TEMPLE, Texas — Two Temple High School FFA Teams posted top ten finishes at the Area 12 Leadership Development Event (LDE) November 21st at Academy High School. Temple High School’s Ag Skills Demonstration Team and Radio Broadcasting Team both qualified for the Area Contest based on their top two finishes at the Cen-Tex District FFA LDE in Salado in early November.
The Temple High School Senior Ag Skills Demonstration Team finished in third place at the Area Competition and missed qualifying for the State Competition by just one point. The team is made up of Angel Esqueda, Makaila Crawford, Scarlett Salinas, Shaylin White, and Lilah Swanson, with Remy Brown serving as Team Manager. The team presented a 20-minute lesson on creating a floral centerpiece from scratch during the competition. Each team member was responsible for specific tasks during the design and creation of the centerpiece as the team described their process and designed and built their floral design project. The Ag Skills Demonstration Team won back-to-back District championships and was making its third consecutive appearance in the Area contest.
“I am not surprised by how well our skills team did, because I know how hard we worked and prepared,” said Kristi Branton, Ag Skills Demonstration Coach and Temple HS FFA co-sponsor. “I am so incredibly proud that after years of seeing success at the district level, we are starting to see success at the next level of competition. Being within one point of making it to state and just a handful of points away from the first-place team is bittersweet, but I know this isn’t the last time Temple FFA will be near the top of the results list. I am so proud to be their Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor and to see the end result of years of hard work and dedication.”
The Temple High School Radio Broadcasting Team finished in eighth place at the Area Competition in its first appearance at that contest. The team is made up of Crawford, Salinas, Madeline Garza, and Jose Sandoval. The radio broadcast team had to write and memorize a six to eight-minute script on the topic of antibiotic use in livestock and meat consumption. The group then presented their script through microphones as if it were a radio broadcast while the judges listened in from another room. Students are judged on everything from tone and pitch to volume and pronunciation to flow and harmony between the team members as they share the script as if it were an actual radio broadcast.
“I am proud of the Temple FFA Radio Broadcasting team for their speaking ability, unity, and dedication in preparing for the area contest,” said Monca Kinsey, Radio Broadcast Coach and Temple HS FFA co-sponsor. “While we did not get the results we were hoping for, this team has set a standard of success that will hopefully become motivation for next year’s FFA Radio Team.”
According to Branton, this is the most successful finish at the Area Competition by Temple High School FFA since 2009 and she hopes to see that success become a building block for continued growth in the Temple High School FFA chapter.
“Hopefully, in the next few years, we can use this as a springboard to recruit members to be on these teams and be a part of these competitions,” Branton said.
The top two finishers in each event at the Area Contest qualified to advance to the State LDE competition December 5-6th in Huntsville.