Students from both Enumclaw and White River high schools headed east of the Cascades for the annual state FFA convention.
The May 9-11 event has thousands of FFA members from all corners of the state converging on the Pullman campus of Washington State University.
The convention help special significance for a former member of the White River High chapter. Presiding over the convention was state president Sadie Aronson, who has spent the past year with the state FFA organization and retired her post May 11.
Aronson was elected state president at last year’s convention, graduated in June 2018, and spent the past 12 months traveling the state, promoting the world of agriculture and serving as the top ambassador for FFA.
ENUMCLAW HIGH
Enumclaw High’s FFA chapter had 27 members competing in Pullman in 10 different events.
Placing first in the FARM for Kids event was the EHS team of Gracelyn Boren, Dustin Clarke, Daisy Ruvalcaba and Lane Williams. For this event, members from the Agricultural Leadership class at EHS visit Enumclaw Middle School once a month to teach a lesson about the importance of agriculture.
The four chapter members who represented the Agriculture Leadership class demonstrated their curriculum for the year, activities they did in class and presented a short video of what they did throughout the year.
Enumclaw Veterinary Sciences placed fifth in the state with a team including Ruby Anderson, Gracelyn Boren, Katy King, Alyssa Seldal and Ryan White. King also placed fifth individually for Veterinary Sciences.
Veterinary Science a Career Development Event where students work in teams and demonstrate their technical competency with small and large animals by completing a written exam, critical-thinking scenario questions, identifications, and hands-on practicums.
Chapter members Ruby Anderson, Aubrie Arnold, Dustin Clarke, and Lane Williams all received their State Degrees, the highest award the state association can give. To be eligible, an FFA student must complete years of work in their chapter and make a certain amount of money with their Supervised Agriculture Experience projects.
Also, Michaela Schulz receive her Beef Proficiency Award. Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through their Supervised Agricultural Experiences, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward future careers.
WHITE RIVER
The White River High chapter saw numerous students earning awards in Career Development Events.
Job Interview: Natalie Gomez finished second at state and Madison Arsanto took fourth place.
Prepared Public Speaking: Gomez, sixth at state.
Farm Team: taking seventh in state competition was the team of Arsanto, Molly Bertsch, Ashley Buchholz, Thomas Bartoy, Gomez, Alyxandra Bozeman and Riley Stivers.
First Year Greenhand: taking 11th place were Devyn Larson, Allaina Cox, Daisy Roberts and Conrad Schwatke.
Competing in the sub-state round but not advancing to the finals were: Buchholz in Extemporaneous Speaking; Bozeman in Prepared Public Speaking; and both Roberts and Larson in Creed.
The top 36 FFA members from around the state compete in the sub-state round and are divided into four groups. Only the top two in each group advance to the finals.
EHS students receiving their State Degrees in Pullman were Aubrie Arnold, Lane Williams, Dustin Clarke and Ruby Anderson. Contributed photos
White River student Natalie Gomez receives her Job Interview plaque from State President Sadie Aronson (former White River student), accompanied by FFA Adviser Todd Miller. Contributed photos
