Crothersville FFA was the recipient of the Crothersville Town Council’s certificate of appreciation of excellence in community service award for December. FFA members are, front from left, Cash Sawyer, Corey Engleking, Brayden Crater, Baron Riley, Kendall Berry and Evin Hoevener. In back from left are council President Jason Hillenburg, Councilman Chad Wilson and Vice President Jamy Greathouse.
Zach Spicer | The Tribune
CROTHERSVILLE — For all it does for the community, the Crothersville FFA chapter recently was recognized by the Crothersville Town Council.
The organization was the recipient of the certificate of appreciation of excellence in community service award for December.
The purpose of the award is to recognize an outstanding local resident, club or organization that goes above and beyond to give back in a huge way.
Council Vice President Jamy Greathouse said this month’s recipient is an organization that has been creating gold leaders in the community since 1956.
Crothersville FFA hosts CPR training, fire safety convocations and Farm Safety Week programs and also conducts full-scale fire drills at the school on a monthly basis.
“They are consistently winning awards at the state level, making them one of the top 10 organizations in the state,” Greathouse said.
Members also recently assembled care packages for flood victims in eastern Kentucky, and for the 27th year, the chapter sponsored its annual craft show in November.
That’s a fundraiser for the Crothersville FFA Toy and Food Drive, which will have distribution on Saturday for the 34th year. With the help of the Crothersville-Vernon Township Volunteer Fire Department, more than 20 tons of food and toys will be delivered to local residents.
Greathouse said he was honored to present the award on behalf of the council because he was president of Crothersville FFA and was a district vice president when he was in school.
“One of the misnomers when you talk about this organization is they believe it’s all about agriculture and farmers and farming, but the truth behind it is it’s a leadership program,” he said. “I think agriculture is probably a much smaller part of the overall journey that these young men and women go on than becoming future leaders of our communities.”
Greathouse said FFA helped him get to where he is today.
“The Crothersville FFA organization itself is known across the country,” he said. “It’s not just a local thing. It’s not a state thing. This organization has worked their way up and is a part of this organization that is known for what they are able to do.”