Penn Manor school board Monday honored Victoria Herr, a 2014 graduate of Penn Manor High School, for serving as FFA State Secretary this year.
The board formally commended Herr, who joined six other FFA officers to represent the organization at events across Pennsylvania in 2014-15. Victoria told school board members she participated in leadership workshops and other activities at 29 high schools across the state.
She thanked the board for its support of Penn Manor’s agricultural education program, which includes four teachers and enrolls about 250 students in programs that include veterinary science, horticulture, biotechnology, agriculture mechanics and food and natural resources.
Last year, the PMHS program was named the Outstanding Secondary Program in Pennsylvania.
“Penn Manor is not a normal school district,” Herr told the board. “A lot of school districts struggle to keep even one ag teacher, and it’s something we really need.”
Herr delayed her first year of college to serve as state secretary, an unpaid position. Her appointment marked the first time in nearly a decade that a Penn Manor student or graduate had achieved such an honor.
Also at Monday’s school board meeting, Victoria was presented with the Joseph Kurjiaka Memorial Scholarship, a $2,000 award toward her education at Penn State University beginning in the fall.
The award is in honor of Kurjiaka, a Hempfield school board member and Manheim Township School District chief financial officer who passed away in 2011.
She will delay the start of her college studies to serve as secretary during the ’14-15 year.