Herald-Whig Staff Writer

The Unity FFA Chapter had six American Degree winners in its history. As of this morning, it now has 11.

Five Unity FFA members -- Jessica Cramm, Karl Peter, Timothy James Porter, Rachel Shriver, Steven Stoll -- along with several students from Northeast Missouri and West-Central Illinois will be honored this morning with FFA's highest award at the national convention in Indianapolis.

Seeing such a dramatic change in the number of award winners in one year is unusual and exciting for the chapter -- and a credit to the five students, Unity FFA Adviser Amy Lucie said from Indianapolis.

"It speaks very highly of them," she said. "It's an honor to get a state degree, and they all had to work after the state degree to build up more money in their record book, more hours."

The degree recognizes demonstrated leadership ability and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing or service programs. Only 3,299 of the FFA's 507,763 members nationwide earn the American FFA Degree key and certificate.

To be eligible, members must have earned and productively invested $7,500 through a supervised agricultural experience program in which they start, own or hold a professional position in an existing agriculture enterprise.

The Unity students all graduated in 2008, then continued keeping up their record book as college freshmen for the rest of the calendar year before applying for the award.

"That deters a lot of people from filling out the degree. They graduate as seniors; they're done with FFA," Lucie said. The degree winners "stuck with it, kept records for another eight months."

Their work inspires younger FFA members to set, and hopefully achieve, similar goals.

"The chapter is proud of them," Lucie said. "We have 12 other members in Indianapolis to cheer them on as they walk across the stage."

Members of the National FFA organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, prepare for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. There are 7,439 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

-- dhusar@whig.com/221-3379