Two Madera FFA members were selected to represent the San Joaquin FFA Region in the State Star awards this spring. The State Star Award recognizes students who have excellent Supervised Agricultural Experience Projects in one of four areas; Farmer, Placement, Agriscience, and Agribusiness. Members complete an application and record book detailing their SAE projects at the sectional and regional level. If they are chosen at the regional level, they compete as one of the six regional representatives. The members interview with industry professionals and the California State FFA Officers in the spring with the winners announced on stage at the California FFA State Convention.
William Thompson was selected as the region’s Star in Agribusiness. The Star in Agribusiness award recognizes students who have developed a business that is related to agriculture but not involved in the production of any commodities. Will’s project is WillBilly’s Landscape, a project he started when he was younger as a way to help pay for his Little League expenses. Will continued to develop his project throughout high school, having a customer base of 28 and specializing in acreage maintenance as well as landscape installments. Will was named the 2023 California State Proficiency Award Winner in Turfgrass for his SAE and will be competing again in the area of Diversified Horticulture and Landscaping.
Morelia Vieyra Santana will be representing the region in the Star Placement Area. The Star in Placement award recognizes students who work in an agriculture business. Morelia works at Allegre Stables, where she helps start young horses in their groundwork and prepares them to saddle broke. Morelia’s passion for horses and the horse industry started at a young age and led to her involvement in the stables. Morelia was named the 2023 National Proficiency Winner in the Equine Science Placement area in October.
Image Credit: Brian Montano
