In honor of National FFA Week Watonwan Farm Service Co. announced it would offer a $2,000 grant program to each FFA chapter within their trade territory through the WFS Foundation. One of those recipients was the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva chapter.

The purpose of the grant was for each chapter to use the funds to focus on developing and applying leadership and classroom skills with activities, projects or events that help improve rural communities and service those who live there.

Each chapter adviser was asked to fill out an application describing an activity, project or event that their chapter has planned for the coming months or have already been accomplished this year and how it may have improved their community or helped serve a group of individuals within their community. They were also asked how the funds provided by WFS would help with the activity now or in the future.

“Funds from the grant will be used to expand our scholarship program as well as assist with the children’s barnyard, our mentorship program and our school garden,” Dan Sorum, NRHEG FFA adviser said. “All of these purchases will either aid in the long-term health of the programs themselves, or the long-term investment we make in our students’ educational future.”

WFS Operations Manager Craig Christenson and board member Neil Schlaak presented Sorum and chapter members Haylie Mosher and Melissa Malakowsky with the check.