Wednesday, October 12, nearly 40 high school freshmen representing three State FFA Districts from across the state came to the Lamar Community College campus to participate in a regional Creed Speaking competition. 

Students from Lamar, Wiley, McClave, Granada, Las Animas, Springfield, Pritchett, Branson, Fowler, Crowley County and La Veta represented their schools, earning recognition for their hard work and practicing for their sub-District competitions. 

Wiley freshman Maddie Thompson earned the top spot in Wednesday’s competition.  Katie Bronniman (McClave) came in second, followed by Katy DeWitt (Wiley) in third and Mavric Leighty (McClave) in fourth.

All freshmen FFA students will compete in their sub-District competitions.  From there, two students will represent their school in the District competition and one District winner will compete at State.  Each state sends one representative to compete at the National Convention.

Greg Cash, head of the Agriculture Department at LCC, organized this one-of-a-kind regional event to better serve FFA students in the area. 

“The idea for this competition was born out of an Ag teachers workshop hosted this summer here on LCC’s campus,” said Cash. “We wanted to give these freshmen another chance to recite the Creed in preparation for their local and District competitions, to give them the opportunity to speak in front of a large group and learn better speaking skills.”

By organizing this event, Cash has provided a new venue for these students to practice for competition but also to show appreciation for their hard work. 

“I’ve worked with these students for years and I know how much hard work they put into learning the Creed to only perform it once or twice.  We wanted to give them an additional opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned and put this hard work to use,” said Cash.

Cash plans to bring additional competitions to campus in the future to continue to serve area FFA chapters.  A public speaking contest is planned for November and the annual Career Development Event (CDE) competitions in the spring.

For more information regarding FFA events or the Agriculture department at Lamar Community College, contact Greg Cash at greg.cash@lamarcc.edu or 719.336.1628.

Photo: Maddie Thompson FFA Creed Speaking