Woodbury For the Future of Agriculture Excels at National Convention

The Woodbury FFA (For the Future of Agriculture) chapter located at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury sent 52 students and graduates to the National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky recently.

Because the Woodbury FFA members won first place in 11 different state FFA judging contests during the past school year, there are 52 students from the Woodbury chapter who earned the opportunity to represent the chapter and the state at the National FFA competition held recently in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Woodbury Chapter is the ONLY CHAPTER in the nation, out of over 7,300 FFA chapters and over 620,000 FFA members nation-wide, to send 11 teams to national competition from one chapter in the same year.

Not only did the Woodbury FFA chapter have 11 different teams represented from their chapter in national competition, but they also were very competitive and came home with outstanding results against the nation’s most talented students and teams.

The Floriculture Team placed 5th in the country and received a Gold Medal, and team member Jessica Patrick placed 4th individually and received a $1,000 scholarship. Team members Nicolette Malfitano and Iris Stumpf received Gold medals as well.

The Veterinary Science Team placed 9th in the country and received a Gold Medal, and team member Alexa Casablanca placed 10th individually earning a Gold Medal and an $400.00 scholarship. Amber Beliveau and Rebecca Reznak also earned Gold Medals for Veterinary Science as well.

The Food Science Team placed 10th in the country and received a Gold Medal, and Team member Zordan Zitnay placed 5th individually earning a $500.00 scholarship. Team members Taylor Duplissie, Hannah O’Brien and Shelby Jaffe earned Gold Medals as well.

The Horse Judging Team placed 14th in the country and received a Gold Medal, with team members Molly Henion and Liz Maddox receiving Gold medals as well.

Other individual Gold Medal winners included Dave Jellen and Jon O’Neill for Dairy Judging and Kristina Wells for Farm Business Management.

The chapter’s Farm Business Management Team, the Parliamentary Procedure team, the Milk Quality Team and the Meats Evaluation team, the Dairy Judging Team and the Dairy Handler all received Silver Team medals as well.

Individuals on all of these teams earned a total of 15 National Gold Medals, 18 Silver Medals, and 6 Bronze Medals for the Woodbury FFA Chapter during the week-long convention attended by over 62,000 FFA members from across the country.

Complete team placings and individual results are as follows:

Floriculture Team Gold Medal Team, 5th place in the country

Jessica Patrick Gold Medal, 4th place Individual, $1,000.00 scholarship
Nicolette Malfitano Gold Medal
Iris Stumpf Gold Medal
Erin Salese Silver Medal

Veterinary Science Team: Gold Medal Team, 9th place in the country

Alexa Casablanca Gold Medal, 10th place Individual, $400.00 scholarship
Amber Beliveau Gold Medal
Rebecca Reznak Gold Medal
Sarah Dipplehofer Silver Medal

Food Science Team: Gold Medal Team, 10th place in the country

Jordan Zitnay Gold Medal, 5th place Individual, $500.00 scholarship
Taylor Duplissie Gold Medal
Hannah O’Brien Gold Medal
Shelby Jaffe Gold Medal

Horse Judging Team: Gold Medal Team, 14th place in the country

Molly Henion Gold Medal
Liz Maddox Gold Medal
Sonja Codeghini Silver Medal
Hannah Garceau Silver Medal

Dairy Judging Team: Silver Medal Team

Dave Jellen Gold Medal
Jon O’Neill Gold Medal
Sara Pokrywka Silver Medal
Johanna Ploch Bronze Medal

Milk Quality and Products Team: Silver Medal Team

Jesse Hungerford Silver Medal
Amanda Pelosi Silver Medal
Whitney Miller Bronze Medal
Cheyenne Martin Bronze Medal

Farm Business Management Team Silver Medal Team

Kristina Wells Gold Medal
Sam Sestilli Bronze Medal
Sofia Elwell Bronze Medal
Leanne Golembeski Bronze Medal

Meats Evaluation Team Silver Medal Team

Kaylynn Harmann Silver Medal
Olivia Martino Silver Medal
Summer Lynch Silver Medal
Shannon Kimberly Silver Medal

Dairy Handlers Activity Silver Medal Individual

Laura Gillette Silver Medal

Parliamentary Procedure Team Silver Medal

Kent Suslavich Silver Medal
Bryan Fernandes Silver Medal
Ian Ray Silver Medal
Allison Brannen Silver Medal
Sarah Negron Silver Medal
Emily Zmek Silver Medal

Novice Parliamentary Procedure Team Demonstration Participants

Erin Korowotny
Sam Ismail
Liz Nielsen
Emily Alegi
Sarah Harris
Elena Cipriano
Emma Newell

FFA is a national organization of over 620,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. The Ellis Clark Regional Agriscience and Technology Program at Nonnewaug High School is the state’s largest and most comprehensive Agriscience program with over 340 students enrolled in the program. Students are able to explore careers in Floriculture, Landscaping, Conservation, Ag Production, Ag Mechanics, Horse Management, Local Food Production, Aquaculture and Veterinary Science curricular areas, as well as develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through involvement in the Woodbury FFA chapter.

Dairy Judging Team picture:

The Woodbury FFA Dairy Judging Team recently earned a National Silver Medal at the 87th National FFA Convention in Louisville in October. Pictured, from left to right, are, Laura Gillette, Sara Pokrywka, Johanna Ploch, Jon O’Neill, Dave Jellen and coach William Davenport.