Lind-Ritzville FFA members move on to state

Lind-Ritzville FFA chapter members competed in the District 9 contests throughout March and now have a long list of teams and individuals moving on to the state competitions in a variety of events. The chapter members competed in a extensive list of Career Development Events (CDE) at the district level.

There are 24 CDEs students can participate in, according the National FFA Organization’s website, and every competition is designed to showcase the individual and team skills of FFA members. The members’ skills are tested 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 District 9 contests began on March 10 at Ritzville Grade School. The Lind-Ritzville chapter had one team place first, two teams finish in second and one individual also place.

The Milk Quality and Products team received the first place award with a team of Beau Jones, Bryden Laird, Grayson Whitaker, Skyler Oestreich, Dallas Killian and Dylan Bilodeaux. Individually, Jones was the top placing contender, followed by Oestreich with a fifth place finish; Killian in sixth; Whitaker placed sixth; Laird earned seventh place; and Bilodeaux finished in 10th.

In this CDE event, members completed a written exam about milk production and marketing. The team also identifies cheeses and characteristics, and complete milk judging tests.

Individually, Maya Wahl is continuing on to state after placing second in the Job Interview contest. The Job Interview contest takes participants through all of the various facets of the job interview process, with participants also preparing a resume, cover letter and completing an application in cooperation with their interview.

In Marketing Plan, the team of Hallie Jo Galbreath, Taylor Kulm and Madison Harder placed second and earned a trip to state. The contest challenges the students to create a plan surrounding a new agricultural product, supply or service, and then market the product.

The Ag Issues team also earned a second place finish and a trip to state, and team members are Kate Schell, Katie Manke, Holly Nygren and Dinah Gadberry. In this contest, the students are challenged with their knowledge of agricultural issues and evaluated on how they use skills learned in the classroom in the scenario.

On March 14, five teams and a group of individuals continued to compete in district competition. The three Lind-Ritzville Agronomy teams swept the top three placements at the contest. The Agronomy contest tests students knowledge regarding agronomic sciences in a variety of categories, including identification of seeds, insects, soils and crops, as well as developing solutions for problematic situations.

The chapter members and individual placing of team members were BJ White, first; Matt Leffel, second; Tyler O’Brien, third; Gadberry, fourth; Brian Campbell, fifth; Heidi Hennings, sixth; Madison Harder, seventh; Schell, eighth; Raeann Hoeft, 10th; Tessa Jantz, 11th; Taylor Kulm, 12th; and Ryan Frederick, 13th.

Farm Business Management had two teams travel to the district competition and the teams earned the top two slots to continue on to the state contest. There were four teams and 20 individuals competing in the district contest. The Farm Business Management competition is designed to test students’ understanding of management practices on farms and ranches, and evaluate their ability to use economic principles in their analysis.

Team members and individual placements are Bridger Smith, first; Campbell, third; Elizabeth Schofstoll, fourth; Dane Wahl, fifth; Caitlin Schoessler, sixth; Trevor Jantz, eighth; Leffel, 10th; and Bryson Gering, 11th.

The Lind-Ritzville chapter also had four individuals travel to participate in the First Year Member competition. Those members participating are Dustin Kulm, Michael Shields, Morgan Shields and Damien Rouleau.

The Rituals/Novice Parliamentary Procedure team finished at the top of the competition and earned a trip to state as the first place team. The contest tests the students’ knowledge on parliamentary law, as well as requires them to do a presentation of the opening ceremonies of a traditional meeting. Team members are president, Tessa Jantz; vice president, Felicia Ziemer; secretary, Erica Leffel; treasurer, Kallie Harder; reporter, TyAnn Tellefson; and sentinel, Emily Kinney.

Sydney Nelson placed first in Extemporaneous Speaking and TyAnn Tellefson finished third in the Creed competition on March 21. The Creed competition recognizes those students who have memorized and excel in performing the FFA Creed, while also answering questions regarding the creed and agricultural issues after the speech. The Extemporaneous Speaking competition is based on members having a prepared, factual speech regarding a specific agricultural issue.

For more information about the local Lind-Ritzville FFA Chapter, contact advisors Brad Gering and Andy Williams at 659-1630.