Rob:  From the state convention, competition winners move on to compete at the national FFA convention.  More than fifty thousand students attended last year, and of those, only a handful earned the American Star Award.  It’s FFA’s highest honor, and a young man from Oklahoma brought the award home.
Our 2007 American Star in Agricultural Placement, (drum roll) is Chance Simpson from Oklahoma.
Chance Simpson, of Hillsdale, Oklahoma, served as a chapter officer and was a state winner and national contestant in eight different proficiency awards.  He recently completed the John Deere Technical Program at Garden City, Kansas.  Chance works for P & K Equipment as a service technician.  He’s completed training in many service areas including hydraulics, a major part of farm equipment, and the repair of the torque convertor is only a part of this transmission overhaul.  He’s developed the knowledge necessary to repair older equipment and meet the changes of today’s machinery.  His broad knowledge of equipment needs, helps prepare for the job.  He utilizes his training in exchange with his dad for additional equipment needs for his growing production program.  He farms over 900 acres of wheat and alfalfa, in addition to his mechanical career, to establish his place in American agriculture; American Star in Agricultural Placement, Chance Simpson.