Effingham County FFA members competed in five Area IV FFA Career Development Events on Dec. 4 at Southeast Bulloch High School.
Premier Leadership, Personal Growth and Career Success are the main focus of the National FFA Organization. Students are given the opportunity to put their skills and knowledge to the test when they compete in the more than 25 different Career Development and Leadership Development Events.
From South Effingham Middle School, Dylan LeTourneau placed first in Lawnmower Operations.
Mia Blackmon, Scarlett Bargeron, Hayley Brown, Khloe Peacock competed in the Floriculture Career Development Event, placing second. Blackmon claimed third individually. All these students will advance to the state competition that will be held at Fort Valley State University on Feb. 8-9.
From Effingham County Middle School, Maddy Calloway, Faith Padgett, Chase Vincent and Ally Weinart competed in Floriculture. Royce Hinely, Jacob King, Brooke Norman, and Trystan Price competed in Forestry.
From Ebenezer Middle School, Lucas Hartzog, Kayla Lipovsky, Aleigh Gibbs, and Miriam Harralson were members of the floriculture team. Evan Burns competed in the lawnmower operations CDE and placed seventh. The Ebenezer forestry team placed fourth in the junior competition. Team members were Breanna Harris, Trenton Bracken, Allie Shea and Allison Smith.
From Effingham County High School, Alysssa Almerigotti, Phillip Babin, Julia French, and John Harris competed in the Agricultural Sales event. Collin Flowers, Garrett Johnson, Garrett Joyner and Sam Hodges competed in the Forestry competition, and Josh Merrick. Trevin Moore, Tiffany Pittman, Anna Fulcher and Jaylin Coleman competed in the Agricultural Communications Career Development Event. Coleman posted the second-highest individual score.
In the Agricultural Sales CDE, South Effingham High School placed first, led by high individual scorer Brian Nichols and runnder-up Katlyn Davis. The team slso included Garrett Collins and Logan Westgate. They will compete in the state finals at Fort Valley State University in February.
Haley Jackson, Morgan Morris, Macee Smith and Haley Smith placed fourth in Senior Floriculture.
Colton Stallings, Heather Lee, Adrienne Watson and Daniella Gills are members of the Junior Floriculture team. Austin McMahon participated in the lawnmower operations career development event and Morgan Milbrandt, Isaiah Scott, Matthew Nease, and Matthew Morris were members of the SEHS Forestry team.
The purpose of these Career Development Events are to connect students with what is taught in the classroom to practices used in the different Agricultural industries. Additionally, the competition promotes academic achievement and competence for students who seek a future in the Agricultural industry.
These events are just a few of the many educational activities in which the FFA members apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations. The Georgia FFA Association has the third-largest FFA membership in the nation with more than 42,000 members.
FFA strives to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.
