When the top one-half of one percent of FFA members are called to the national convention stage in October to be presented the organization’s highest honor, four Kingfisher High School alumni will be among them.

Jentry Squires, Class of 2020, and Braden Burns, Bryce Boeckman and Jarret Birdwell, Class of 2021, have been selected among about 3,500 FFA members nationwide to earn the American FFA Degree.

They’ll each receive a certificate and a gold key in a special ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the 95th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

The award is presented to FFA alumni who “go above and beyond to achieve excellence,” and is based on a rigorous set of requirements.

American Degree recipients must first be awarded the State FFA Degree , have completed at least three years of high school agricultural education and graduated at least a year prior.

Recipients also must have been active in their local and state FFA program for at least three years and have established and maintained an outstanding supervised agricultural experience program, through which the FFA member has exhibited comprehensive planning and managerial and financial expertise.

Recipients also are required to have earned at least $10,000 through their agricultural project and productively invested $7,500, or earned and invested $2,000 and worked 2,250 hours in excess of class time.

And, while managing all of that, recipients also are expected to maintain satisfactory grades, demonstrated outstanding leadership and completed at least 50 hours of community service within at least three different projects.

Each of the KHS recipients excelled not only within the nationally-recognized Kingfisher FFA chapter, but also in other academic and extracurricular activities.

All four graduated as valedictorians of their respective classes.

Squires, the daughter of Mark and Jona Squires, was a member of the national champion livestock evaluation and conduct of chapter meeting teams and national barrow show high overall team and also a national agriscience fair plant systems division winner and multiyear state public speaking champion.

Burns, the son of Ryan and Lori Burns, will step up after his term ends as 2021-22 state FFA secretary to serve as the 2022-23 president of the 27,500-member Oklahoma FFA organization. He also is a member of the na-tional champion conduct of chapter meetings team and the national runner-up parliamen-tary procedure team and national western meats judging contest. Burns was a champion sheep showman and academic scholarship winner at the Oklahoma Youth Expo and two-year state champion in meats judging and parliamentary procedure.

Birdwell, the son of Joel and Bridget applied themselves within their supervised agricultural experience, community involvement and the differing activities they participated and competed in throughout their FFA Birdwell, was a member of the 2018 state runner-up and 2019 state champion basketball teams.

He also was named to the all-state football team by the Oklahoma Coaches Association and was a fouryear member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Boeckman, the son of Bart Boeckman and Dee-Dee Boeckman, was a member of the state champion ag mechanics team and a certified master of beef advocacy.

He also placed in interscholastics competitions at East Central and Northwest Oklahoma State universities.

KHS FFA Adviser Megan Thormodsgard dubbed the American FFA Degree “an impressive achievement” for Kingfisher’s recipients.

“These individuals have career,” she said.

“It is no surprise that these individuals have continued to grow and challenge themselves after high school graduation and sought out this distinguished honor.”