FFA Competition Hosted by Otero College Ag Program

Last Tuesday, Feb. 15, the Otero College Agriculture Program hosted the District V FFA Leadership Development Events on campus. There was a total of 88 students representing ten school districts across southeast and southcentral Colorado. The students competed in several leadership development events to earn a spot to compete at the state event in June.

The ten schools that participated were, Aguilar, Cheraw, Crowley County, Custer County, Florence, Fowler, Hoehne, Rocky Ford, Rye, and Swink. There were six events held, three for individual students and three that were for the chapter (team) competitions.

According to Brooke Matthew, Otero Ag Faculty, “It was great to see these talented young adults have such passion and energy for agriculture. Events, programs and students like those competing Tuesday reassures me that the future is bright for Agriculture.”

The results of the three chapter events are as follows:

Quiz Bowl
1st – Rye
2nd – Aguilar

Parliamentary Procedure
1st – Fowler
2nd – Crowley County

Conduct of Chapter Meeting
1st – Fowler
2nd – Florence

Individual student results:

Prepared Speech Contest:
1st – Alyssa Hancock, Rocky Ford, “30 by 30 Land Grab”
2nd – Chrisily Furia, Hoehne, “Grey Wolf”
3rd – Ava Hale, Florence, “Mental Health: Veterinarians in Ag”
4th – Rayana Hawks, Crowley County, “Mental Health in American Farmers”
5th – Haley Scofield, Swink, “Overtime Requirements for Ag Workers”
6th – Harrison Proctor, Fowler, “Farmers Can’t Afford to Pay the Price”
7th – Marlee Foster, Custer County, “FFA”
8th – Abby Provost, Cheraw, “Agriculture with Limits”

Extemporaneous Speech Contest
1st – Carli Carter, Crowley County
2nd – Bryan Williams, Hoehne
3rd – Taylor Bennett, Fowler
4th – Ben Stafford, Custer County
5th – Corey Zimmerman, Rocky Ford
6th – Emma Hanagan, Swink
7th – Kaiya Smotherman, Florence
8th – Zeb Laca, Rye

Creed Contest
1st – Addy Yeager, Florence
2nd – Kassidy Larson, Hoehne
3rd – Lacie Laca, Rye
4th – Madison Marsh, Fowler
5th – Chris Mullet, Custer County
6th – Ashlynn Hancock, Rocky Ford
7th – Ashlyn Berg, Crowley County
8th – Marianna DeLaCruz, Aguilar
9th – Luke Hanagan, Swink
10th – Kari Marquez, Cheraw

These events were created to help students develop critical thinking skills as well as hone their decision-making skills. According to the national FFA website, the Career and Leadership Development Events foster teamwork and promote communication while recognizing the value of ethical competition and individual achievement. For more information about FFA visit the National FFA Website at www.ffa.org or your local school district.