SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A local Future Farmers of America chapter has won special recognition.

The Sullivan FFA has been designated as a national FFA model of excellence chapter, which means their chapter now ranks among the top ten chapters in the entire country.

Sullivan FFA advisor, Kevin Cross, said it’s based on their dedication to growing leaders, building their community, and strengthening agriculture. Their students put forth an application where they highlighted 9 activities and competed against chapters across the country for this award.

“When we got the email looked at it’s like does that really say Sullivan FFA of Indiana? Is that really what that says it really kind of blew us away so yeah that’s kind of a, you know, we’re kind of riding the mountain top there and when we go to the national FFA convention in October we’ll have students competing to earn that top spot,” Cross said.

Cross said the Sullivan FFA is the first chapter from Indiana to win the Model of Excellence in 11 years.