Fervida, Lamb Win Big Awards from Chapter
Published: Friday, April 24, 2026
The NorthWood FFA chapter said farewell to eight seniors during its annual spring banquet on Sunday in Nappanee. Graduating this year are: Greyson Davis, Gretchen Fervida, Jonah Grueser, Kaitlin Lamb, Olivia Lentz, Charlie Mattern, Brody Minne and Henry Pfeiffer.
Fervida served as the 2025-26 president, while Lamb, Lentz and Pfeiffer filled the respective roles of student advisor, treasurer and sentinel. Other officers were Ella Haseley, vice president, Karlie Umbaugh, secretary; and Presley Zehring, reporter.
During the awards portion of the program, Fervida and Lamb took home several honors, including a senior scholarship. Fervida will attend Indiana University-South Bend to study health science, while Lamb is headed to North Dakota State University to pursue dual degrees in ag economics and animal science.
It was also announced that Lamb achieved a silver ranking in her State Star Farmer application.
Twelve advisor's awards were presented during the program, with Lamb receiving four certificates: Premier Leadership, Mentorship, Driven to Compete, and Living to Serve. Fervida collected two honors, the Advisor Award and Exemplary Award.
Other recipients of advisor's awards were: Eli Hertsel, Rising Sun; Elsa Jessup, Golden Attitude; Grueser, Personal Growth; Kaden Yoder, Workhorse; Pfeiffer, Courage to Grow; and Umbaugh, Premier Member Achievement.
The award for Star Greenhand was presented to Hertsel.
The chapter also presented awards to top individuals in each grade. The awards were based on a point system. Winners were: Lamb, outstanding senior; Avery Hess, outstanding junior; Georgia Haseley, outstanding sophomore; and Brynlee Penrose, outstanding freshman.
At the district leadership contest in March, 15 NorthWood FFA members earned first place honors. Those individuals were: Zehring and Jessup, traditional scrapbook; Zehring and Hess, plant and soil science demonstration; Umbaugh and Abby Kauffman, natural resources demonstration; Ella Haseley (2), prepared public speaking and ag communications proficiency; Hertsel, freshman extemporaneous speaking; Lanie Yoder, freshman prepared public speaking; Kaden Yoder, novice ag mechanics demonstration; Brynlee and Nola Penrose, novice animal science demonstration; Henry Pfeiffer, ag mechanics proficiency—placement; Lamb (2), agriscience animal systems proficiency and dairy production proficiency—entrepreneurship; and Camden Anderson, goat production proficiency.
Seven individuals will receive their Hoosier Degrees at the state convention in June. Those seven members include: Fervida, Hess, Pfeiffer, Umbaugh, Zehring, Kody Sprague and Ella Haseley.
In honorary awards, the Honorary Member Award was presented to Cindy Lamb. A new award, Holcomb's Honor, named in honor of the late Caleb Holcomb, a 2024 NorthWood High School graduate and FFA member, was presented to Trevor Munsell.
The final act of the evening was to install incoming officers for the 2026-27 school year. Zehring and Umbaugh will become president and vice president, respectively. Other officers are: Hess, student advisor; Hertsel, secretary; Anderson, treasurer; Cora Kniesly, reporter; and Brynlee Penrose, sentinel.
The chapter advisors are Brandi Henderson and Grace Allen.
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