Both students and staff took home some prestigious awards at the 98th Annual Texas FFA State Convention and others, taking place in Fort Worth between July 6-10.
It had about 16,000 attendees, with school districts traveling from all over the state, including Aubrey, Pilot Point and Tioga.
“State convention ... for ag teachers that means summer's over, and it's time to get to work,” Aubrey ag teacher Chelsea Fewell said. “… It ignites everything; everybody comes back a little empowered and inspired to begin the school year.”
Aubrey ISD had 13 students: Angel Baer, Kensie Bonnell, Tess Gore, Samantha Morgado, Michael Murry, Ashlynn Navarro, Brandi Tovar, Alyssa Waddell, Brandan Waddell, Jenna Welborn, Naomi Welch, Elliott Wilkinson and Evan Wilkinson and four advisors to represent at the Texas FFA State Convention.
Addi Appleby, Baer, Peyton Fortner, Navarro, Kiera Schmidt, Ariana Wensel and Elliott received the Lone Star FFA Degree, the highest degree in Texas FFA.
Fewell shared that the application process can be complicated, “even beyond just meeting the requirements to get the Lone Star Degree,” Fewell said. “It is a true testament of their hard work and dedication, and to have that many in a chapter our size is just something to be really proud of. It is a labor of love, for sure.”
She was proud that all seven students who submitted the application received the award, making them among about 3,000 recipients.
Aubrey High School Assistant Principal Vinny Thomas was awarded the Honorary Lone Star FFA Degree.
“She has been very supportive of the ag program, volunteering as a judge and just being available for our students,” Fewell said. “So we wanted to make sure she got the recognition she deserves.”
A few of the students— Baer, Tovar, Brandan and Evan—competed in the Teach Ag Contest and placed 26th.
Another four students competed in the Texas FFA Quiz Bowl: Navarro, Alyssa, Brandan and Elliott.
Pilot Point ISD took 13 students to the convention with several winning awards, including the Lone Star FFA Degree: Isabella Trevizo, Wyatt Arnold, Hunter Tidwell, Lillie Kirby, Kate Pool, Jailyn Ziyadeh, Roman Funck, Peytyn Goodin, Mary Tannahill, Caden David and Mackenzie Johnson.
Pilot Point staff also received a few honors at the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas and the 98th Annual Texas FFA State Convention.
Pilot Point High School Principal Marzia Infante was one of 12 finalists for the Star Administrator Award at the 98th State Convention after winning the area award.
“It was a huge honor just to be nominated, and then to have won the awards—oh my gosh, that was nerve-wracking,” Infante said. “First off, to go up in front of thousands of kids at the FFA convention, and then thousands of ag teachers, … it was super exciting. It was also a very humbling experience, because I was able to see the dedication that not only goes from our teachers, but also the students at the FFA competition.”
Infante was also awarded the Outstanding Administrator Award for Area V at the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas.
“It was just a great experience to get to see a niche CTE pathway and to see how much dedication goes into those programs,” Infante said. “... Going to the Ag Teachers Association convention, that was huge, because you really get to know and see the inside of this entire big, huge program that is phenomenal for our kids.”
One of the newest ag teachers, Kassie Crow, was recognized by the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas in Corpus Christi with a 20-year tenure award.
“All of the years of experience that she has is phenomenal, and her bringing that to Pilot Point FFA is going to be enormous,” Infante said, adding that she is excited for the year ahead, having seen all the Pilot Point ag teachers working together and planning for the upcoming year at the convention.
Tioga ISD took six officers to the convention: Kelci Pittman, Brooklyn Lewter, Anthony Rocconi, Caleb Wilson, Hudson Vining and Hudson Howard.
Out of those, Pittman and Rocconi received the Lone Star Degree.
“As a teacher, it just tells me that we're doing the right things in our program,” Tioga FFA adviser Tanner Hash said. “Our kids are participating in the right activities. They're participating in those contests and those events that really not only help build them as individuals but [also] help build our program and help build FFA as a whole.”
Hash shared that the group attended a handful of sessions and workshops focused on ways to advocate for agriculture and strengthening communication and leadership skills.
“It was a little intimidating at first seeing all the people, but then just going around and talking to some new people, getting to know them, it wasn't that bad,” Wilson said. “Just because everyone's there for a reason. Everyone wants to be a part of FFA. Everyone wants to grow as a leader.”
While in Fort Worth, the team experienced some bonding time with an evening at Topgolf, fine dining at Texas de Brazil, a trip to the Stockyards and other adventures.
“We've built a pretty good program in the last two years that I've been here,” Hash said. “And each year we keep adding more kids and adding more projects and keep growing and improving, so I'm excited to keep heading in that direction, and hopefully we'll have some success this year.”
