Carson Valley FFA takes top honors at state

More than 30 members of Carson Valley FFA attended the state convention March 18-21 in Reno, impressing judges across the board and taking a bundle of titles.

"We're really proud of them," said Douglas High agriculture teacher and FFA advisor Allyson Lammiman. "They were one of the best groups we've taken to state, and we're excited for nationals."

Two teams took first-place at the event, one in floriculture and the other in horse judging.

"They brought out four horses at a time," said Douglas High senior Lacee Shupe, a member of the horse judging team. "We looked for structure and correctness, basically how well they were put together."

Shupe also took second-place in the individual horse-judging contest.

"It was awesome. I'm really excited," she said.

Teammates Jessica Nalder, 17, and Becka Glocknitzer, 16, are looking forward to the national convention in Indianapolis this October.

"We want to do good, but also have fun," Glocknitzer said.

"The trip is the prize more than anything," added Lammiman.

Douglas High junior Laura Joncas was on the first-place floriculture team, which had to identify plants, make arrangements, and demonstrate business skills.

"It felt great, hearing the name Carson Valley FFA called out," she said. "We worked so hard to get there. Floral hasn't placed for a while " we were the first team in four years."

"It amazing, like a dream," said 16-year-old teammate Briana Carney.

Lammiman said the group's success was a result of hard work and devotion.

"It took five hours to compete, but a thousand times that to practice," she said.

Devotion is something senior Kali Evanson knows about. She was named an FFA state officer, vice president, and will now be responsible for planning summer leadership camps, visiting local chapters and organizing future conventions, among other things.

"The whole interview process was a 10-hour ordeal," she said. "But it's a huge honor, a huge job."

Other winners from Carson Valley were the agricultural sales team, which took second-place; Josh Gruver, who placed third in individual sales; the farm business team, which placed third, and Chandra Matheson, who took second in individual floriculture.

Katie Palmer, Michelle Gibbons, Kelsey Conklin, Josh Gruver, Kate Schnoor and Kali Evanson received state degrees, and Michelle Gibbons was named state treasurer.

Lammiman and students thanked the Douglas County Farm Bureau for a $2,100 donation, which paid for about half of the students' trip to the state convention.