Manor FFA was honored as one of the foremost organizations of its kind in the nation.

The club, comprising Penn Manor High School students, was recognized in the 2025 National Chapter Award Program from the National FFA Organization and was given a three-star ranking in August, which is the highest that can be earned. Less than 10% of chapters nationwide are given a ranking from the National FFA Organization.

From Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, club members attended the National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis.

Adviser Neil Fellenbaum said he hoped his club members realized they are some of the best in the country. "(I want them to) understand the depth and scope of the National FFA Organization by being involved at the national level and meeting other agriculture students from all over the country to open their minds beyond their local high school," he said. "The career expo helps them to see and understand all of the businesses involved in agriculture and food and that they can have an important role in the future of agriculture in our state and country."

Kassandra Welch and Lathan Axe enjoyed the experience. "We were able to just go around the convention hall," Kassandra said. "There was a big expo hall that had a bunch of agriculture booths, and they were sharing what their business does and how they tie into FFA. Then there was also a larger business hall where they were selling a lot of merchandise. There are also numerous competitions going on as well as multiple talent shows happening throughout the expo."

Lathan said, "I attended some workshops, and I participated on the on-site community service project. My workshop was about the importance of mentorships and having a mentor and mentoring other people. The service project was making dog leashes for a local shelter."

On Oct. 29, Kassandra and Lathan gave their presentation on Penn Manor's Mini-THON line dance. Manor FFA finished in the top 10 in the country in the competition for the Premier Chapter Award in Building Communities category for their program of activities.

"We definitely had some jitters right before we went up onstage, but we were able to watch some of the other presentations and able to talk to some of the presenters," Kassandra said.

Lathan said, "I think it was a really cool experience, and I'm really proud. I know everybody puts in a lot of effort with all of our events, so it was really special to be recognized to represent our chapter."

The poultry evaluation team made up of Misty Railing, Jozie Gilger, and Leanne Kneisley received a gold award. "We went and judged and looked at a whole bunch of different categories of poultry," said Jozie.

Misty added, "After looking at the different stations they had for us for the team activity, we went and completed a packet on it. We had to read an essay about different methods that they used to identify chicken parts and then answer questions on that as well."

"We were very nervous about it, but we think it went good," Leanne said. "I liked going to the expo and competing. Doing the team activity was a lot of fun."

The dairy cattle evaluation and management team composed of Katie Charles, Lillian Walborn, Gracie Shaiebly, and Jayden Buck earned a silver award. 

"It went really well," said Lillian. "We had a good amount of people in our contest."

"I enjoyed going to the expo, but I also enjoy competing," said Katie. "I did get to learn a few more things even while I was still competing."

Gracie appreciated the chance to meet students from other schools. "I learned a lot about interacting with new people, and I also learned more about dairy cattle," she said. "And I just learned about what all the FFAs from all across the country are like, how they work and what all they do, because I know different states do different things."

Jayden stated, "I had a lot of fun just competing with people from all over the country. I really love being part of this national event. I also really liked being able to walk around the whole convention center and being able to learn about different people and cultures."