Pine Plains hosts FFA District Contests

PINE PLAINS — A variety of schools far and wide congregated at Stissing Mountain Middle/High School for the annual FFA District Contests last Saturday, March 7.

Pine Plains is located in FFA District 2, which is comprised of chapters in the Catskill region, including Pine Plains, Webutuck, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Schoharie, Sharon Springs, Greenville, Warwick and Tri-Valley.

District contests consist of several CDEs (career development events) that prepare members for skills they can apply to their own lives.

There are 10 CDEs that students can participate in, including extemporaneous and prepared speaking, job interviews and creed. Parliamentary procedure seemed to be one of the students’ favorites: Members convene and hold a business meeting. The different contests can be held for either individuals or groups.

FFA members are not required to participate in the contests, and some, like Pine Plains President Kyle Walsh, opted to take a rest from competition this year and instead worked to make sure everyone found their contest rooms and make it to their events on time.

“I’m a little nervous,� admitted 13-year-old Ethan Arsenault of Pine Plains. Ethan has been competing in districts for three years, but this is his first prepared speech event. “It’s on the first John Deere plow,� he said.

There are junior and senior levels for most contests. New York is made up of 10 FFA districts. District 2 is comprised of eight chapters. While sub-district competitions are held, members said they were mostly a practice round for the districts.

Members who place in the top ranks of each contest qualify for the sub-state competitions, which will be held on March 22. The winner of each competition on that level will go on to the state contest, held on May 21.

Lillian Johnson, a member from Cobleskill, is competing in two competitions this year, including senior prepared speaking. Her topic: Should cloning livestock be used in production?

“I love the FFA,� she said, adding that she was running for state line officer. Johnson will study agriculture at SUNY-Cobleskill.

Chris MacNeil, who is the Pine Plains chapter advisor, said that District 2, as a whole, probably meets five to six times a year. But the district is very close knit, and many of the members intermingle and stay in contact with each other in between FFA meetings.

While advisors encourage the students in the FFA program, ultimately these contests are in the student’s hands.

“It’s up to them,� MacNeil said. “If they’ve done the contests before, a lot of times they’ll be more independent. But we encourage [meeting with advisors] as much as possible.�

Deb Fletcher, who is an advisor for the Cobleskill-Richmondville chapter, said the students are often very excited for competitions like this.

“They want to do well,� she said. “You can almost see their brains stretching. And it’s a confidence builder. It’s really neat to see their reactions.�

Rachel Anderson, the Greenville advisor, agreed.

“The best part is seeing the enthusiasm in the middle school students,� she said. “They’re so nervous before their events, and so pleased with themselves afterward.�

Competition went on from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. Pizza was provided for members, who waited around for most of the day to hear the results of their events.

Winners from Pine Plains are as follows: Ashley Bartholf in third place and Colleen Smith in second place for junior creed speaking; Sara Murphy in second place for people in agriculture; Meagan Stephens in second place for job interview; and Jessica Meiller  in first place for senior creed speaking. All the Pine Plains winners will be going on to sub-states.

MacNeil said if anyone should be thanked, it was the volunteer judges, many of whom were members of the community.

“Without them volunteering their time, this could not occur,� she said.