National FFA Convention draws records crowd, brings successful Wyo students to Louisville, Ky.
Louisville, Ky. – From Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, FFA students from around the state of Wyoming competed in a wide array of Career Development Events. With nearly an entire year of preparation for the contests, Wyoming students maintained their high standards during the event.
The 87th National FFA Convention and Expo boasted a new convention attendance record, drawing 64,409 FFA members and registered guests to the event.
Wyoming students competed in 15 Career Development Events (CDEs) at the National FFA Convention, bringing home a number of top honors. A summary of the accomplishments of Wyoming FFA members is provided below. For those contests with an individual component, student rankings are listed in parentheses following their name.
Agricultural Issues Forum
Silver Emblem – Snowy Range FFA, Laramie
Agricultural Sales
Silver Emblem – Windy City FFA, Casper – Elexis Forgey (Gold), Gabrielle Reimann (Gold), Haley Glass (Silver) and Colter Whitehouse (Silver)
Agriculture Technology and Mechanical Systems
Silver Emblem – Snowy Range FFA, Laramie – Jordan Runner (Gold), Chad Carter (Silver), Blane Enyeart (Silver) and Taran Petersen (Silver)
Agronomy
Silver Emblem – Casper FFA, Casper – Connor Coughenour (Gold), Jack Hampton (Silver), Robert Hathaway (Silver) and Joshlynn Kastenschmidt (Silver)
Creed Speaking
Bronze Emblem – Madison Anderson, Ten Sleep FFA, Ten Sleep
Environment and Natural Resources
Seventh Place – Buffalo FFA, Buffalo – Wyatt Blakeman (Gold), Cahill Ellenwood (Gold), Seth Theil (Gold) and Connor Oaks (Silver)
Extemporaneous Public Speaking
Bronze Emblem – Kameesha Morris, Buffalo FFA, Buffalo
Farm Business Management
Gold Emblem – Casper FFA, Casper – Averi Reynolds (Gold), Hunter Romsa (Gold), Sierra Hiser (Silver) and Alix Smith (Silver)
Horse Evaluation
Silver Emblem – Casper FFA, Casper – Katelyn Chapin (Gold), Tayler Cotton (Silver), Lacey Washut (Silver) and Sade Wilson (Silver)
Livestock Evaluation
Ninth Place – Lander FFA, Lander – Jess Oldham (Gold), Colby Voxland (Gold), Alicia Espinosa (Silver) and Mark McConnell (Ninth Overall Individual)
Meats Evaluations and Technology
Seventh Place – Casper FFA Chapter, Casper – Trey Campbell (Gold), Kree Gates (Silver), Kaylen Lewis (Seventh Overall Individual) and Wilson Stewart (Gold)
Parliamentary Procedure
Silver Emblem – Burns FFA, Burns
Poultry Evaluation
Silver Emblem – Burns FFA, Burns – Rylee Anderson (Silver), Cassady Malm (Silver), Matt Murphy (Silver) and Jessica Sowards (Bronze)
Prepared Public Speaking
Silver Emblem – Rachel Derner, Burns FFA, Burns
Veterinary Science
Silver Emblem – Chief Washakie FFA, Worland – Rebecca Butterfield (Silver), Callie Klinghagen (Silver), Danae McGarvin (Silver) and Ricardo Martinez (Bronze)
Wyoming also had 31 students selected to receive their American FFA Degree.
American FFA Degree recipients include Lisa Andreen of Casper, Ali Ballard of Casper, Kallie Berlinger of Buffalo, Paul Bridges of Powell, Shawn Butner of Pinedale, Ty Carpenter of Mountain View, Tate Chamberlain of Casper, Micayla Crimmins of Saratoga, Randi Evans of Cheyenne, Kylie Foster of Cheyenne, Dylan Freeman of Cheyenne, Aleesha Gladson of Gillette, Lauren Hedges of Casper, Newt Iorg of Mountain View, Daniel Kerbs of Saratoga, Madison Koster of Cody, Desirae Lozier of Lander, Jenna Nelson of Gillette, Cassidy Newkirk of Rock River, BW Ochsner of Torrington, Tori Pike of Casper, Maegan Robertson of Casper, Brett Roth of Cheyenne, Zoey Taucher of Casper, Kelli Terrell of Pinedale, Savannah Triplett of Powell, Lindsay Utter of Douglas, Kyle Webber of Powell, Tally Wells of Powell, Kimberley Wolcott of Casper and William Wood of Laramie.
Dale Andreen of Casper and Troy Wiant of Cody also received the Honorary American FFA Degree, an honor given to teachers, individuals and companies who provide exceptional service to agriculture, agriculture education or FFA.
Visit ffa.org for more from the 87th National FFA Convention, including session archives, a complete list of award winners and more.
Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.
