The 97th annual West Virginia FFA State Convention was held July 8 – 12 at Cedar Lakes in Ripley.
Fifteen members of the Pendleton County FFA Chapter attended the convention and competed in various events. Attending were Jax Bennett, Callie Dunn, Sam Eason, Lani Fertig, Katie Heavner, Lydia Heavner, Ty Heavner, McKenna Hedrick, Wyatt Hinkle, Ella Johnston, Katie Keyser, Gena Lambert, Phoebe Pownell, Kaylee Teter and Makayla Tingler, as well as Ron Hudson, chapter advisor.
The conduct of meeting team, consisting of Bennett, Dunn, Eason, Katie Heavner, Keyser, Pownell and Teter started off the week with a written exam. The team earned fourth place.
Opening day on July 9 was filled with new experiences, more competition and the first session of the convention.
The parliamentary procedure team, composed of Fertig, Lydia Heavner, Hedrick, Lambert, Johnston and Tingler, competed in the first round.
Lydia Heavner participated in the prepared speech contest, earning a spot in the final round. She placed third overall in the contest.
Ty Heavner and Hinkle competed in the tractor driving contest in the zero-turn lawnmower division. Heavner was the winner in this division with Hinkle placing ninth.
The Pendleton County Chapter received recognition for being a National Chapter program. If approved on the national level, the chapter will be recognized at the National FFA Convention Oct. 29 – Nov. 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Katie Heavner, Lydia Heavner and Keyser served as the chapter’s voting delegates during the business meeting.
Lambert and Jameigh Miller were recognized for earning their State FFA Degrees.
Recognized for being an American FFA Degree candidate was Bailee Kiger.
