Onalaska FFA earns top honors at state

Onalaska FFA had a chapter record six teams compete in the Texas FFA Association’s State Leadership Development contests held at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville last week. 

The teams qualified for state competition by finishing first or second in one of the 66 district competitions and first or second in one of 12 area competitions. More than 5,000 entries began the statewide-tournament in 15 different events, which reflect classroom instruction in basic leadership skills.

The following students achieved State rankings:

• Job Interview: A.J. Pinkert - third place in heat, and fifth place overall in the state out of 614 contestants.

• Senior Spanish Creed: Samantha Valdez - first place in heat, and eighth place overall in the state out of 440 contestants.

• Public Relations: Maddy Green, Katy Stolley, Nikki Burchert, and Rylee Taylor - fifth place in heat, and ninth place overall in the state out of 430 teams.

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• Radio Broadcasting: Katie Boyce, Lilith Maichetti, and Thad Lilley - sixth place in heat, and state semifinalist top 12 in the state out of 819 teams.

• Ag Issues: Katy Stolley, A.J. Pinkert, Graci Arce, Samantha Valdez, Lilith Maichetti, and Kaleigh Park - sixth place in heat, and state semifinalist top 12 in the state out of 199 teams.

• Senior Skills Demonstration: Thad Lilley, Maddy Green, Bailey Gresham, and Kayden Ard - 11th place in heat, and state semifinalist Top 22 in the state out of 437 teams.

Texas has the nation’s largest state FFA association with a membership of 174,981 members in 1,095 chapters. Of those, only 1,800 members, or the top 2%, competed in these State LDE Contests. FFA contests are different than other school-based contests, because there are no classifications, meaning they are true district, area, and state-level qualifying contests with schools ranging from 1A to 6A competing against one another.

FFA programs teach skills in leadership, career development and personal growth. FFA gives students the opportunity to practically apply classroom knowledge to real-world experiences through local, state and national competitions. Being a state semifinalist and the top 22 in the state like three of the Onalaska teams, or even the top 10 in the state like three of the Onalaska teams, proves extraordinary success in the FFA.