The Southmont FFA Floriculture judging team competed in the State Floriculture Judging Contest on April 22. The team of Caden Sixberry, Cole Rhodes, Kelsey Thompson and Gabriel little placed first in the contest for the 16th year in a row giving the school its 27th state title in Floriculture Judging. There were 26 teams and 101 individuals competing this year. The contest was held at Franklin Community High School. Each member of the state champion team will receive a $500 scholarship given by the Southmont FFA Chapter.
The Southmont team had the top our individuals in the contest. Individually Caden placed first, Cole Rhoads placed second, Kelsey Thompson placed third, Gabriel Little placed fourth, and Naomi Plunkett placed 34th. This year Southmont also had a junior high team competing at the state level and they placed first. There were five teams and 19 individuals competing in this year’s junior contest. Individually Amarah Shannon placed second, Natalie Rhoads placed third, Daniel Simpson placed fifth, and Maggie Gilliland placed 16th.
This year’s floriculture contest was competitive and tested the contestant’s knowledge and skills. The activities in the competition included a general knowledge exam, handling hazardous situations, a problem solving exam, identifying 40 floriculture plants from a list of 125, and complete a job interview. These members also had to make a floral arrangement, a corsage, and conduct a team activity.
