At the conclusion of the 88th Wisconsin FFA Convention, Ciera Ballmer of Clinton FFA was elected to serve as the state FFA president for 2017-18. Ballmer served as a vice president on the 2016-17 state FFA officer team. The 20-year-old is a junior at University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in dairy science. She is the daughter of Ronna Morton Ballmer of Janesville and the late Jerry Ballmer. She succeeds Brenna Bays of Adams-Friendship FFA, who was the 2016-17 state FFA president.

The convention was held June 12-15 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. The theme of the convention was “Small Acts, Big Impact.”

STATE PRESIDENT: Ciera Ballmer of Clinton FFA is the new Wisconsin FFA state president.

New officers
A new state officer was elected from each of the state’s 10 sections. Following are the newly elected officers for 2017-18 and a little bit about each of them.

• Meikah Dado, 20, reporter, is a member of the Amery FFA Chapter from Section 1. Dado is a sophomore at UW-Madison, where she is majoring in dairy science. She is the daughter of Rick and Gwen Dado of Amery.

• Brooke Brantner, 20, is a member of the Menomonie FFA Chapter from Section 2. Brantner is a sophomore at UW-River Falls, where she is majoring in animal science. Her parents are Steve and Sara Brantner of Menomonie.

• Ciara Koboski, 20, is a member of Black River Falls FFA from Section 3. Koboski is the daughter of Amy Ervin and Todd Koboski.

• Morgan Fitzsimmons, 18, is a member of the Mineral Point FFA Chapter from Section 4. She will attend Iowa State University this fall with plans to become a veterinarian. Fitzsimmons is the daughter of Scott and Emily Fitzsimmons of Mineral Point.

• Liz Grady, 19, is a member of the Oregon FFA Chapter from Section 5. She is a sophomore at Purdue University, where she is majoring in agricultural communications and minoring in animal science. Grady is the daughter of Tom and Katie Grady of Oregon.

• Sam Jesse, 19, is a member of the Lodi FFA Chapter from Section 6. He will be a student this fall at UW-Madison, where he plans to major in agronomy. His parents are Matthew and Tracy Jesse of Lodi.

• Kathryn Lampi, 19, is a member of the Owen-Withee FFA Chapter from Section 7. She owns a herd of dairy goats, makes soaps from their milk and sells the soaps at local craft fairs. She also works at Black River Orchard. Lampi is the daughter of Bryan and Marla Lampi of Owen.

• Elisha Riley, 17, is a member of the Waupaca FFA Chapter from Section 8. Riley will be a freshman at UW-River Falls this fall, where she plans to major in animal science. She is the daughter of Thomas and Kari Riley of Waupaca.

• Sam Pinchart, 18, is a member of the Luxemburg-Casco FFA Chapter from Section 9. He will be a freshman at South Dakota State University, where he plans to major in agricultural education. Pinchart is the son of Brian and Marie Pinchart of Casco.

• Amelia Hayden, 16, is a member of the Big Foot FFA Chapter from Section 10. She will be a freshman this fall at UW-Madison, where she plans to study microbiology. Hayden was named the Wisconsin Star in Agriscience and will represent the state at the National FFA Convention in October. She was also first runner-up in the prepared speaking contest. Her parents are Edward and Claire Hayden of Sharon.

Each state officer will meet thousands of FFA members and will travel more than 10,000 miles during the next year. They will attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October and will meet leaders in government, education, business and agriculture.