Afton Star Enterprise, Afton, Iowa March 12, 2020Page7 Page7 March 12, 2020 Afton Star Enterprise, Afton, Iowa

East Union FFA members had an out-standing day at South Central District Lead-ership Conference last

week. Shane Jensen in Ag Broadcasting, Alli-vea Skarda in Chap-ter Website, Elizabeth Hadley in Freshman

Creed Speaking, and Kanyon Huntington in Extemporaneous Speaking all received Gold awards and ad-vance to State com-petition. With only two people from each of the six districts in Iowa advancing to State in each event, this is a huge accom-plishment for these members! They have all worked hard to reach this level.

Kanyon also ran for and was elected FFA District Vice Presi-dent for the South Central District of Iowa, another huge accomplishment.

Freshmen Abbie Wuebker, Emmet Long, Riley Long,

Peyton Long and alternate Bryson Raney placed first in the District in the Greenhand Quiz. In-dividual results were 1st place – Abbie, 4th place – Peyton, 9th place – Riley, all with Golds; 26th Emmet, Silver; and Bryson, Bronze. All partici-pants at the District contests were either

1st or second in their respective contests.

The announcement of State Academic Achievement Award members was also made during the day. This award goes to senior members that have been active in FFA every year and have maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher. East Union members

achieving this honor are Allivea Skarda, Taylor Miller, Quinn Eslinger, Olivia Cheers, Jessica Kel-ley, and Beth McK-night.

Mr. Cooley said, “I am very proud of this group and how they represent the East Union FFA Chapter, as well as our school and communities!”

All District FFA Contestants Bring Home 1st or 2nd Places by Mr. Cooley, FFA Sponsor

Elizabeth Hadley

Kanyon Huntington (right) gets sworn in as District Vice President

Allivea SkardaShane Jensen

4-H members partic-ipating in the Winter Postal Trap Shoot met at 1:30 pm on Sunday, March 1st, at the High Lakes Outdoor Alli-ance Shooting Range to conduct their shoot-ing for the month of March. Marc Roberg, Shotgun Instructor, conducted the shoot.

Following the shoot, the regular meeting of the 3 Mile Sharp Shooters 4-H Club was held. A welcome activity of Rock, Pa-per, and Scissors was played with Lundy Sanson being the win-ner of the bag of can-dy. President Taylor Miller then called the meeting to order.

Nine members were in attendance. The Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H Pledge were led by Taron and Chaylee Need-ham. Attendance was taken and minutes of the previous meeting were read by Secre-tary Hunter Swanson. Treasurer Sarah King gave her report with no expenses for the month and an account balance of $688.05.

Club business was discussed. An update was given on the Con-cessions Fundraiser for May 30 & 31. The field trip planned for Volquartsen Custom Firearms in Carroll has been rescheduled to a weekday in late spring/early summer.

Under new busi-ness, Hunter Swan-son made a motion to donate $3 per primary club member for a to-tal of $39 to the Count Your Clovers Iowa 4-H Foundation Cam-paign. Lundy San-son seconded the mo-tion. The motion car-ried. Announcements were given from the March 4-H Newslet-ter. Members were reminded about the YQCA (Youth for the Quality Care of Ani-mals) Training com-ing up on March 10th.

Following the ad-journment of the meeting, refresh-ments were served by Taron and Chaylee Needham. Taron and Chaylee gave an edu-cational presentation on archery and also demonstrated their

archery skills. Fol-lowing their presenta-tion, 4-H Leader and Firearms Instructor Tom King presented a session on rifle and pistol ammunition re-loading.

The next 4-H meet-ing will be held on Sunday, April 5th, at 3 p.m. at the Shoot-ing Range Clubhouse. Sarah King will bring refreshments and give an educational presentation. Guest Speaker Shelly Reed will share with the group her hobby of Wildlife Photography.

If there are stu-dents in grades 4th-12th grade that are interested in shoot-ing shotgun, rifle, archery, or muzzle loader contact the Union County Exten-sion Service at 641-782-8426 to join the Three Mile Sharp Shooters 4-H Club. All Union County 4-H Clubs are all-in-clusive, so even if you aren’t interested in shooting sports you can still join our club to explore the areas you are interested in.

Three Mile Sharpshooters Meetfrom Jane King, Leader

Three Mile Sharp Shooters 4-H members interact with Leader/Instructor Tom King during his reloading presentation at their March meeting.

Loudon Earns Gold Achievement AwardNancy E. Loudon of Creston Realty

and a member of the West Central Iowa Regional Board of Realtors has earned a Gold Individual Achievement Award from the Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR).

The IAR Individual Achievement Awards were initiated in 1988 to rec-ognize excellence in real estate activi-ties. Any Realtor® or Realtor® Associ-ate member of the Iowa Association of Realtors® is eligible. Eligible members who participated in 1-2.49million, 2.5-4.99 million, 5-7.49 million, 7.5-9.99 million and over 10 million dollars worth of sales, leases and/or listings closed and commissions earned during 2019 were able to win the prestigious Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Dia-mond Individual Achievement Awards.

Nancy Loudon was pleased to receive this award. “I pledge a dili-gent work ethic, industry knowledge, and exceptional customer ser-vice to all my clients. I so enjoy being a full time Realtor, and making new, life-long friends is the most rewarding result,” says Loudon.

The Iowa Association of Realtors® is the state’s largest real es-tate professional organization, representing more than 7,200 mem-bers and affiliates. The term Realtor is a registered and protected trademark. A Realtor® is a member of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the state association of Realtors® and their local board of Realtors®. By joining the Realtor® organization, a real es-tate professional has to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and its standards of professionalism, integrity and competence.

Nancy Loudon

ASPIRE Hosts Spend Right/Eat Right Night

Tonya, Tammy, and Bonnie (and don't forget Joe) cooked ta-cos and cobbler and talked about reading labels at the commu-nity center on Monday evening, March 9. Their goal is to educate community families on eating right without spending excessive amounts of money on the grocery bill . . . and to have a good time.

EU art instructor Sherresse Buzard demonstrates the proper technique of leaf making to Mikenna Cass and Caleb Comstock. The two are making two of the 400 - 500 clay leaves necessary for the art project the school is making with the help of artists Pam Dennis and Ryk Weiss. See story at right.

Pam Dennis and her husband Ryk Weiss (he kept his own name) are more than part-ners in life; they are also partners in art.

Together they cre-ate willow and clay art works, which they used to market at art fairs across the U.S., and present artist in residence programs to

schools and other insti-tutions across the state.

Pam, who began her career as a horticultur-ist with the City of Des Moines, moved into the art field in 1979 when they bought a property with five acres of wil-lows near Odgen, Iowa. She started with bas-kets, and Ryk, who is technically a musician,

(“Disco ruined every-thing.”) learned how to make furniture from willow branches. To-gether they moved into the mixed media they are known for today.

Most of their work is organically orient-ed – designs taken from nature. Many

Artists in Residence

Artists, Page10 ›››

Photos by MHill

Contributed Photo

Contributed Photo