The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton and St. Clair Future Farmers of America chapters had a busy week. St. Clair had members in a small engines contest on Thursday, November 14, while both school districts sent members to a Leadership Development Day hosted by South Central College in North Mankato on Friday, November 15.
Several schools were at the event with JWP and St. Clair, including the combined Mankato FFA, Sibley East, Maple River, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, United South Central, and New Ulm.
There were several activities for the FFA members to take part in. Greenhand Day involved members from several grades 7-9 schools learning leadership skills while developing team-building activities with fellow FFA members from various chapters. JWP Greenhands included Garrett Reinhardt, Blake Bure, Jett Sturdivant, and Brennan Welvaert. The schedule also involved some members doing soil judging.
There were also several speaking and interview-form events in which JWP and St. Clair had three members participate. St. Clair’s Mackenzie Levos and Nealy Barna were in the employment skills with Taylor Holtz in creed speaking. JWP’s Eric Daschner also participated in employment skills, Sophia Coulsey performed in the extemporaneous speaking category, and Maya Olson participated in the FFA Creed.
Both local FFA chapters had a fantastic day with the speaking activities. JWP’s Coulsey placed first in extemporaneous speaking and will earn a trip to the state convention in December. Congrats to her! Daschner had a good day, too, taking third in his category. St. Clair had a great day, too. Levos placed best out of the three St. Clair speakers and presenters, taking 4th on the day, with Barna taking 10th.
It was a great day for the JWP and St. Clair FFAs to show off some of their skills and see how they match up with other school districts and their chapters. At the end of the day, though, it’s all in good fun and education. The event proved that there is an increase of interest in the local area from students who want to learn more about agriculture and everything the FFA is about.
