FFA members and non-members gather at Clarke Central High School for MLK Day of Service on Jan. 18. Despite the limitations of online learning, the CCHS FFA chapter received recognition in competition. “It is very unusual to have multiple teams from one chapter advanced into the state level, especially such a diverse school and diverse program. Like it’s a very big accomplishment and I can’t reiterate that enough,” FFA adviser and CTAE department teacher Levi Carr said. Photo courtesy of Levi Carr
Despite many clubs limiting activities and competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clarke Central High School FFA chapter has continued to hold club activities.
According to CCHS FFA adviser and CTAE department teacher Levi Carr, FFA members are given resources and time as a group to prepare for competitions and upcoming events, such as a garden workday on Saturday and a Floral Design CDE on Feb. 23.
“We meet twice a week for CDE or LDE, which is a Career Development Event or Leadership Development Event. So (all FFA members) meet twice a week and our state teams meet (on their own) twice a week, as well,” Carr said.
FFA members must practice and meet frequently with their teams to prepare for competitions, according to CCHS FFA Vice-president Amanda Ochieng, a senior.
“For me, I think (we need) just as much practice as possible. We practice twice a week for (Agricultural Communications). I’ve usually been the one in charge of that CDE. So I’m just making sure that we get as much practice as soon as possible,” Ochieng said.
“It is very unusual to have multiple teams from one chapter advanced into the state level, especially such a diverse school and diverse program. Like it’s a very big accomplishment and I can’t reiterate that enough.”
— Levi Carr,
CCHS FFA adviser and CTAE department teacher
Despite most of their work being done virtually, FFA members have been recognized for their achievements in competitions this fall.
“We have a state advancing agricultural communications team that won (on Oct. 27, 2020) . We had a state event (on Dec. 3, 2020) in Floriculture and won 5th place in that area,” Carr said. “It is very unusual to have multiple teams from one chapter advanced into the state level, especially such a diverse school and diverse program. Like it’s a very big accomplishment and I can’t reiterate that enough.”
CCHS FFA has been preparing for upcoming virtual competitions on Feb. 23 and Mar. 11, and they have a lot of work to do this year despite the challenges of participating virtually.
“I will say that this month is CTE month. So a big focus right now is CTE, and we also have National FFA week coming up. I think it’s the following week after next week. We have some great events planned for that,” Carr said.
