Consistency was key in keeping “Stanley” in Kingfisher.

The Kingfisher FFA Chapter once again reigned supreme as last week it brought home the sweepstakes trophy from the Oklahoma State FFA Convention from Oklahoma City.

The honor was earned for a multi-teacher program and it’s the 19 ^th consecutive year Kingfisher has won the title.

The trophy has resided in Kingfisher’s ag room for so long, it’s been named. Stanley was the name of choice. And Stanley isn’t going anywhere because of a plethora of high finishes in the Career Development Events.

The chapter had one individual state champ, two state championship teams and a host of runner-up finishes to earn the overall title.

Braden Burns was the state champion in agriculture policy and was also the runner-up in prepared public speaking on top of being named a state officer for the next year (see related story).

The parliamentary procedure and conduct of chapter meetings teams were also champions.

The parli-pro team consisted of Chairman Mayce Gibson, Katon Lunsford, Alli Themer, Ivy Hartman, Dustyn McLean and Leyla Avila.

Making up the conduct of chapter meetings team were Chairman Natalie Garrett, Mia Hartman, Ashley Casillas, Hannah Francis, Chloe Blair, Kylie Hood and Laney Rose.

Both teams have qualified for the national competition.

State runner-up teams were ag sales, ag issues, marketing plan, agriculture mechanics and meat evaluation.

In ag mechanics, Cy Jones was the top-placing overall individual.

Bryce Boeckman was sixth and Aldo Perez 10th. Daylan McManus was also a part of the team.

Rylie Farrar was the second-place individual in ag sales while Kara Murray was seventh, Katy Diedrich was eighth and Ivy Hartman ninth.

A senior, Murray was one of dozens of Kingfisher FFA students who saw their work in 2019-20 cut short by the pandemic.

“Everyone worked so hard last year in preparing for state contests and seeing it completely shut down all at once was tragic,” she said.

“Having everything given back to us this year has given me a new appreciation for what was taken last year.”

Caden Kitchens was eighth individually and Maggie McCully ninth in meat evaluation. They were joined by Dustyn McLean and Nate Duncan.

Ag issues team members were Gibson, Avila, Hood, Garrett, Hartman and James Perdue.

The marketing plan team was Themer, Burns and Lunsford.

The agronomy team took fourth as Devin Diedrich was the sixth-place individual and Rebecca Auringer 11th. Sara Stiner and Cameron McDonald rounded out the team.

Braden Burns was the fourth-place individual in dairy evaluation. He was joined on the team by McLean, Colton Burns and Robert Barnett.

The livestock evaluation team of Colton Burns, Carter Kitchens, Robert Barnett and Myka Elliott was 14th.

The first 18 of the consecutive sweepstakes trophies were won under the direction of Lori and Ryan Burns.

Megan Thormodsgard and Tyler Gradert were hired in 2019 to take over the program and their first year was cut short by COVID-19.

“Personally, it’s extremely gratifying for me seeing the students complete a yearlong goal of winning the multi-teacher Sweepstakes Award,” Gradert said.

“Their hard work in and out of the classroom was second to none. Being a part of such a tremendous group of young people makes my job as an agriculture educator very rewarding.”

Thormodsgard said those involved in the FFA program helped make the transition to new advisers a smooth one.

“Mr. Gradert and I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to come into a program with unbelievable support from the community,” she said. “We have been shown more grace than we deserve and more support than we could have ever asked for. We are proud to be a part of this program and get to work with these students each day.”

And it was those students, she said, who made sure Kingfisher’s tradition has maintained.

“It is so rewarding to see these students’ tenacity and hard work pay off,” she said. “I am proud of the work that they all put in and am excited to see what comes next for each of them.”

Murray said she’s witnessed much the same during her storied career.

“Now that I’m a senior, I’ve been able to experience the amazing support of our community, ag teachers, teammates and parents,” she said. “Without this support, we would never come close to keeping up this long-standing tradition. I am truly honored to have been a part of something so blessed.”