Athol woman ranked in top 1% of national FFA

ATOL — Not many people can call themselves in the top 1% at what they do, but Haven Chase can.

The University of Idaho student recently received her Americana degree at the 97th annual Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis, the highest degree attainable in the National FFA Organization.

According to Chase, only 1% of FFA members earn the degree. She is the first FFA member in Kootenai County to receive this award, not to mention the first Timberlake High School graduate and member of the Timberlake FFA Chapter to receive this award.

“It was really great to get this, especially for our FFA chapter,” Chase said. “We’re a pretty young chapter, so it’s great to have an American FFA graduate for the first six years.”

Chase has been riding since she was 5 years old and was initially drawn to FFA by a horse class she took in high school.

“It caught my attention because I’ve been into horses since I was a kid,” Chase said.

From there, Chase poured all of her energy into her FFA chapter, community service, and competitions. Even the Controlled Agriculture Experience project she completed for her FFA chapter stood out.

Chase, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 8, took on the challenge of training her own service dog for her SAE project. The dog was by her side as she received her American degree last week in Indianapolis.

Chase attributes his success to the opportunities that came from being involved in FFA.

“FFA was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Chase said.

After graduating from Timberlake High School in 2022, Chase will attend the University of Idaho in Moscow to study animal and veterinary science.

“I’ve always loved animals and the Western lifestyle,” Chase said.