Madera FFA members have a tradition of working hard and continuously raising the bar for each other to reach year after year. This year was no exception as our chapter traveled to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, to compete for numerous National Championships.
The meats evaluation team won the California state championship in May and spent their summer preparing for the national contest. Their team was coached by Mr. George and made up of senior Anita Giron, juniors Caleb Fant and Oswaldo Montes, and sophomore Mathew Machado. The Meats Evaluation contest consists of multiple parts the team members had to learn, including evaluating beef carcasses for quality and yield grade, identifying various meat cuts and place carcasses, and identifying wholesale and/or retail cuts. They competed during the convention and received 9th place in the contest.
Our chapter had five members win their proficiency areas at the state level and move on to the national contest this summer. Will Thompson received a Silver award for his project, and Alexsis Delgadillo received a Gold in his proficiency area. Morelia Vieyra, Juan Rojas, and Johnathan Spraggins were all selected as National Finalists in their proficiency areas, naming them as one of the top four projects in the country.
As finalists, they interviewed over Zoom with judges from across the country, explaining their projects and how they impacted them as FFA members. They were each recognized on stage at the convention in front of the 72,954 members in attendance and amongst the other finalists in their areas.
This year, our chapter was honored to have Morelia Vieyra Santana named the National Champion in the proficiency area of Equine Science Placement. Morelia works for her family’s horse stables helping to care for the animals boarded there, and has recently started to assist in their training programs.
The convention ended with 20 members earning their American FFA Degrees, a chapter record!
