Members of the West Rowan High School Future Farmers of America Chapter placed well at the June N.C. FFA State Convention.
More than 2,000 FFA members from across the state attended and were recognized for outstanding Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs and competed in Career Development Events.
West’s placements are:
– First place in State Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event. Team members are Lori Fraley, Daniel Cohen, Ryan Newton and Lee Hinson.
– First place in State Agricultural Sales Career Development Event. Team members are Taylor Bryan, Leah Collins, Missy Eller and Ashley Myers.- First place in State Marketing Career Development Event. Team members are Xiomara Villatoro, Leigha McIntyre and Ashton Schleicher.- Fourth place in State Dairy Foods Career Development Event. Team members are David Wilfong, Coleman Phifer, Steven Wetmore and Laura Watson.
– Seventh place in State Parliamentary Procedure. Team members are Phillip Stringer, Beverly Hampton, Sarah Brown, Ashlynn Perry, BreeAnn Lambert and Missy Eller.
The three first-place teams qualified to compete at National Competition in Indianapolis Indiana in late October.
Students were also recognized for their success in proficiency award areas. These awards are based on a student’s outstanding supervised agricultural experience programs and can be for entrepreneurship or placement type projects that students conduct outside of classroom instruction time. More than 300 applications were judged.
West Rowan’s State Proficiency Award Winners are Lori Fraley, Agricultural Sales Placement; Daniel Cohen, Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication Placement; Garrett Owen, Floriculture Entrepreneurship; Ryan Sloop, Dairy Placement; Ben Ketchie, Diversified Livestock Production Entrepreneurship; Garrett Teeter, Beef Entrepreneurship; Dillon Ridling, Forage Production Entreprenuership; Taylor Ridling, Emerging Agricultural Technologies Entrepreneurship; Ainsley Alessandrini, Equine Science Entrepreneurship; Ryan Newton, Forest Products Placement; and Laura Watson, Vegetable Production Placement.
All are being judged this month on the national level and will recognized at the national convention.
Other proficiency award areas that were in the top three in the state are Garrett Owen, second in Aquaculture Entrepreneurship; Dillon Ridling, second in Diversified Agricultural Production Entrepreneurship, second in Beef Production Placement and second in Agricultural Services Entrepreneurship; Sarah Brown, third in Outdoor Recreation Placement and second in Specialty Animal Production Placement ; and Ben Ketchie, second in Dairy Production Entrepreneurship.
A student can be recognized as a Star Farmer, the highest recognition on the state level, in the N.C. FFA based on a total supervised agricultural education program. The three Star Finalists from West Rowan are Dillon Ridling, first place, State Star Farmer; Rylan Sloop, first place, State Star in Placement; and Taylor Ridling, second place, State Star in Agribusiness.
Garrett Owen received the N.C. Outstanding Agri-Entrepreneurship Award. He has built two greenhouses and operates a floriculture business from his home.
Also at the convention, the West Rowan FFA Alumni Chapter, the largest in the state, received the Outstanding FFA Alumni Chapter in N.C. Award. This is based on the chapters’ level of participation in the local success of the FFA program.
Advisers for the West Rowan FFA Chapter are Jason Chester and Clark Adams.
Emory College list
Daniel Guertin of Salisbury has been named to the spring semester dean’s list at Emory College, the undergraduate, liberal arts college of Emory University in Atlanta.
Students must be in the top 20 percent or have a 3.859 or higher grade-point average.