Council FFA Participates in Western Idaho District Floral Career Development Event
On March 6th, 2024, 13 students from Council High School traveled to Cambridge to compete in the FFA Floriculture Career Development Event (CDE). The students competed with 16 different schools in the Western Idaho District, which included schools from between Payette and Riggins. The team from Cambridge received first place in the Floriculture event and Council received second place, which was a big deal for Council students, who haven’t placed in a number of years. This means both teams will be going on to the big competition at the State Leadership Event in Twin Falls.
Perhaps one thing that was new for the floriculture team this year was the help of Katie Clune, with Council Floral and Garden Center, who donated three days to working with the students. Katie’s help was very valuable in preparing the students for the event. “They did really good!” said Katie Clune. On the first day, she taught the students how to craft centerpieces. On the second day they made corsages. The final day Katie set up a mock competition in the back of her store. “She was amazing!” said Ag Teacher, Trista Robbins, “I can’t be proficient in everything.” The flowers for these projects were donated from Washington Floral, a flower shop out of Boise.
At the Floriculture CDE, participants engaged in a series of five rotations: a Floral Design Knowledge Exam, Plant and Tool Identification, Problem Solving, Centerpiece Making, and Corsage Making. Participants were graded both individually and as a team. Ava Eppich, from Council, was awarded second highest overall individual. “She got like, 100% on the test, which is unheard of,” said Robbins. First place was Hunter Hastings from Cambridge.
Council High School senior, Rhianna Iveson, also competed in the Public Speaking Leadership Development Event (LDE). For this event she had to prepare and deliver a six minute manuscript speech that she wrote to a panel of judges. The panel was then allowed to ask her questions about her speech. She was awarded first place in the Western Idaho Division for her manuscript on vertical farming and how it can benefit the future of agriculture.
The students are now looking forward to the State Leadership Event, where Ag Teacher, Ron Corbett, is preparing the teams to compete at the state level. In addition to Floriculture and Public Speaking, Council will also have a Livestock Judging Team, a Dairy Judging Team, a Poultry Team, a Horse Judging Team, and an Ag Business team. We are wishing them all luck in the state competition!
Keep an eye out for the upcoming plant sales at the Council High School greenhouse, where the same students are growing flowers, native plants and vegetable starts for the community. The sale will be around the end of April or the beginning of May.
