Texas FFA Members Receive Recognition for Proficiencies
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | Author: Kassidy Bogle. Henderson FFA
Throughout the week of the Texas FFA Convention, Texas FFA members received accolades in multiple areas, highlighting different aspects of the association including proficiency awards.
Proficiency awards provide recognition to FFA members at the local, state and national levels for exceptional accomplishments and excellence in their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program.
Ray Edwards of Llano FFA is the 2018 Wildlife Production and Management proficiency winner.
“It is the award given to [an] individual working to manage wildlife and fisheries while striving to conserve our natural resources,” Edwards said. “I chose to participate in this proficiency because I think that [the outdoors and wildlife] are worth protecting.”
There are fifty-one proficiency award categories that individuals can apply for, and applications must advance through district and area levels of competition to reach state. Applicants must have a year’s worth of records as an FFA member and are judged upon five different criteria sections.
“When I found out that I had won, the first thought I had was that all of my hard work and dedication had paid off,” Edwards said. “To to win the category is difficult as everyone does their best to win and gives their all.”
Edwards wants members to realize it is important to preserve our natural resources, and he wants future members to have the same opportunities to serve the environment he did.
“I feel I have made a difference in the environment and in how people see it,” Edwards said. “The record of a nation is written in the way we treat our land and I want to make sure that our records are written correctly and with pride and dignity towards our natural resources.”
Winners of all proficiency categories receive a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship.
Reporter: Kassidy Bogle, Henderson FFA
Photographer: Sean Chavez, Shoemaker FFA
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