FFA Members Shine at District Contest
Published: Friday, April 29, 2022
District 2 FFA Leadership Contest, the highlight of the year for many area FFA members, was held last Thursday night at Wawasee High School in Syracuse.
Over 300 FFA members from 19 area schools competed in public speaking, demonstrations, quiz bowl, job interviews and other contests. First place winners advance to compete at the state convention in June.
"For a lot of chapters, this is their favorite event," said Reese Rowland, District 2 reporter from Warsaw. "We love putting on a good environment for them to speak and share all their great ideas that they've been working on for about four months."
Prior to the contest, district officers worked behind the scenes to line up judges, secure sponsorships and handle the logistics of the event. The contest is usually held at the home school of the district president. For 2021-22, that person is Arrington Krull of Wawasee FFA.
As president, she met with her district officer team to plan this event. After the results were tabulated, she led the opening ceremonies and presented awards.
In addition, Krull was competing in one of the contests. She placed first in Leadership Ambassador.
"That's where we present them (judges) our FFA resume, our professional resume, our proficiency and Star battery," Krull said, adding that the latter item refers to her supervised agricultural experience (SAE).
"Our SAE is like a business that we do or a job reward or an invention that we're working on," she said. "I personally run my own business. I sell goats to the auction barns around here."
For the final part of the Leadership Ambassador contest, Krull had to answer questions about major problems facing both the world and the agriculture industry.
Krull was one of two Wawasee FFA members to earn a first-place award and advance to the state convention. Also placing first was Leina Helfers, who took top honors in Persuasive Essay and Employment Skills.
Wawasee's Keria Lortie and Jacob Wilkinson both earned third-place awards. Lortie competed in Freshman Prepared Public Speaking, and Wilkinson competed in Ag Sales.
Whitko FFA captured eight first-place awards, including Lexi Funnell and Reese Bradford in Animal Science Demonstration, Kohen Schipper and Amy Brown in Natural Resources Demonstration, Holly Branning in Freshman Extemporaneous Speaking, Anna Sickafoose and Justine Ocken in Agricultural Mechanics and Tech Demonstration, Funnell in Agricultural Sales Presentation, Hannah Thomas in Freshman Public Speaking, Maggie Wolf in Agricultural and Farm Business Management Demonstration, and Sophie Kenner and Sophia Deneve in Discovery Degree Demonstration Plant Soil Science,
NorthWood FFA placed first in three contests, Avery Hess in Discovery Extemporaneous Speaking, Paige Jacobs and Brenden Blosser in Food Science Demonstration, and Stephanie Newcomer in Prepared Public Speaking.
Bremen FFA had the first place Exhibit. In individual contests, Ella Haseley won first place in Discovery Degree Demonstration Animal Science, while Taylor Haseley captured fist in Multi Media.
Argos FFA's Ben Zahm and Jase Brady were the top team in Plant and Soil Science Demonstration. The team of Lauren Andrews and Cailey Markley placed first in Horticulture Science and Landscape Management Demonstration.
Caston FFA had three winners, including the team quiz bowl title. Madisyn Douglass bested the field in Discovery Degree Creed, while Douglass and Ashley Fred captured first in Discovery Degree Demonstration Horticulture.
Warsaw FFA had the top entry in Traditional Scrapbook.
Other winners included: Hayden Stookey, Tippecanoe Valley, Discovery Degree Public Speaking; Cassidy Riddle, Plymouth, Extemporaneous Speaking; and Cheyenne Bender, Fairfield, Freshman Creed Speaking.
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