MUSCATINE, Iowa–March 4, students in approximately 45 FFA chapters from across the Southeast District came together to compete in numerous contests with the goal of progressing on to the state contests in May. Though it took a lot of work on the part of all the advisors and students in Muscatine FFA to put on the event, they found it a rewarding experience and even came away with a few big wins of their own.

Ashley Wiebe, an agriculture teacher for Muscatine Community School District and an FFA advisor, shared that she served as the district advisor for the past year, which comes with the honors and responsibilities of hosting the district contests.

The first time that Muscatine has hosted in about six years, Wiebe explained that a lot of planning and collaboration went into making this year’s event run as smoothly as possible. This involved communicating with the subdistrict contest organizers to determine what chapters would have students competing and in what competitions, finding judges in the community for each of the contests, and working with the students on the district officer team to organize the business meeting where chapter members elected the next group of officials. Despite all the effort coordinating all parts of the contests took, Wiebe felt good about how well everyone worked together. “We have a great support system and a lot of judges from a wide variety of professions, and we’re very grateful for that,” she said.

The day of the contest, about 25 Muscatine FFA students who did not compete volunteered to help with tasks such as escorting contestants and guests to the correct rooms, watching rooms to ensure no one came in during a contest, and letting organizers know when a contest finished. A different way to stay engaged with FFA, the students enjoyed the chance to help out.

Muscatine FFA’s middle school ag impact team, Cara Eichelberger, Jaylynn Goddard, Caydn Caliger, Essie Buster, Lily Barnard, and Alexis Wilder. Photo courtesy Muscatine Community School District.

Raen Acker, a sophomore who served as a runner appreciated getting to be a part of districts even though her team from subdistricts did not advance. “I went to subdistricts for parliamentary procedure and we didn’t make it, but I wanted to help out at districts because it’s at the high school and it’s always fun to see all the teams,” she detailed.

Danika Garrett, a junior also working as a runner, liked experiencing the district contests from a different perspective. “Typically, I’m very active in FFA and I do a lot of contests,” she explained. “My events start at state this year, but I at least wanted to be involved in the program.”

Through volunteering, both students had fun getting to spend time with members of their own chapter as well as making friends with students from elsewhere. “I personally enjoy seeing all the teams come together, and we support each other even though we’re competing against each other,” said Danika.

“I like to meet all the new people and possibly look at some contests that I’d like to do next year,” Rayen added.

As students like Rayen and Danika volunteered, many others competed in contests themselves with both Bob Carver and Avery Schroeder advancing to state.

• Extemporaneous speaking: Bob Carver, first gold, advancing to state.
• Radio broadcasting: Avery Schroeder, second gold, advancing to state.
• Manual quiz: Chelsea Carlson, second gold.
• Welding: Landon Castle (individual silver) and Clayton Smith (individual gold), second gold.
• Job Interview: Emily King, silver.
• Middle school ag CSI:  Braedyn Drake, Hank Elam, Colton Ineichen, Nathan Scadden, and Wesley Simon, silver.
• Middle school ag impact: Lily Barnard, Essie Buster, Caydn Caliger, Cara Eichelberger, Jaylynn Goddard, and Alexis Wilder, silver.
• Ag sales: Ella Schroeder, bronze.