After months of hard work and practice, 16 members of Cashmere’s own FFA headed to Indiana to compete in the national competition against teams from all 49 other states. They returned back to Cashmere carrying multiple awards and the title of the best Milk Quality team in the United States with Gloria Smith placing 4th individually. Meats Judging placed 5th in state, ENR (Environmental and Natural Resources) placed 3rd with Adi Poole taking 2nd individually and Abigail Kim placing 6th, and Food Science placed 13th overall.
This was Rusty Finch’s 15th year as Cashmere’s advisor. “There’s been years where I didn’t feel like the students were all in,” Finch explained. “But this year, I felt like everybody was putting in the work. They’re really conscientious about their practice time. They weren’t just going for the trip, they were going to be competitive. Our teams did great. I’m very pleased with our performance.”
Finch’s favorite part of FFA is watching his students grow and do well in the environment. “My favorite part is witnessing and being a part of kids succeeding and celebrating and taking their knowledge and skills to the next level,” He says. “Finding a kid that’s kind of just never been competitive and then tapping into that and watching them just explode in terms of their performance or abilities… That’s exciting to me. That’s my fuel right there.”
When asked what the most challenging part of FFA was and if she would recommend it, Junior Madisyn Stoffel said, “We had a lot of memorizing to do, there was a lot of studying, and there was a lot of effort put into it. But I would 100% [recommend it]. The national convention is a really cool experience that not a lot of people get to do.”
“What’s cool about [FFA] is that we can find kids that want to compete from the neck up,” Finch says. “Say the kid maybe isn’t athletically or academically blessed, but they’ll want to put the work in and that’s ultimately what this is about. This is all about preparing you for those opportunities in your life like a job interview, or a position at work that you’re shooting for. You need to go and compete from the neck up. [FFA] gives kids a leg up on their peers because it makes them super competitive in life.”
Gloria Smith, like Stoffel, would also absolutely recommend FFA to students of all grades. Her advice to them is to “stick to it and listen to Mr. Finch, because he’s awesome and he works very hard for the FFA chapter.”
As the school year progresses, Mr. Finch and students will be preparing for competitions and the State convention in the spring. If you’re involved in an Agricultural class, ask Mr. Finch or Mr. Odenrider about how you could get involved with a competitive FFA team.
