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FFA members take part in career development events, attend district leadership conference

FFA members take part in career development events, attend district leadership conference
Charles City FFA Members Brayton Quade, Makayla Kelly, GIllian Anderson, Zach Chambers, Drew Staudt, Brady Frascht took part in the 2021 North Central district Chapter Officer Leadership Training program at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls on June 9. (Photo submitted.)
FFA members take part in career development events, attend district leadership conference
The Charles City FFA Horse Evaluation Team, Ali Blickendefer, Kalia Richard, Carley Cross, Mallory Van Fossen. (Photo submitted.)
FFA members take part in career development events, attend district leadership conference
The Charles City FFA Ag Mechanics Team, Quincy Bill, Brayton Quade, Chase Crooks, Brady Frascht. (Photo submitted.)
FFA members take part in career development events, attend district leadership conference
The Charles City FFA Floriculture Team, Josette Benning, Natalie WHite, Sydney Otto, Oliva Kreger. (Photo submitted.)
By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

School may be out for summer, but members of the Charles City FFA have remained busy.

Earlier this month they took part in the Iowa FFA State Ag Mechanics, Horse Evaluation, and Floriculture Career Development Events. Also this month, Charles City FFA members attended the North Central District Leadership Conference.

Career Development Events are competitions in which FFA members use career skills learned in the classroom and in practices to compete against other FFA Chapters across the state.

On June 8, Charles City’s Floriculture team, consisting of Natalie White, Sydney Otto, Josette Benning, and Olivia Kreger; and the Horse Evaluation Team of Mallory Van Fossen, Kalia Richard, Carley Cross and Ali Blickenderfer competed at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.

In the Floriculture event, the members designed and built floral arrangements, were evaluated on their knowledge of plant care and management, and on plant and flower identification. They received a Silver Rating for their efforts and placed 17th in the State.

The Horse Evaluation team judged various classes of horses, including horsemanship and different riding classes, took an exam on the horse industry, and identified different horse tack items. The team received a Bronze rating and finished in the top 25 of the State.

On June 10, the Agricultural Mechanics team of Brady Frascht, Brayton Quade, Chase Crooks, and Quincy Bill finished 10th in the State, and Brady was named the State Winner in the Environmental/Natural Resource System Area. In the event, the team was evaluated on their knowledge and skill in the areas of Welding, Carpentry, Land Surveying and Measurement, Mechanical troubleshooting, and Electrical Wiring.

Each year, the North Central district and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) Conferences for FFA members. On June 9, Chapter Officers of the Charles City FFA, along with other Chapter Officers from across the North Central district attended COLT at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls.

While at COLT, Charles City FFA Members took part in four interactive workshops led by current and past district and state FFA officers, including recent Charles City graduates Gillian Anderson and Drew Staudt. The workshops facilitated were local FFA Chapter programs focused in the areas of advocating for the agriculture industry, connecting with stakeholders, recruiting for the local chapter, and working as a cohesive team. FFA leaders also received training relative to their specific officer duties within the local chapter

“COLT conference provides a chance for FFA members to learn more about their responsibility as a local leader and is a conference for members to meet and connect with state, district and other chapter officers,” said Iowa FFA President Mia Gibson.

COLT conference programming is designed as a two-year rotation of local leaders training. The focus areas of next year’s program include agriculture literacy, time management, professionalism, and self-confidence. The goal is to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of through high school and beyond.

The COLT conference is made possible with support from Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance of Iowa through the Iowa FFA Foundation.

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