Miami Trace/Great Oaks FFA members took part in various career development events over the past two weeks including public speaking and ag sales.
These contests culminated at the district competition which was held on Feb. 18 at Ross Butler Tech High School. In the Ag Sales CDE, students have the opportunity to demonstrate skills in sales by participating in a wide range of activities oriented around the total sales process. Marketing of agricultural products is key to profitability in today’s competitive economy, and agricultural sales play a major role in the marketing process.
This year students were assigned a product in the landscape design field of agriculture and as a team developed a sales strategy to solicit customers for their designated product. The team members were: Weston Pettit, Blayne Ferguson, Madison Johnson and Kelsey Pettit. The team placed seventh at the district competition.
In addition to ag sales, members also competed in the Public Speaking CDE. The participants included Aubrey Schwartz, Tori Waits, and Emily Moser. In the Extemporaneous category, Schwartz placed first at Sub Districts and seventh at Districts. Extemporaneous involves a random draw of agriculture related topics. Students are then given 30 minutes to prepare their speech before giving it to a panel of judges.
In the Advanced Prepared division, members prepare a lengthy speech about an agriculture related topic then answer questions. Tori Waits presented her speech entitled, “What’s at Steak?”, a consumer look at the beef production industry. Waits placed first at sub district competition and third at the district level. In the Beginning Prepared Public Speaking category, Moser placed second at Sub Districts with her speech about urban agriculture. Each of these young ladies gained skills and experience in public speaking from this CDE event which made them valuable agriculture advocates.
Career development events, CDEs, require FFA members to develop critical thinking skills and effective decision-making skills, foster teamwork and promote communication while recognizing the value of ethical competition and individual achievement.
