Whenever I drive around our great state, I’m always impressed by how complex farms are. The farmers have to be experts in all kinds of things like science, math, business, weather, and technology. And that isn’t even considering that they need to know how to raise crops and care for livestock! Recently we caught up with a few students from Waterford High School who are members of the Future Farmers of America and recently won top honors in Advanced Parliamentary Procedure which earned them this week’s A+ Award.
Students participating in Parliamentary Procedure competitions are evaluated on their ability to conduct an orderly and efficient meeting using parliamentary procedure. I’m sure your parents and teachers can tell you how important it is to have an efficient meeting! The team from Waterford earned a gold rating and advanced to the state championship for the 18th time in the last 22 years! That’s a remarkable run of excellence! But these students do more than just run meetings. Lanee, who is a senior, told us that she gets to show livestock through FFA. Her specialty is pigs. She told us that she gets assessed on how she handles the animals and how they respond to her. She could not be more grateful for the skills and opportunities FFA has given her. Taylor, who is a junior, told us that she focuses a lot of her work on studying soil. She told us that not all soil is equal and just because a type of soil is good for planting crops, it may not be good for building on. I never knew that. Kaylie also does a lot of work with soil types and she told us that her experiences with FFA have helped her become a strong public speaker. That’s a great skill to have and even though I speak to you every week, I still get nervous!
Taylor told us that she really enjoys participating in all of the different competitions and learning new things. She said that she really learned how to adapt to challenges because of the interesting things she’s done in FFA.
Allison added that she really appreciates the team atmosphere in the club and that everyone has been very supportive. McKenzi told us that the team atmosphere, and the unique challenges, really allow her to test her limits and take on new responsibilities.
This week’s A+ Award goes to the Waterford FFA Chapter’s Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Team for their excellent performance and facing new challenges. Keep up the great work!
