Wawasee FFA Horticulture Judging Team Earns Top Honors at Nationals
Posted
Staff Report-
The Wawasee FFA Horticulture Judging Team brought home top honors from San Diego, Calif., last week after participating in the National Horticulture Judging Contest and attending the National Junior Horticulture Association’s Annual Convention.
These students qualified for the national contest by winning the State Horticulture Contest Sept. 20 at Purdue University.
Students spent more than 45 hours of practice time beginning in July preparing for the contest.
Learning to identify 180 horticultural species such as flowers, ornamental landscaping plants, fruits, nuts and vegetables is the most difficult portion of this FFA Career Development Event. Students must be able to identify 100 of these plants during the contest when given the plant’s seed/nut, fruit, flower or leaf. Students must also complete a quiz over their horticulture industry knowledge and place classes of four specimens based on the quality of each.
All students that participate in this event are better prepared to enter careers in the horticulture industry including those in greenhouse/nursery management, landscaping and flower arranging.
At the National Contest, the team represented Indiana and Wawasee Community Schools well by placing first in the FFA Division.
All team members individually placed in the top 10 as well: Zach Bussie, sixth; Kaeli Long, fourth; Jessica Wilson, third; and Seth Helfers, second. The team was coached by Randy Warren and Mariah Roberts, agriculture teachers and FFA advisors at Wawasee High School. Assistant coaches were Tammy Helfers and Jewel Wise.
Sponsors made this trip possible for students. Sponsors for the Horticulture Judging Team include: Ace Pest Control, Tim Bowling, Clay and Mindy Brooks, Clayton’s Garden Center, Kosciusko County Master Gardener’s, Mary Sholtey, NAPA, Syracuse Garden Club, Randy and Eldonna Warren and Wihebrink Landscape Management.
