HAHIRA – A Hahira Middle School FFA member wins the state Floral Design Career Development Event.

Release:

Katelyn Richardson, a member of the Hahira Middle School FFA chapter, placed 1st in the Georgia FFA Floral Design Career Development Event on December 10th held at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

The Floral Design Career Development Event tests the participant’s knowledge and skill in various aspects of the floral design industry. The event includes the identification of floral and foliage plants, a written exam on the floral industry, and a skills component where the students design two arrangements for a given scenario. The competition is based on the educational objectives of the Georgia Agriculture Education horticulture curriculum and standard practices in the horticulture industry.

Katelyn was trained by Kristen Thomas, FFA Advisor, at Hahira Middle School. She first competed in the Area VI Floral Design CDE in October at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, placing second in the area to advance to the state competition. Katelyn and Ms. Thomas spent numerous hours training and preparing for the event, which included visits to The Flower Gallery and Valdosta Greenhouses to practice identification and arrangement techniques. This is the first State Winning CDE team in the history of Hahira Middle FFA.

The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, is a national youth organization of more than 850,000 student members – all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. The organization changed to its present name in 1988, in recognition of the growth and diversity of agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.