A Pella High School graduate has received a special honor at DMACC. Marie Vander Wilt has been chosen as part of the 2022-23 class of Mark Pearson FFA Leadership Scholars. Vander Wilt is a paramedic specialist with fire science concentration, and was a nursing apprenticeship student through the WorkSmart Connector and Career Academy of Pella. The Mark Pearson FFA Leadership Scholarship was officially created in April 2016 during an announcement made in the Formal Office of the at-the-time Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. Pearson was the host of Iowa PBS’ “Market to Market” program for more than 20 years and was the host of WHO Radio’s “The Big Show.” Pearson was a Madison County farmer who also served as an Assistant Secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and was the Markets Editor for Successful Farming Magazine.