The FFA at SST

The SST/FFA Chapter Highlights

The SST/FFA Chapter enjoys many, varied, activities each year including the Fall Leadership Conference; competitions at the Deerfield Fair; the National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY; participation in the Exeter Christmas Parade; the Interscholastics at UNH; the NH FFA State Convention at North Conway, NH; and the annual year-end Awards Banquet. Teams and individual competetors from SST did extremely well at all events.

FFA State Conference, 2007

    The Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods was the site of the annual NH FFA Convention and students from the FFA Chapter at the Seacoast School of Technology won numerous awards and recognitions. Leading the SST FFA students were advisors Anne DeMarco and Andy Andersen.
    Highlighting the annual FFA Convention was the presentation of FFA State Degrees. SST students honored with this distinction included Andrea Cole, Diane Holt, Colleen McKenna, and Kiah Wiggin. FFA State Stars were also presented to Colleen McKenna for Agricultural Placement, Andrea Cole for Agriscience and Kiah Wiggin for Agribusiness.
    SST had a number of FFA Proficiency Winners. State winners and Gold Medal recipients included Colleen McKenna, Dairy Science; Andrea Cole, Forestry Products; Kiah Wiggin, Small Animal Care; and Lester Bartholemy, Outdoor Recreation. Diane Holt earned a Gold Medal in Equine Science.
    In the FFA Team events, SST had two first place teams. The team of Johnathan Jordan, Lester Bartholemy, Cassie Cameron and Katie Papoulias took home top honors in the Horse Quiz Bowl, while the team of Christin Young, Allison Bryan, Lester Bartholemy, Cassie Cameron, Christine Arguin, Abby Lord and Sarah Martin was the Agricultural Issues state winner. SST’s Dairy Foods Team placed 2nd in the state. Team members included Ingrid Sanderson, Allison Bryan, Hattie Norton-Ford and Jaymie Frederick. In the Agricultural Sales event, the team of Hillary Kajen, Diane Holt, Andrea Cole, and Colleen McKenna placed 3rd. The SST Horse Judging Team placed 3rd in New Hampshire. Team members included Nicole Escobar, Christine Arguin, Cassie Cameron, and Ingrid Sanderson.
    The Horse Showmanship event saw SST take the top three honors. Cassie Cameron placed 1st statewide, with teammates Nicole Escobar and Ingrid Sanderson placing 2nd and 3rd respectively. In Job Demonstration, SST’s Aala Shanahan took top honors with Cassie Gagnon placing 2nd, Allison Bryan, 3rd and Christin Young 4th. The Supervised Agricultural Experience- Junior Division event awarded a Silver Medal to Sarah Martin and a Bronze Medal to Cassie Cameron.
    In Impromptu Speaking, Hattie Norton-Ford was 2nd in the state, with Cassie Gagnon earning 3rd place honors. In Extemporaneous Writing and Speaking, senior Kiah Wiggin placed 2nd. SST took the top three honors in Creed Speaking with Kiah Wiggin placing 1st, Andrea Cole 2nd and Michiko Sherwood, 3rd. The FFA Prepared Speaking event saw Jenny Long placing 2nd and Cassie Gagnon taking home 3rd place honors.
    The National FFA Organization was organized as the "Future Farmers of America" in 1928 in Kansas City, Mo. In 1988, the official organization name was changed to The National FFA Organization to reflect the broadening field of agriculture, which today encompasses more than 300 careers in everything from agriscience to biotechnology to turf grass management. The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

FFA National Convention, October 2005

Former SST/FFA Chapter President, Jeremy Peterson, received the American Degree. This is the highest award a student can receive from the National FFA. Only three quarters of one percent of the members ever achieve this degree.
The SST/FFA Chapter set up and ran the NH booth in the Hall of States at the convention, and worked on the National Convention Courtesy Corp.

Agricultural Mechanics - Team Silver
Isagani Kimball - Gold Award
Andrew Clough, Brian Chaput - Silver Award
Jay Rice - Bronze Award
Agricultural Issues - Team Bronze
Mike Diamond, Stevie StHiliaire, Krystal Earle, Corey Jackson
Horse Judging - Team Bronze
Jackie Ferro, Mary Presco - Silver Award
Jesselyn Durgin, Sarah Carmody - Bronze Award