by JODY WITTER, Polk County FFA Federation President
With the school year coming to a close, we have many students to acknowledge and congratulate. Not only have these kids been working hard to pass their end-of-year testing, but they have also been putting in the hours to compete in their Spring FFA State contests, State Officer screening, and degree applications.
To start off with contests, we had many chapters from Polk county, middle and high, competing in State Nursery and Landscape. Within the top 10 for high school was Lake Gibson, in second, Auburndale, in third, and Bartow, in seventh. This CDE requires students to learn and understand the nursery and landscaping industry, as they identify plants, insects, diseases, and the fundamentals of a landscape plan.
For State Aquaculture we had Lake Gibson High school in fifth place, and Lake Gibson Middle school in ninth place. They were required to know different breeds of aquatic life and have an extensive knowledge of written information. State Livestock, one of the most competitive CDEs of the year, had a great turnout, with many preparing their judging cards and vocabulary for reasons. These students had to place various classes of livestock, including cattle, swine, and more. Within the top 10 we had Lake Gibson High School in fifth, and Bartow High School in ninth.
With State Land Judging and Homesite, we had one group of students, Southwest Middle, place in the top 10, as they were third place. There were many chapters that competed in other Career Development Events (CDE) this quarter, with State Dairy, State Veterinary Science, State Horse judging, and State Meats Evaluation. Congratulations to each student who put in the effort and competed! The goal of these Career Development Events (CDE) is to grow the next leaders in various agricultural industries and create well rounded students who are knowledgeable about their community. Based on these results, I believe the students represented Polk County well!
Along with CDEs, we had many students competing to be a candidate for Florida FFA State Office! The following students underwent a series of competitive interviews where they had to demonstrate their knowledge of the Agricultural Industry, their state degree supervised agricultural experience (SAE) projects, respond to personal questions, and more! Those competing within Polk County were Jody Witter, Weslee Howell, Clayton Keene, and Jessie Whitehead! The results for those who will be running for Area 4 State office are Clayton Keene, and Marissa Romeu (from Orange County). Congratulations to all students who were involved in this process and those who will be voted into office at the State Convention.
The Polk County Star awards is a recognition program that highlights students that show growth and skill development through their SAE. Students must apply, withstand a personal interview from a panel of judges where they are asked detailed questions about their SAE, and maintain proper record keeping. One student is awarded the Discovery, Greenhand, and Chapter Star Award in their respective age division.
Polk County Discovery Star award winner is Marlee Goodman from Bok Academy North. The Polk Star Greenhand is awarded to Zibe Stein from Frostproof. The Polk Star Chapter is awarded to Nathan Boyd also from Frostproof. Congratulations to these individuals who have dedicated themselves to furthering their FFA experience through their SAEs. As we look back at the year we had, we recognize all that Polk County FFA chapters have accomplished and look forward to another year!