By Jessica Cramer
On Friday, May 2, members of the Buckeye Central FFA Chapter traveled down to Columbus, OH for the 86th Annual Ohio FFA State Convention.
The theme for the convention was Ignite FFA, following this past years National FFA Convention theme.
BC FFA had three students competing for proficiency awards. Proficiency awards are based off of the students SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience).
This year, 2013 graduate of Buckeye Central, Andy Stockmaster, placed second with his proficiency in Poultry Production, senior Adam McGinnis placed third in Small Animal Production and Care, and senior Sam Robertson placed third in Emerging Agricultural Technology, and fourth in his Diversified Crop Production proficiency.
“I was glad I got top four in the state,” McGinnis said. “There are improvements I could have made but I’m glad I placed at the State level.”
BC’s State Champion soil judging team returned from Oklahoma Friday, just in time to walk across the stage to be recognized and receive their banner for first place in the state for Urban Soils.
“It was memorable to walk across stage and be recognized for being first in the state and receiving our banner at convention,” Robertson said.
The students listened to the Ohio FFA Band and Chorus concert, with freshman Megan McCoy singing in the Choir.
The BC FFA attended the third session, with keynote speaker Eric Chester. Chester spoke about the visions, decisions, and collisions that we have everyday and how they affect our lives. He also talked about how we should try to “Put more life in our time instead of putting more time in our lives”.
The students also attended session four, with keynote speaker Jackson Harris, whom is the 2013-2014 National FFA Southern Region Vice President. Harris talked about the world being in darkness, and how we all have the power to fix it, and bring our world out of darkness and into the light.
BC attended the last session, session five to hear 2013-2014 Ohio FFA President Maddy Bushur’s retiring address. Buschur spoke about how each of us have the power to make a difference in the world, and igniting transformation.
Also in session five was the State Degree presentation. This year, five BC FFA members received their State Degrees, including seniors Matt Sheibley and Sam Robertson, and juniors Ray Stahl, Seth Ollis, and Paul Heydinger.
“It was a rewarding moment to walk across the stage and receive my State Degree,” Stahl said. “This is something that is hard to achieve and I’m glad I could get it this year.”