Wayne students fare well in FFA competition
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 8, 2011 1:50 AM
Nearly 350 high school students from 13 counties converged upon the Wayne Community College campus this past week to participate in the Southeast FFA Regional Rally.
Wayne County's representation did well, having a team or individual place in the top four in every event, said Gabriel Mitchell, department head of agriculture and natural resources at the college.
"It just goes to show how hard our Wayne County FFA advisors/ag teachers work to help our young people succeed," he said.
Events during the day-long contest included a talent competition, leadership contest, several public speaking events and events in parliamentary procedure, horticulture/floriculture, forestry and agriculture mechanics.
The 13-county region covers the extreme southeast corner of the state, Mitchell said -- from Wayne, Greene, Lenoir and Duplin all the way to New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.
Winners from area schools included the following:
*Intro to Horticulture CDE: Charles B. Aycock, first
*Floriculture CDE: Charles B. Aycock, first; high scoring individual, Bridget Barnes from CBA; and Southern Wayne, third place
*Nursery Landscape CDE: Aycock, first place; high scoring individual, Zeb Darden from CBA; Southern Wayne, second place
*Parliamentary Procedure CDE: Rosewood High, second place; Spring Creek, third place
*Creed Speaking CDE: Rebekah Purvis, Southern Wayne, third place
*Extemporaneous Public Speaking CDE: Kelly Best, Rosewood, second place
*Talent: Jacob Sasser, Southern Wayne, second place; Reagan Jackson, Spring Creek, third place
*Prepared Public Speaking: Patricia Purvis, Southern Wayne, first place; Paige Herring, Rosewood, second place
*Agriculture Mechanics: Southern Wayne, fourth place.
All of the individuals and teams are eligible to compete at the 83rd State FFA Convention, which will take place June 21-23 at the Raleigh Convention Center.