Education

5 Southwest students awarded Hagan Scholarships
Five seniors from Southwest High School’s Class of 2025 have been awarded the prestigious Hagan Scholarship, which provides recipients with up to $60,000 to help fund their college educations.

Purdy FBLA qualifies 15 students for State Leadership Conference
On Feb. 4, the Purdy chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) traveled to the annual FBLA District 5 Leadership Conference. Out of 35 student competitors, Purdy had a record 33 students place in the top 10 in 50 different events. Fifteen students earned a chance to compete at the FBLA State Leadership Conference which will be held in Springfield from April 13-15.

Cassville takes 1st in Big 8 Speech and Debate
Cassville High School Speech and Debate students competed in the Big 8 Speech and Debate Tournament at Mt. Vernon on Feb. 8.

Cassville wins awards at Missouri Senior Beta Convention
Students place in 4 competitions, one receives $1,500 scholarship

28 attend FFA Greenhand Conference
First-year Cassville FFA Chapter members recently attended the Area Greenhand Conference. Greenhands is a term commonly used in FFA to describe first year members.

Southwest FFA to celebrate 50 years
The Southwest High School FFA officer team is inviting the public to its 50th anniversary celebration at the high school. In honor of this milestone, the current officer team also invites any former FFA advisors, officers or members to come to its chapter banquet. The banquet is scheduled for Sunday, May 4. People may RSVP for more details by calling Linda Morgan at 417-826-5413 or emailing lmorgan@swr5.net.

Cassville wins Southwest Tournament
Cassville’s speech and debate team took first in team sweepstakes points a the Southwest Tournament recently.

5 awarded ‘Grow Your Own’ grants
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has awarded state-funded “Grow Your Own” grants to 125 local education agencies.

Exeter homecoming royalty crowned
Exeter High School celebrated Homecoming on Jan. 31 with the theme “Hollywood Homecoming.”

27 medals won at FBLA conference
Cassville High School’s FBLA recently competed at its District Leadership Conference in Monett. As a chapter, members brought home 27 medals, including 3 district championships. Cassville advanced to the State Leadership Conference in 11 events. While at the conference, Will Finch was elected to serve as the VP of Membership for District 5 FBLA. Winners included: Bodee Rose, 1st place in Advertising; Bradyn Alley, 1st place in Computer Problem Solving; Elizabeth Butler, Lorelei Vanderhoef, Angela Byerly, 1st place in Hospitality & Event Management; Luke McNeill, 2nd place in Intro to Parliamentary Procedure; Makaiden Bolles, Elizabeth Butler, Angela Byerly, 2nd place in Entrepreneurship; Caitlyn Bonass, 2nd place in Job Interview; Kierstan Fare, Julie Gregory, Nevaeh Johnson, 2nd place in Marketing; Elly Ramaeker, Blakeley Pryor, Kailyn Speer, 2nd place in Website Design; Kaiden Shellenberger, 3rd place in Supply Chain Management; Kailyn Speer, 4th place in Intro to Financial Math; and Stratten Hendrix, 5th place in Insurance & Risk Management. Other medalists include: Caitlyn Bonass, 3rd place in Impromptu Speaking; Makaiden Bolles, Bradyn Alley, Keely Bailey, 4th place in Sales Presentation; Elly Ramaeker, Bradyn Alley, Gracie Maher, 4th place in Social Media Strategies; and Lauren Sparkman, Julie Gregory, Chloe Ledgerwood, 5th place in Graphic Design. Contributed photo