Angels Camp, CA…On Wednesday, February 8th, twenty one Bret Harte FFA members traveled to Linden High School to compete in the Mother Lode FFA Sectional speaking contest. These competitors participated against 11 schools from the section. The Creed Speaking competition is only available for freshmen in agriculture. They have to memorize the five paragraphs of the FFA Creed and recite and answer questions before a panel of judges.

In this contest, Delaney Dickson placed 8th, Mikiah Dickson placed 3rd, Peyton Lawrence placed 2nd, and Annelise Zumbach placed 1st! Another three members competed in the Best Informed Greenhand (B.I.G.) test, where they tested their knowledge on the FFA organization. Chase Phillips placed 5th high individual, Shawna Truelock placed 2nd high individual, and Aubree Cochrane placed 1st high individual. Together, the team placed 1st overall!

The freshman truly had a good night. Four sophomores competed in the Impromptu speaking contest, where contestants have one minute to prepare for a thirty second to two minute speech on a topic that they chose randomly. Two of our competitors placed in the top 8, including Ella Becker who placed 4th, and Mackenzie Sandoval who placed 1st overall.

We also had four members compete in the Job Interview contest including Zachary Perry, Caroline Krpan, Addy Heermance, and Delaney Lenihan. Delaney Lenihan Placed 6th, Addy Heermance placed 5th, and Caroline Krpan placed 1st for the second year in a row! One competitor, Afton Phillips, competed in the Prepared Public Speaking competition, where students had to write and memorize a 6-8 minute speech about a controversial topic in agriculture, and then were asked five minutes of questions relating to the topic itself. Afton took home the blue and placed 1st overall!

The Cooperative Marketing competition consists of a team who tests their knowledge on the basics of cooperatives in California. The team consisted of Olivia Shelton, Esme Cole, Delaney Lenihan, Johanna Nava, Sophie Bouma, Afton Phillips, and Taleah Lusk. Afton Phillips placed 6th high individual and the entire team took home 2nd place!

The final contest, Extemporaneous Public Speaking, is undeniably the hardest competition. Students pull three topics randomly, and are given 30 minutes to prepare a 4-6 minute speech about the topic and then are asked a series of questions. Taleah Lusk placed 5th, Esme Cole placed 3rd, and Sophie Bouma took home the blue with 1st!

Competitors who placed in the top four will be moving on to the regional contest in March. So far, Bret Harte FFA’s 50th year is one for the record books. Students are building their Golden Foundations simply by showing up and giving it their all to compete in these competitions.

This is just the beginning, and Bret Harte FFA is looking forward to a bright future for the rest of this year,
and for the next 50 years.

Afton
Phillips

Bret
Harte FFA Reporter