FFA returns from nationals as gold emblem teams

One week in Kentucky proved to be all the time Lind-Ritzville FFA chapter members needed in order to return home as Gold Emblem Teams at the 86th Annual National FFA Convention and Expo in Louisville. With two teams traveling to compete, Agronomy and Marketing Plan, the group of students excelled in their contests to earn a third and fifth national finish.

The Marketing Plan team earned the third place finish, while the Agronomy team secured fifth place at nationals. The two teams are coached and instructed by Lind-Ritzville FFA advisors Andy Williams and Brad Gering.

Even among the sea of blue and gold jackets, the eight Lind-Ritzville FFA members shone in their competitions and stood out among the crowd. An estimated 62,998 people attended this year’s National FFA Convention and Expo.

Agronomy and Marketing Plan are only two of 25 Career Development Events (CDE) competitions conducted during the national convention. CDE contests are designed to showcase the individual and team skills of FFA members in a variety of job skill categories while providing students with an opportunity to develop abilities that will later help them be viable employees in the job market.

The Marketing Plan team, consisting of team members Sydney Nelson, Maya Wahl and Tyler O’Brien, competed in three days of competition. In the Marketing Plan contest, the trio presented an extensive marketing strategy about a J.E. Love power tool.

The Marketing Plan team competed against other Washington teams, and received the state title last spring, immediately providing them with the opportunity to travel to the national contest.

The team had to present their plan in a preliminary round, before being selected to present in the quarterfinals, semifinals and eventually the finals.

The Marketing Plan CDE provides students with an opportunity to sharpen and practice marketing skills. The Lind-Ritzville team created a plan surrounding ways to improve the current marketing of the J.E. Love product and presented their ideas during the contest.

As the third place team in the nation, Wahl, Nelson and O’Brien each receive $450 for their achievement. Only the top three Marketing Plan teams in the nation are presented with award money.

While the award money used to be provided as a scholarship, the National FFA Organization now awards cash prizes, as the organization recognizes not every student chooses to pursue higher education and attend college.

Thursday proved to be a long day for the four students competing in the Agronomy competition, as the full-day event began early in the morning and concluded with the awards ceremony in the evening. Dylan Hartz, Tyler Frederick, Cort Ruzicka and Hugh Hennings represented the Lind-Ritzville FFA chapter in the competition, while Brian Campbell traveled with the team as an alternate.

During the Agronomy contest, the participants are tested on their knowledge of agronomic sciences, as well as being able to apply that knowledge to real-life situations. The competition tests the FFA members’ abilities by challenging them to develop solutions for problematic scenarios; identify seeds, soil, insects and crops; as well as other agricultural management practices.

A total of 140 FFA members competed in the Agronomy contest, and all of the Lind-Ritzville members placed individually in the top 50 finishers in the nation. The top placements not only gave the team members individual Gold Emblem status, but also allowed the team to finish as one of 13 teams to be recognized as a Gold Emblem Team.

As individuals, Hennings finished 13th, Frederick earned 20th, Ruzicka received 26th and Hartz rounded out the scores as the 36th high individual.

The Agronomy and Marketing Plan CDE contests are only two of the educational activities presented at the national event that assist FFA members practice the skills and lessons learned in the agricultural classroom. All of the team members traveling to the national convention focus on agricultural classes, which help them fine-tune and practice for the contests, while also spending time outside of the school day practicing and studying for the CDE competition.

The 87th National FFA Convention and Expo returns to Louisville next year Oct. 29 through Nov. 1, and the Lind-Ritzville FFA chapter hopes to be attending the convention with more teams qualifying to compete.

Katelin Davidson can be contacted at [email protected].