Several Appomattox FFA members earned state degrees. They include Niki Ballagh, Chloe Dejong, Jay Harris, and Tim Henderson. A state degree is the highest honor an FFA member can earn on the state level.

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They won awards, earned state degrees and at the end of the Virginia Convention, the Appomattox FFA (Future Farmers of America) was declared the overall top chapter in the Commonwealth. 

Both the Senior and Appomattox Middle chapters took part in the convention, held this year on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Middle school chapter members participated in the Creed Speaking, Junior and Senior Hippology, and the FFA Quiz Bowl contests. High school chapter members participated in the Senior Agricultural Education, Senior Agricultural Mechanics, Avian Bowl, Discussion Meet, Employment Skills, Floriculture, Livestock Judging, Nursery Landscape, Horticulture, and Veterinary Science CDEs. 

In terms of awards, the high school chapter received a gold rating in the public relations award and earned the Southeast Area Chapter Forestry and Wildlife award. Chapter Reporter Gracie Covington prepared a scrapbook detailing chapter events over the past year that earned a bronze rating. The middle school chapter received a silver rating in the public relations award and earned a bronze rating for the superior chapter contest.

Appomattox FFA also received a gold rating in the superior chapter contest for the high school group, earning the opportunity to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, this October. Additionally, the chapter was the state champion in the Growing Leaders division of the contest. ACHS FFA was crowned the Southeast Area winner in the Building Communities. 

Appomattox FFA members compete for awards 

Colton Jones represented his chapter and the Southeast Area in the state championship for the Creed Speaking Leadership Development Event. He qualified to participate by winning the Southeast Area event in March. During the state championship, Jones recited the FFA creed from memory and answered questions from a panel of judges for five minutes. Ultimately, he placed sixth in the state-level competition.

Appomattox Primary School teacher Jean Moore helped coach two hippology teams from the middle school. Hippology is a competition that tests participants’ knowledge of the equine industry. Contestants completed a written exam covering various topics related to horses, including breed identification, horse leg conformation, color patterns, and anatomical features. Additionally, they participated in events assessing their understanding of horse feeds, tack, measurements, parasites, and more. The junior team, consisting of Liam Anderson, Layton Firebaugh, and Montana Moore, placed 11th in their event, with Moore achieving the 18th highest individual score. The senior team, which included Rose Broyhill, Colton Jones, and Carly O’Brien, also performed well in the senior event. 

Liam Anderson, Layton Firebaugh, Colton Jones, and Carly O’Brien participated in the FFA Quiz Bowl contest. The participants completed a written exam that covered FFA history, general knowledge, leadership, and agricultural education. Later, the team competed in a fast-paced buzzer round against other middle school teams. They placed fifth in both the Quiz Bowl exam and the team tournament. Jones was the 12th highest individual in the exam portion of the contest.

More achievements on the state level 

Savannah Jones participated in the State Agricultural Education LDE. As part of the competition, she was tasked with developing a lesson plan and materials for a 6th to 8th-grade lesson on natural resources. Jones created a 60-minute lesson that focused on leaf shapes, dichotomous keys, and tree identification. She presented a 20-minute portion of her lesson to a panel of judges, using cooperative learning strategies. Ultimately, Jones placed fourth as the highest individual in her category.

Jay Harris, Pierson Harvey, Tim Henderson, and Chloe Wilson participated in the Senior Agricultural Mechanics contest. In this competition, participants were required to demonstrate their arc welding skills by performing a butt-joint weld and applying knowledge of agricultural electrification. Additionally, the team completed various problem-solving tasks and answered test questions related to machinery, electricity, compact equipment, structures, and environmental and natural resources. The team finished in sixth place overall, a

Meanwhile, the Avian Bowl CDE involves a team-based round of trivia questions and an individual test that assesses members’ knowledge of poultry management and sciences. ACHS team members included Chloe Dejong, Jay Harris, Pierson Harvey, and Chloe Wilson. Harris was the sixth high individual, and the high school team placed fifth overall.

A few state champions

There were some state champs to come out of the Appomattox group this time around. Up first, the Veterinary Science CDE assessed students’ knowledge in various areas of modern veterinary practice, including pharmacology, anatomy, physiology, general animal care, identification of pet breeds, veterinary equipment, and parasites. The Appomattox team, consisting of Niki Ballagh, Gracie Covington, Autumn Harris, and Savannah Jones, excelled in the written exam, identification, and math components of the event. They won the event, outperforming 27 other teams. Additionally, Covington was the top in the individual competition as well, while Harris placed fifth, Jones placed seventh and Ballagh placed ninth. As the state champion Veterinary Science team, they will represent Virginia at the National FFA Veterinary Science CDE during the National FFA Convention this October.

Four members of the Appomattox group also earned their State FFA Degree, the highest honor a state association can give its members. There are a few requirements to achieve before earning a state degree. You must be an active FFA member for at least the last 24 months. You have to finish at least 360 hours of agriculture education instruction at or above the 9th grade level. Also, you have to demonstrate leadership by performing 10 parliamentary law procedures, serve on a major committee or be a chapter officer, while participating in at least five FFA activities above the chapter level. A student also has to either earn and invest at least $1,000 or work a minimum of 300 hours in a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program. 

From Appomattox FFA, Niki Ballagh, Chloe Dejong, Jay Harris, and Tim Henderson all earned the honor this year. 

Appomattox FFA named Best in the Commonwealth 

Meanwhile, the Appomattox High School FFA chapter placed first out of 217 programs, beating out more than 33,000 other students in the state. 

Appomattox FFA was chosen, state officials said, for its commitment to growing leaders, building skills, and strengthening agriculture. The selection was based on its extensive range of activities. Notable programs and accomplishments during the 2024-2025 school year included the Chapter Leadership Training Program, the Drunk and Distracted Driving Awareness Program known as “Grim Reaper Day”, the Pen Pal Program with Appomattox Middle School, and the FFA Jacket Jubilee, among others.