SIDNEY — Beth Weigandt and Katie Bensman, both of Sidney, each earned and received the prestigious American FFA Degree under the direction of Nathan Sailor, FFA adviser and agricultural science teacher at Fairlawn Local Schools.

This award was presented, Oct. 27, by the National FFA Organization at the annual National FFA Convention in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Both young ladies are Fairlawn Local School graduates. Weigandt is a sophomore studying business administration and marketing at Bluffton University. Bensman is studying middle childhood education at Wright State University.

The National FFA Organization describes the award on its website as follows:

“As the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization, the American FFA Degree shows an FFA member’s dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association. It demonstrates the effort FFA members apply toward their supervised agricultural experience and the outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement they exhibited through their FFA career.

“American FFA Degree recipients show promise for the future and have gone above and beyond to achieve excellence.

“The requirements to earn the American FFA Degree are set forth in the National FFA Constitution. To be eligible to receive the American FFA Degree, members must meet qualifications such as receiving a State FFA Degree, holding active membership for the past three years, completing secondary instruction in an agricultural education program and operating an outstanding supervised agricultural experience program. Community service, leadership abilities and outstanding scholastic achievement are also required.

“All applications are submitted to the National FFA Organization after approval of a member’s state association. After review by national staff, the National FFA Board of Directors approves qualified candidates to receive the American FFA Degree at the National FFA Convention & Expo.”