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Collin Weltzien, Arcadia FFA, is named state FFA president.

Fran O'Leary, Wisconsin Agriculturist Editor

June 18, 2019

4 Min Read
2019-20 Wisconsin FFA state officer team
OFFICER TEAM: The 2019-20 Wisconsin FFA officers are (from left) Lindsey Augustine, Ryan Erickson, Emily Sheehan, Jared Mack, Daniel Clark, Collin Weltzien, Michelle Stangler, Curtis Weltzien, Joe Schlies, Grace Morrissey, and Lydia Williams.

Collin Weltzien, of Arcadia FFA, was elected to serve as the state FFA president for 2019-20 at the conclusion of the 90th Wisconsin FFA Convention. Weltzien was a vice president on the 2018-19 state officer team. The 21-year-old graduated from Arcadia High School in 2017 and will be a junior this fall at University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where he is majoring in ag business. He is the son of Keith and Karen Weltzien. He succeeds Amelia Haden of Big Foot FFA.

Weltzien will be serving on the state FFA officer team with his younger brother, Curtis. The 19-year-old state FFA treasurer will be a sophomore at UW-River Falls, where he also is majoring in ag business. The brothers live on a 180-cow dairy farm with their parents and younger brother.

The Wisconsin FFA Convention was held June 10-13 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. The theme of the convention was “Our Tradition, Our Future, Our Legacy.”

New officers

A new state officer was elected from each of the state’s 10 sections. Following are the newly elected officers for 2019-20 and information about each of them:

Ryan Erickson, 20, vice president, is a member of the Barron FFA chapter from Section 1. Erickson graduated from Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College’s Rice Lake campus in 2019 with a degree in construction and cabinet making. He plans to continue his education at Chippewa Valley Technical College in business management. He is the son of Roger and Ruth Erickson.

Lindsey Augustine, 18, vice president, is a member of the Ellsworth FFA chapter from Section 2. Augustine graduated from Ellsworth High School in 2019 and will be a freshman this fall at UW-River Falls, where she is majoring in ag education and animal science. Her parents are Andy and Wendy Augustine.

Curtis Weltzien, 19, treasurer, is a member of the Arcadia FFA chapter from Section 3. He graduated from Arcadia High School in 2018.

Grace Morrissey, 18, vice president, is a member of the Shullsburg FFA chapter from Section 4. She graduated from Shullsburg High School in June and will be a freshman at UW-River Falls, where she is majoring in animal science. She is the daughter of George and Tammy Morrissey.

Emily Sheehan, 18, sentinel, is a member of the Parkview FFA chapter from Section 5. She is a 2019 graduate of Orfordville Parkview High School and will be a freshman this fall at Winona University in Winona, Minn., where she will major in nursing. Sheehan is the daughter of John and Crystal Sheehan.

Jared Mack, 20, secretary, is a member of the Sauk Prairie FFA chapter from Section 6. He graduated from Sauk Prairie High School in 2017 and will be a junior this fall at UW-River Falls, where he is majoring in ag education. He is the son of Keith and Angela Mack.

Daniel Clark, 18, vice president, is a member of the Spencer FFA chapter from Section 7. Clark graduated from Spencer High School in 2019 and will be a freshman at UW-Stevens Point this fall, where he plans to major in fisheries and aquatics. He is the son of Kevin and Amy Clark.

Lydia Williams, 19, reporter, is a member of the Shawano FFA chapter from Section 8. She graduated from Shawano High School in 2018 and is a sophomore at UW-River Falls. She is the daughter of Bruce and Jane Williams.

Joe Schlies, 18, parliamentarian, is a member of the Denmark FFA chapter from Section 9. He graduated from Denmark High School in 2019 and will be a freshman this fall at UW-River Falls, where he plans to major in ag business. He is the son of Lester and Nancy Schlies.

Michelle Stangler, 18, vice president, is a member of the Watertown FFA chapter from Section 10. She is a 2019 graduate of Watertown High School and will be a freshman this fall at UW-Platteville, where she plans to major in ag education and animal science. She is the daughter of Sheldon and Marie Stangler.

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 Oct. 30-Nov. 2 and will meet leaders in government, education, business and agriculture.

About the Author(s)

Fran O'Leary

Wisconsin Agriculturist Editor

Even though Fran was born and raised on a farm in Illinois, she has spent most of her life in Wisconsin. She moved to the state when she was 18 years old and later graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Fran has 25 years of experience writing, editing and taking pictures. Before becoming editor of the Wisconsin Agriculturist in 2003, she worked at Johnson Hill Press in Fort Atkinson as a writer and editor of farm business publications and at the Janesville Gazette in Janesville as farm editor and feature writer. Later, she signed on as a public relations associate at Bader Rutter in Brookfield, and served as managing editor and farm editor at The Reporter, a daily newspaper in Fond du Lac.

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