Sidney FFA Members Compete in District Leadership Contest

Sidney FFA members competed in the District FFA Leadership contest on December 9, 2020.

Our chapter had five members represent Sidney, which is quite an impressive accomplishment. The event was held virtually and conducted using Zoom. Freshmen Riley Rohm and Isis Finnie each earned blue ribbons in the Creed Speaking contest, where they ran against 22 other speakers.

The creed is a five paragraph testament to a strong belief in the industry of agriculture and the core values of citizenship and patriotism (National FFA Organization) in the organization. It was written in 1928 by E.M. Tiffany and has continued to be an integral part of Agricultural Education and FFA as all members will learn and recite at least a portion of this work. Students competing in the FFA Creed Contest recite the Creed from memory and answer questions related to the ag industry all while exhibiting their best public speaking skills.

Sophomore Angel Helms received a blue ribbon for her speech “Meat Substitutes” in the Junior Prepared Speaking contest. The Junior Public Speaking contest requires students to write and present a 4-6 minute speech on an issue in the ag industry and answer questions to exhibit knowledge of their topic. Senior Alyssiah Green competed in Senior Public Speaking contest and received a white ribbon with her speech “Production of Medicines”. Senior Public Speaking is a more advanced prepared speaking event, where students write and present a 6-8 minute speech on an ag issue and answer questions relating to their chosen topic.

Erika Meakins, Junior, had an outstanding day, earning a purple ribbon in Extemporaneous Speaking and is one of two members who will represent our district at State FFA Convention. Erika will compete at the state level in April 2021. In this contest, students draw a topic related to the ag industry, spend 30 minutes preparing a 4-6 minute speech and answer questions about the topic. Erika was chosen to move on for her excellent speaking abilities and knowledge of the industry.

All students spent several hours practicing and preparing outside of the classroom for this contest and their hard work certainly paid off. We are excited to be representing Sidney at the State FFA Convention.