SPARKS, Nev. -
March 21, 2019More than 550 FFA
students from across Nevada are attending the 2019 Nevada FFA State Convention
from March 19-22. Students are competing in career development events and
community service projects that provide leadership and technical skill growth
for future food and agriculture careers and allow students to build their local
communities.
“FFA provides
students with skills to succeed in whatever their future interests and goals
are,” National FFA Secretary Layni LaBlanc said. “This happens in classrooms and
laboratories, at career development events, during supervised agricultural
experiences or work-based projects, and within leadership opportunities within
the organization.”
One of these
career development events was a floriculture competition, which took place at
the Sparks Florist Warehouse. This event consisted of designing floral
arrangements, identifying floral species and equipment and working in a team to
problem solve and efficiently complete a task. These events are teaching both
soft skills, like teamwork, and technical skills that can be applied in many
other workplaces, including those not related to food and agriculture.
“This is my fourth year at the Nevada FFA
State Convention,” Leta Ikonen, Churchill County FFA student, said. “It’s a great
opportunity to participate in these career development events, like the
floriculture competition, but it’s also nice for our chapter to be recognized
for what we’re learning and accomplishing.”
The Nevada FFA
Association consists of more than 2,900 members in 29 chapters. State
Convention is an opportunity for those chapters to be recognized for their
accomplishments. Nevada agriculture education students contributed more than $1.77
million to the state economy in 2017 through work-based projects where they
spent more than 219,000 hours developing career skills.
For more
information about agricultural education in Nevada and Nevada FFA, visit nvaged.com.
The Nevada FFA Association is a state section
of the National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America.
The association consists of more than 2,900 members in 29 chapters around the
state. Nevada FFA is an integrated component of Nevada agriculture education, a
program area within Nevada Career and Technical Education, that focuses on leadership
development. Agricultural education is an experiential or work-based learning
program that builds communities through service learning, strengthens
agriculture by preparing students for STEM-focused jobs and grows leaders
through the FFA.