Libby Kleinsorge is already looking forward to her last year with the Wellsville-Middletown FFA chapter.

“I’ve got shows and FFA events, and I’m going on some trips with the FFA,” said Kleinsorge, who will be a senior at W-M this fall. “I’m excited.”

But Kleinsorge is upset that she has to spend her senior year without her older sister, Abbigail. Abbigail, who was the chapter’s vice-president for the ‘21-22 school year, graduated in May.

“I’m going to miss her a lot,” Kleinsorge said. “We rode to school every day together. I told my mom that this would be my first year in school by myself. I always had a sibling in school with me. It will be new.”

Now, Kleinsorge is taking over her sister’s spot as vice-president. The other officers for the 2022-23 school year are president Carly Henderson, secretary Maddi Poage, treasurer Jenelle Boeckelman, reporter Kaleb Peak, sentinel AJ Sherwood and chaplain Meagan Cripe. Henderson and Peak will be seniors, Boeckelman, Sherwood and Cripe will be juniors and Poage will be a sophomore this fall.

A chapter meeting was held outside W-M High School on the evening of May 17. Members talked about their plans for the summer. Afterwards, food was served to all of the members and their parents.

“It’s always a good meeting to close out the year and get the summer going,” Henderson said.

The chapter will have a busy summer that will include an officer retreat on June 23, a float trip on July 7 and visits to the Montgomery County and Missouri State fairs. Henderson said she’s excited about the officer retreat, in which the officers make plans for the ‘22-23 school year.

“I really enjoy doing the officer retreat because we get to have a little fun, too,” Henderson said. “We’ll see some team bonding with the new officers.”

The new officers were selected during an end-of-the-year banquet on April 25. Henderson said she was thrilled to be picked as the chapter’s president.

“Emily Blaue, who used to be my babysitter, was the president of the chapter and went on to be an area officer,” Henderson said. “I thought that was so cool and that was something I wanted to do. So I was fortunate enough to become the chapter president. I interviewed for area office, which I didn’t get. But it’s really great being an officer.”

Emily Brune and Rylee Williamson will return for their second year as the chapter’s advisers.

“Ever since our new ag advisers have come in and stepped up, they have really changed the dynamics of the chapter,” Henderson said. “We had teams that went to state and we had individuals who went to state. We did well in contests. More kids were eager to learn about stuff in the ag classroom and be involved in the FFA and doing events.”

Kleinsorge had a successful junior year with the FFA, qualifying for state competition in advanced speaking. Recently, she was selected as a Public Speaking Academy participant.

“I’m hoping to make it back to state because I competed in state already,” Kleinsorge said. “I hope to make it on the state stage. I competed, but I didn’t make it onto stage. My goal for this year is to do so well in the competition that I can make it onto stage.”

Three other members in the chapter will be seniors next year. They are Natalie Boeckelman, Kaylee Marshall and Molly Scott.