Brett Hedden, son of Mike and Cristie

Hedden, La Grande, earned his American FFA Degree at the 80th National

FFA convention held in Indianapolis in October.

The American Degree is the highest degree awarded by the

National FFA Organization and recognizes the member’s leadership

abilities and achievements in agricultural business, production,

processing and service programs.

To be eligible for the American Degree, members must have

earned and productively invested $7,500 through a Supervised

Agriculture Experience program.

Hedden, a 2005 La Grande High School graduate, is

a sophomore at Eastern Oregon University majoring in rangeland

resources. His SAE consists of market steer production, market sheep

production, an extensive sheep-breeding operation and wildland

firefighting for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest’s La Grande Ranger

District.

Hedden’s leadership activities included serving as La Grande

FFA secretary. His agricultural education instructor and FFA adviser is

Paul Anderes.