Natoma High School Grad Receives FFA American Degree
Dylan Pruter, a 2017 graduate of Natoma High, received the highest degree that can be awarded by the National FFA Organization at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 27th, 2018. This degree has been acquired by only one percent of the all-time FFA membership. Dylan is the son of Nick and Christy Pruter of Natoma, Kansas, where his supervised agricultural experience involved working for Hachmeister Cattle Co and owning seven head of cattle in a cow-calf operation. He is only the second Natoma FFA member to receive the award; Lloyd Oswald being the first in 1959. To be eligible to receive the American FFA Degree, a member must have received the State FFA Degree and been an active FFA member for the past three years; meeting specific requirements for activities and event participation. The member must have graduated from high school at least 12 months prior to the national convention at which the degree is to be granted. They must have maintained records to substantiate an outstanding supervised agricultural experience that includes earning $10,000 or productively investing $7,500. The member can also use a combination of earning/productively investing $2,000 and working 2,250 hours in excess of scheduled class time to reach the $10,000 mark. They must have a record of outstanding leadership abilities, community involvement, and academics, as well as complete a minimum of 50 hours of community service across multiple events. The ceremony was held at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Dylan and his fellow American Degree recipients were presented with the degree and pin by the 2018 National FFA President Breanna Holbert and National FFA Advisor Dr. Steve A. Brown. 4,255 FFA members received the honor this year, but not all were in attendance for the ceremony. You can watch the video of the event by visiting the National FFA Facebook page and finding the Eight General Session: 91st Convention & Expo video. Dylan is currently in his second year as a student at Colby Community College, studying agriculture education. Next fall he plans to enroll at Kansas State University to continue his work towards becoming an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor.
