Three Jacksboro FFA teams finish in Top-5 at state LDE competition

Jacksboro FFA sent four teams to compete at the state FFA Leadership Development Contest at Sam Houston State University over the weekend. Three of them walked away with top five finishes.

The Junior Agriculture Skills team consisting of Lilli Luna, Ashlyn Nunley and Rachael Chalmers placed second in the state competition out of 224 teams who competed at the district competitions.

“(Their) particular skill is a gas engine maintenance and almost like a rebuild,” Jacksboro FFA Advisor Sean McGuire said. “They have a problem with their gas engine, it doesn’t start, it doesn’t run and then the kids go through a 20-minute presentation of how to diagnose, troubleshoot the problem, fix the problem and their engine start and run after they fix the problem.”

He said this team followed up a team which won the state title last year and competed on the Senior Agricultural Skills team this year.

“These kiddos can continue on with their skills demonstration if they would like or they can go on to another LDE,” McGuire said. “We are fortunate in Jacksboro, (…) we do have a very deep pool of very talented kiddos when it comes to speaking and natural speaking ability.”

Senior Agricultural Skills

The Senior Agriculture Skills team of Lilli Gonzalez, Kobe Thomas and Libby Mosely placed third in the state competition out of 352 senior skills team who competed across the state.

“They do perform the exact same skill that the freshmen students do,” Jacksboro FFA advisor Wendy Meadows said. “On that team this year, they had all sophomores, they had two returners that were state champions last year and they brought on a brand new girl, new to our department, new to FFA, got her involved in the first couple of weeks of school.

Agricultural Advocacy

The Agricultural Advocacy team consisting of Seth Isbell, Morgan Green, Haley Milam and Leo Banuelos placed fifth in the state competition after winning a district and area championship earlier this year.

“We were soliciting new farmers to get involved because the average age of a farmer now in Jack County is 61 and they are all about to age out,” Meadows said. “The team is a dynamic set of kiddos.”

She said the when the Agricultural Advocacy contests began there were 270 who competed starting at the district level before 24 advanced to the state contest. 

Agricultural Issues

After a district and area championship, the Agricultural Issues team of Rebecca Pursley, Elizabeth Hines, Dylan Thomas, Carah Moore, Hailee Frie, Rhett Rollans and Jenna Herd competed at the state competition, but did not advance to finals.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Dec. 11, edition of the Jacksboro Herald-Gazette.