FFA President Kathleen Dykes, a senior, shows a pig at the Patriot Swine Show located at the Jackson Country Agriculture Facility in Jefferson County Georgia on Sept. 9th. Dykes was selected to be part of the Georgia National Fair Annual Livestock Legislative Showdown and she was excited when she found out she was chosen. “So I can tell you the exact moment I think I was in second period. (Career Technical and Agricultural Education department teacher and FFA adviser) Mr. Carr had emailed me and he said, “Come to my classroom,” Dykes said. “He told me and I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is really cool.” Photo courtesy of Kathleen Dykes
FFA president Kathleen Dykes, a senior, will be attending the Georgia National Fair Annual Livestock Legislative Showdown on Oct. 14 in Perry, Georgia.
FFA President Kathleen Dykes, a senior, was the only student in Georgia picked to accompany a Georgia representative at the Georgia National Fair Annual Livestock Legislative Showdown on Oct. 14.
Georgia state Rep. Spencer Frye will accompany Dykes as she teaches him to live a day in the life of an FFA student with livestock. Dykes will teach Frye how to wash, feed and present her pigs, and Frye will then show the judges what he has learned.
“With livestock being a big key component in agriculture, I think that Kathleen gets to be the voice of reasoning for our society’s issues and experiences as an urban student, and what that looks like for the future of agriculture,” Career Technical and Agricultural Education department teacher and FFA adviser Levi Carr said.
“With livestock being a big key component in agriculture, I think that Kathleen gets to be the voice of reasoning for our society’s issues and experiences as an urban student, and what that looks like for the future of agriculture.”
— Levi Carr,
FFA adviser
The Georgia National Fair is one of the biggest fairs in the state, and it will be broadcast across local TV stations across the state.
“Kathleen was the one person in our area to (be) selected for this. Just this year, it just so happened to be that pigs were who the representatives were doing. It’s crazy that it happened and it’s her senior year,” Carr said.
Dykes has worked to pursue agriculture since her freshman year, and appreciates the opportunity to be acknowledged for her livestock.
“I have been working so hard since ninth grade, and to be recognized for that, I get to show people how I’ve overcome these things or learned these things and it’s just making me a stronger person. So I think it’s good to be able to get recognized for something big like this,” Dykes said. “It’s my last (fair), which is sad, but also I really am excited for it because I like a lot of these (fairs and) as a senior you have more opportunities to meet people.”
