On Oct. 24, the Lake Butler FFA chapter flew to Indianapolis, Indiana, to attend the National FFA Convention. The chapter had four state winning teams the previous school year; each in search of a national title.
The group consisted of 21 members and four advisors. The trip started early Monday morning, when the chapter left Jacksonville Airport at 5 a.m. Once they arrived in Indianapolis, they got to work preparing for the days to come.
The horse judging team was the first to compete Tuesday morning. The team members — Cailynn Boggs, Michael Young, Krista Young and Ryleigh Rhoden — completed a breed and tack ID test, as well as four team activities. The next day, they judged eight horse classes and did four sets of reasons. The team wrapped up the contest on Thursday with a team scenario activity.
A special awards banquet was conducted to announce the teams’ rankings. The horse judging team placed sixth in the nation, with all four members being gold individuals.
The poultry team — Perry Johnson, Darby Andrews, Kyla Boney and Jackson Crook — was the next group to compete on Tuesday. The competition requires an evaluation of interior and exterior eggs, ready-to-cook carcasses, and live hens. They also had to complete an oral presentation, set of reasons, and team practicum.
At the awards banquet, they were announced as 14th in the nation, and Jackson Crook was a gold individual.
The food science team — Laura Park, Kindall Johnson, Hannah Sherrod and Maegan Beatty — competed on Wednesday morning at the state fairgrounds. There were many individual components of the contest, including a math practicum, sensory evaluation, product speculation and consumer complaint letters. Once these were complete, the girls worked together on a team activity. They were given a marketing scenario and had to develop a food product that would fit the required target audience.
At the awards banquet they discovered that they were one of the top four teams and would discover their final placement the next day.
The agricultural sales team was the last of Lake Butler’s teams to compete. Lily French, Reagan Robinson, Tanner Connell and Ella Dicks had to create a sales pitch for Purina cattle feed. They completed an individual sales call, as well as a team presentation to try and sell their product. They were also announced as a top four team at their awards banquet and would discover their final placing the next day.
On Friday afternoon, the agricultural sales and food science teams had the opportunity to go on-stage at the Colts Stadium and be recognized. The agricultural sales team was announced as third in the nation, and Lily French received an award for being the 10th high individual of the contest. The food science team was also announced as third in the nation and gifted a plaque. Maegan Beatty was the second high individual of the contest, and Laura Park was the fifth high individual. Kindall Johnson was the overall high individual of the contest.
The chapter was proud of all their accomplishments and decided to have fun for the rest of the evening. Each team competed against one another at a local escape room, and the advisors were the first to escape! The group returned home on Saturday afternoon, and was welcomed by friends and family. They are already hard at work preparing for future competitions later this school year.
