Newberry Middle School FFA member Courtney Berry (left), Kathryn Pickelsimer,
Summers Binnicker and Maggie Osborne with FFA Advisor Amy New.
NEWBERRY AND BETHUNE-BOWMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL FFA TEAMS TAKE STATE HONORS
COLUMBIA, SC…A Newberry Middle School FFA Team won first place State honors and a Bethune-Bowman Middle School team was named Runner-up in a new SC FFA-sponsored Round Robin Competitive Event designed to test students knowledge of Wildlife, Forestry, Horticulture, Agricultural Mechanics and Agronomy, according to John W. Parris, state director of public affairs with the SC FFA organization.
The Round Robin event, open to 6 th, 7 th and 8 th grade students, was held recently at the South Carolina State Fair Grounds in Columbia.
Newberry team members Courtney Berry, Kathryn Pickelsimer, Summers Binnicker and Maggie Osborne were coached by Amy New, Agricultural Education teacher and FFA advisor at Newberry Middle School. Summers Binnicker was the high individual scorer and Kathryn Pickelsimer was the third high individual scorer in the overall competition.
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| Bethune-Bowman Middle School FFA members Ebony Washington (left) and JeffreyJohnson with FFA Advisor Eldon Kimmel. |
Bethune-Bowman Middle School FFA members Ebony Washington and Jeffrey Johnson were named the State Runner-up team. Jeffrey was the second high individual scorer in the overall competition and placed first in the Wildlife Identification, Horticulture/Plant Identification and Agricultural Mechanics/Tool Identification categories. Ebony and Jeffrey placed second in Agronomy category. Eldon Kimmel, Agricultural Education teacher at the Middle School, was the team coach.
The students were required to identify different trees, animals, plants and tools from samples of leaves, tracks, pelts or photographs. They were also given a written test and participated in a group activity.
High school FFA teams from throughout the state also attended what was known as South Carolina FFA Super Saturday to compete for the state championship titles in Agronomy, Poultry Science, Tractor Operation and Safety, and Tool Identification.
National FFA Secretary Jessie Geib from South Dakota attended and conducted Leadership Workshops for FFA chapter officers.
The mission of the FFA is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.