Front Row - Steven Taylor, Karen Walker, Janna Shoup, Haley Harris, Michelle Sparks, Brandon Brooks, Dylan Melton, Richard Pelkey, Anna Proctor, Amber Parker. Back Row – Craig Oliver, Matt Pruitt, Madison Bridges, Casey Hart, Brent Stamey, Caleb Miller

Burns participated in the following competitions: Dairy Foods, Forestry, Parliamentary Procedure, Tool Identification, and Quiz Bowl.

The Quiz Bowl team won the state title, and it is the fourth time in a row Burns has placed first in this contest. Quiz Bowl, much like popular TV show “Jeopardy!”, is a fast-paced event that requires students to answer questions about the history of the FFA. Team members are Karen Walker, Madison Bridges, Amber Parker, and Steven Taylor.

Dairy Foods challenges FFA members by having them identify different cheeses, milk samples, and general dairy foods. Casey Hart, Amber Parker, Madison Wood, and Haley Harris made up this team.

Forestry students travel to a timber stand, where they identify trees, recognize deadly diseases and insects, and estimate the amount of timber in an area (a practice known as “timber cruising”). Craig Oliver, Brent Stamey, Caleb Miller, and Anna Proctor represented Burns in this event.

Parliamentary Procedure is an intense competition that has a team of 6 or more individuals perform certain parliamentary tasks in a limited amount of time. Team members are Brandon Brooks, Janna Shoup, Richard Pelkey, Michelle Sparks, Steven Taylor, and Karen Walker.

Tool Identification is a contest in which students take a written test on and identify various tools. Josh Lutz, Trevor Aldridge, Matt Pruitt, and Madison Bridges are the team members.

The Chapter itself also received several awards. Burns was recognized as a “100% FFA Chapter”, which means that every student taking an agricultural education class was also enrolled in FFA, and a $250 grant from the NC FFA Alumni was given to the Chapter to help them start a milking booth at the Cleveland County Fair. The PALS program was also recognized at the convention. PALS is a mentoring program that sends agriculture students to four local elementary schools – Union, Casar, Washington, and Fallston – where they tutor children.

But the highest honor Burns received was the recognition of its status as a Gold FFA Chapter, a rank only given to the most active and ambitious chapters in the state. Their paperwork will now be evaluated at the National level, as the Chapter was a Top 25 Finalist at the State level.

The Burns FFA Advisors are Luke Beam and Shane McKee. Both say that they are very proud of all those who competed, and that they hope to continue the Burns FFA Chapter’s upstanding traditions in years to come.

The North Carolina FFA is a youth organization of 16,576 student members preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business, and technology of agriculture with 228 local chapters across the state. FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Visit ncffa.org for more information.                         –Provided by Madison Bridges