Month: March 2024

The State Staff was able to visit Joe Gleason and his students at Lake View High School. Located in Dillon County, Mr. Gleason is excelling at providing his students the opportunity to learn practical, hands on skills necessary for success after high school.

The State Staff was welcomed by Mr. Lee Mayfield, to tour his program at Green Sea Floyds High School in rural Horry County. Mr. Mayfield certainly has engaged his students in hands on learning and provides them to be successful after high school. We also had the opportunity to spend time with a few students who have the goal of one day being an agricultural educator.  

The final stop of the first day of the Spring State Staff Tour was at Aynor High School. Agricultural Educators Nate Bellamy and Grant Hall. While we missed seeing Mr. Hall since he was at a conference out of state, Mr. Bellamy provided an outstanding tour of the program. Aynor has a wonderful facility that maximizes student engagement and offerings. It was a great visit where we learned a little about the history of the program and the community of Aynor.

On the third stop on the State Staff Tour, the team stopped at Conway High School. During the visit, the agricultural program was in the midst of a soft opening of their plant sale. The students were extremely busy assisting donors with plant selection and sales. Other students showed off their AgriScience Fair projects in which they have been working all year on.

Carolina Forest is a two teacher program on a very large but beautiful campus. Teachers Natalie money and Marlette Watson offer two pathways for students, ENR and Horticulture. Students are actively engaged in hands on activities including building raised beds, establishing tanks for catfish and running a successful greenhouse.

The second stop of the State Staff Spring program tour was to visit Logan Gore at Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach. The students in the agricultural program are conducting hands on, real world work experiences by maintaining athletic fields, producing plants for the greenhouse sale and building and selling Adirondack chairs. 

The first stop on the Spring State Staff Tour was to St. James High School in Murrells Inlet. This new program on a beautiful campus, is home to  students who are enthusiastic about the new Agriculture program and what they can do in the FFA along side their Advisor, Andrew Hall.

Eighty-Nine young ladies from across South Carolina traveled to Greenwood to compete in the 2024 Miss FFA Pageant on Friday, March 8. The pageant was held at Lander University in the Abney Cultural Center and began at 7 pm. The Contestants were judged on their applications,
interviews, and evening gowns. From their scores, ten contestants were selected as semi-finalists and then had to answer an on-stage question. From this group, five finalists were selected, and a New Miss FFA was crowned.

Ag South sponsored $500, Livingstons bulldogs,
Chow Chows, and Yorkshire Terriers sponsored $500 and WK Timber Corporation $100 provided the sponsorships to award a $1,000 scholarship. The SC Governor’s School for Agriculture is the host FFA chapter for this event.

Results:
Miss FFA 2024 Ava Nimmons from the Seneca Chapter and Highest Application score.
First runner up: Kayci Claire Wilkerson from the York FFA chapter.
Second Runner up: Katie Ostergaard from the SC Governor’s School for Agriculture FFA chapter.
Third Runner up: Lindsay Morris from the McBee FFA Chapter.
Fourth Runner up: Claire Bartley from the Saluda FFA chapter and Highest Evening Wear Score.
Highest Interview Score: Jahira Freeman from the SC Governor’s School for Agriculture FFA chapter.
Top Ten: No particular order
Emma Lusk Walhalla FFA
Gray Gardner SC Governor’s School
Jenna Kay Avant Carver’s Bay FFA
Reagan Smith Walhalla FFA
Allie Gentle SC Governor’s School

The Palmetto AgriBusiness Council has been an outstanding supporter to the SC FFA Association for many years. PABC CEO Ronnie Summers presented Jillian Lash, Executive Director of the SCFFA, a monetary contribution to the SC FFA Association. Because of their generosity, 100% of the funds will go directly back to the FFA members in South Carolina by providing premier leadership programming for all. 

Davis Coble of the Barnwell CCC FFA has started a School-Based Enterprise SAE raising Bobwhite and Pocket Quail. Davis hatched the quail eggs and brought the birds to school to their enclosure that he modified from an old chicken coop. He maintains the enclosure and collects eggs daily and comes to the school over the weekend to feed, water, and collect eggs that he later incubated at home. Over the weekend he also caught our new friend in the barn, a King Pigeon which is a domesticated pigeon that somehow made its way to our barn. He caught him and took him home to continue to care for him along with his other 30 plus animals.