Courtesy photo.
SANTA MARIA — The Santa Maria High School FFA program has been selected as the top 2019 Chapter of the Year for the Santa Barbara Section.
The members received this honor at the annual Chapter Officer Leadership Retreat in Hollister, Ca. on October 13, 2019. At the retreat, the officers had the opportunity to listen to various speakers and participate in workshops conducted by the State and Regional FFA Leaders.
This award is based on student involvement and achievements in the FFA Organization which includes leadership above the chapter level, State FFA Degrees, American FFA Degrees, state proficiency winners, Supervised Agriculture Education projects and Career Development Events (judging team), according to Agriculture Teacher Shannon Powell. The Santa Barbara Section includes FFA Programs in Santa Barbara and South San Luis Obispo Counties.
During the 2018-2019 school year, the Santa Maria FFA had 57 State Degrees (the most in the state of California), 9 American Degrees, 2 State Champion Judging Teams (Milk Quality & Dairy Products and Poultry Evaluation), 6 judging teams placing in the top 5 of the state and 1 State Proficiency Finalist.
Santa Maria FFA Chapter President, Belen Perez, senior said: “It is an honor to be able to receive the Chapter of the Year Award, as it encompasses our chapter theme We Can…We Will. This shows that all of our hard work and dedication has paid off and exemplifies how we can and we did achieve our goals.”
In addition, to being ranked number 1 in the Santa Barbara Section, Santa Maria FFA was ranked number 3 in the State of California behind Tulare FFA and South Madera FFA. The chapter of the year state ranking is produced by the California Association FFA and is also based on the criteria of student involvement and achievements in the California FFA organization.
Mr. Luis Guerra stated: “We are very proud of all the hard work and dedication that our students have shown throughout the past year. The chapter of the year award is certainly a positive reinforcement for the kids to reach their full potential. ”
Santa Maria FFA has nearly 1,000 student enrolled in CTE agriculture courses and is the 2nd largest agriculture education program in the nation, Powell added.