. After
this, the group was given time to explore the expo center and shop. In session two, Addy Hunt
and Tori Schlatter accepted the Gold Chapter Award for chapters who have performed
exceptionally well in their communities and were rated Gold on their National Chapter
Application Paulding FFA was one of twenty-five chapters to receive this award in Ohio. The
keynote speaker of this session was Brad Hurtig, who spoke of his difficulties without arms. He
told of being able to play football with prosthetic arms and through hard work was able to
"dominate the field." They then ended the day by celebrating Jeff Holtsberry as he received his
State Honorary Degree award! Jeff is our bus driver and has been supporting our FFA Chapter
for over 15 years.
On the third day of the trip, FFA chapter secretaries, treasurers, and reporters received
Gold rated book awards for outstanding work done on their books. Myrriah Manz received a
secretary book award, Mariah Klopfenstein received a treasurer book award, and Vivienne
Myers received a reporter book award. The chapter then received state winning plaques for
Aquarium and Ag Biotechnology. Congratulations to both teams. Students also got to see Carter
Boyd give his retiring speech as the State FFA President. In his speech, Boyd encouraged
everyone to discover their interests and who they are. Then, State FFA degrees were awarded to
qualifying students from across Ohio. The Paulding FFA Chapter’s State Degree Recipients were
as follows: Avery Cooper, Kayleigh Dunham, Jayla Griffith, Mariah Klopfenstein, Mackenzie
Leatherman, Kate Manz, Myrriah Manz, Gannon Parrett, Addy Pease, Estie Pease, Tori Schlatter
and Riley Stork!
The 98th annual FFA state convention was an amazing way to see the fruits of our
chapter’s labors and give students lessons on the value of hard work. The chapter could not have
succeeded without the contributions of the community and we are so grateful for their support.

We are so thankful for the Paulding FFA Alumni and their support of our chapter. The state
convention was a major success and we are looking forward to attending again next year!
By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

On Saturday, April 18th, eight Paulding FFA members came out to participate in the April
trapshoot at the Paulding Fish and Game Center. This was the seventh trapshoot of the school
year. Troy Zeller from the Paulding Fish and Game club reviewed safety and the event rules
with members before they received their equipment. Contestants grabbed earplugs, safety
glasses, and their firearms to compete in the contest. At the range, contestants are then
separated into different squads where they will rotate through 5 different shooting positions.
Members competing were Nolan Schlatter, Owen Workman, Remington Boroff, Karlee Kohart,
Kendall Kohart, Lily Leatherman, and Harley Troyer. Remington Boroff won the plaque
sponsored by our FFA Chapter, shooting a 37 out of 50, and Harley Troyer came in 2nd. Jim
Hoops was also able to stop by and watch the kids trapshoot. Remington said his favorite part
of trap shooting is the thrill you get when you see the clay shatter. His advice to other members
is to try to use a gun that you are comfortable using, along with the same exact ammo every
time, and to practice with the same setup you plan to use. After some time, it will become
muscle memory, and you will know exactly where to lead your targets. Harley said that her
favorite part of trapshooting is being able to shoot stuff, and the advice she would give is to hold
your head high, even if you don't get a good score. We would like to thank the Fish and Game
Club and its members for all their help and support for the Paulding FFA program.

By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter