Hugoton FFA members Karessa Nordyke and Nicholas Goode will be receiving their American FFA Degree at the eighty-seventh annual National FFA Convention in Louisville, Ky., later this month.  They are the first Hugoton FFA members to ever receive this prestigious award, given to less than one half of one percent of the 610,000 FFA members nationwide. Only the very best are eligible to even apply for this Degree and their application goes through a rigorous certification process at the Chapter, State and National levels. In Kansas, only 55 out of 9200 members are to receive this award. Nicholas and Karessa will be presented the American Degree Saturday, November 1.

To earn this award, an FFA member must have earned at least $10,000 from their Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAE), previously qualified for the Chapter and State Degrees, worked at least 100 hours of community service during their FFA membership, have a record of outstanding Leadership skills, and have graduated from high school at least one year prior to the receiving of the degree.

Karessa’s SAE is Home and Community Development. She repaired/rebuilt houses and sheds here in Hugoton for hire and for free for the elderly, and she was also involved in several new construction projects ranging from yard fences to the building at the Eagle trailer park north of town. In her spare time, Karessa performed over 225 hours of community service.

Nic’s SAE was the entrepreneurship of Lawn Care in which he managed and cared for the lawns of several local residents. Nic also earned money in the Outdoor Recreation SAE by working at the Hugoton Recreation Commission and performing over 250 hours of community service.

Karessa is the daughter of Paul and Shannon Nordyke, and Nicholas is the son of Danny and Traci Goode.