Cato-Meridian FFA Alumni and Supporter Group

10/29/2026

Tonight!!

10/24/2026

This last week has been a very busy week for the Cato-Meridian FFA! Our FFA chapter travelled down to Indianapolis, Indiana with other chapters from District 7 for the National FFA Convention & Expo. We travelled from Southern Cayuga high school to Wegmans Organic Farm in Canandaigua, New York. We then travelled down to Troyer Farms in Waterford, Pennsylvania. On day 2, we travelled to Dickinson Longhorn Ranch in Plain City, Ohio. After that, we went to Select Sires in Belmount, Ohio. On day 3, we made a stop at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. On day 4 we went to a tour at Apache Sprayer Manufacturing facility in Mooresville, Indiana. Once we got to Indiana, we spent 3 days at the convention and expo and going to a morning session. Our members got to talk to colleges and businesses during the expo. Thank you to all of the parents, advisors and our bus driver Bob for making this trip possible!

10/23/2026

Little Convention update!!!

10/20/2026

Our very own Everett Cox will be going on for his National Debut in the next 20 minutes! Here’s the link:

https://www.ffa.org

10/17/2026

09/20/2026

On Friday, August 28th, Cato-Meridian FFA had 4 teams competing in Agronomy and Horticulture at the NYS Fair! These 4 teams consisted of:
Agronomy Team 1: Allison Kyle, Carleigh Hirvela, Mia Castellino & Patrick Minde
Agronomy Team 2: Eli Zappala, Stella Nasholts, Kinsey Gochanour & Luke Kyle
Horticulture Team 1: Allison Kyle, Mia Castellino, Eli Zappala, & Kinsey Gochanour
Horticulture Team 2: Carleigh Hirvela & Stella Nasholts

Congratulations to our members that placed in the top 10 individually and the teams that placed in the top 3:
Individual-
Eli Zappala: 3rd Place-Horticulture
Allison Kyle: 3rd Place-Agronomy
Carleigh Hirvela: 8th Place-Agronomy

Team-
Agronomy Team 1- 2nd Place
Horticulture Team- 3rd Place

08/20/2026

Want to explore local agriculture with Cato-Meridian FFA? Fill out this Google form to apply!🌾🐴

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYaLWqPtl4omI2BgSYatB-ek179L7_5FlUZ-QFw3qi_63enw/viewform

07/23/2026

Congratulations to our Cato-Meridian FFA members who competed this week at the Genesee County Fair in various events.

Welding: Patrick Minde, Ethan Nasholts
Tractor Driving Jr Division: Douglas White
Tractor Driving Sr Division: Eli Zappala

And a huge congratulations to Douglas White for placing 3rd in the Tractor Driving Jr Division!
Along with a thank you to Westin Bratt for tagging along to help out.

07/11/2026

For the past week, Cato-Meridian FFA members spent their time up at Camp Oswegatchie! Members got to participate in fun activities from kayaking to learning how to care for and ride a horse! We had 2 Cato-Meridian members run for banquet office such as, Vice-President Allison Kyle and Student-Advisor Mia Castellino. Thank you to all of the Camp Oswegatchie staff, advisors, and bus drivers for making such a memorable week for our members!

The following members who attended camp were:
Eli Zappala
Luke Kyle
Allison Kyle
Kinsey Gochanour
Douglas White
Anabelle Edelstein
Griffin Aukema
Alexa Hernandez
Westin Bratt
Carleigh Hirvela
Paxton Dashnau
Mia Castellino
Owen Hirvela
Emmilou White
Stella Nasholts
Ethan Nasholts

06/19/2026

On June 10th, Cato-Meridian FFA had our 3rd annual banquet where we celebrated all of our chapters achievements this year!

We started out the evening with opening ceremony and the National Anthem sung by our Eli Zappala and Everett Cox. We then continued the evening with a wonderful potluck dinner, thank you to all those who brought dishes to pass.

Following the dinner, we were able to give degrees to Cato-Meridian FFA Members
Congratulations to

Discovery Degrees:
Luke Kyle
Anabelle Edelstein
Stella Nasholts
Kinsey Gochanour

Greenhand Degrees:
Anabelle Edelstein
Mia Castellino
Ethan Nasholts
Carleigh Hirvela

Farm Bureau also generously donated FFA Jackets to members who applied and selected by the Farm Bureau for recognition.
Congratulations to:
Allison Kyle
Kinsey Gochanour
Anabelle Edelstein
Patrick Minde
Owen Hirvela

The Chapter voted on members to select awards for their contributions and spirit they bring to our chapter. Congratulations to the special members who make our chapter thrive:
The FFA Spirit Award: Carleigh Hirvela
The FFA Hustler Award: Allison Kyle
The Chapter Sparkplug award: Eli Zappala
The Chapter Uplifter award: Mia Castellino

We also had the opportunity to hear our seniors retiring addresses. Congratulations to our seniors, Megan Kyle, Lucas Merriam, Morgan Mansfield, Paxton Dashnau, Everett Cox, and Ella Lasinski. Cato-Meridian will miss you and good luck on your future endeavors!

Finally, Congratulations to our new Chapter Officer team for the 2026-2027 school year
New positions selected:

President: Eli Zappala
Vice President: Allison Kyle
Treasurer: Meghan Gunnip
Secretary: Stella Nasholts & Carleigh Hirvela Reporter: Anabelle Edelstein & Mia Castellino
Sentinels: Patrick Minde & Ethan Nasholts
Historian: Mia Castellino
Student Advisors: Kinsey Gochanour & Griffin Aukema

Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating the Cato-Meridian FFA Banquet. Thank you for supporting us throughout the year and we are excited for another great year in FFA!