NATIONAL FFA GOLD EMBLEM - 11TH PLACE IN THE NATION!
Bryce Bateman, Kareena Jones, Jonathan Lykins, and Rebekah Wright of the David Crockett FFA Chapter represented Tennessee in the 2012 National FFA Nursery and Landscaping CDE during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN on Oct 24-25, 2012.
The team placed 11th in the National Contest out of 39 states. Bryce Bateman placed 19th High Individual. They received a Gold Emblem award, which is awarded to the top tier teams. Out of 21 National Contests held at the convention, only 6 Tennessee teams won Gold. An 11th place finish in the Nation is a remarkable feat!
The contest consisted of plant identification, landscape estimating, general knowledge exam, propagation, a written exercise, a verbal exercise, a team presentation, and a team skills challenge. The contest was completed during a mentally and physically grilling 2 days as they competed against teams from California to Florida. As always, they represented the state well in courtesy, attitude, and character. They have gained upmost respect from fellow chapter members as well as other members from across the state and nation.
David Crockett FFA is State Champions
in the FFA Nursery and Landscaping CDE!!!
David Crockett FFA members Rebekah, Bryce, Jonathan, and Kareena are the
2012 State FFA Nursery and Landscaping CDE Champions!
After winning the Regional FFA Nursery and Landscaping CDE at UT-Knoxville, the team qualified to compete in the State Contest at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. Competing against only those high-quality teams that finished in the top of their region, David Crockett FFA placed 1st. They will now represent Tennessee in the national contest.
Team members are:
- Rebekah Wright, Senior - 2nd high individual
- Bryce Bateman, Junior - 3rd high individual
- Kareena Jones, Junior - 7th high individual
- Jonathan Lykins, Junior - 11th high individual
It's a tremendous accomplishment to win a state FFA contest. If anyone wins a state FFA contest, they have definitely earned it. With over 13,000 FFA members in TN, there are plenty of people who go 'all out' to win. In the Nursery and Landscaping CDE, 1st and 2nd place were separated by 31 points out of 1800 total possible points.
This is the 3rd State FFA Championship CDE Team from David Crockett, including the 2nd this year. It's rare to win a State FFA contest; Bryce, Kareena, and Rebekah just accomplished something more rare, which so few have ever done -- win 2 State FFA contests.
The contest is composed of 5 individual events and 1 team event: general knowledge exam, plant identification, landscape estimating, written or verbal assistance exercise, and a nursery production exercise. The team activity involved a landscape drawing and presentation of the drawing to a panel. The written exercise was a hand-written business letter. The overall contest is quite exhaustive, pulling skills from mathematics, English, and biology.
Now comes the reward -- the opportunity to compete against the other 49 states in the National FFA Nursery and Landscaping CDE during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October. They will spend 2 days with state-winning nursery teams from Alaska to Florida. Before then, they will spend countless hours preparing.