BRATTLEBORO — Students involved in agricultural and horticulture studies at the Windham Regional Career Center (WRCC) recently took first place in the annual Vermont Future Farmers of America (FFA) soil judging competition.
This makes it the 19th consecutive year that WRCC students have won this competition. And it was decisive, as it has been in a number of years for WRCC students, who achieved the top four scores statewide this year.
WRCC students competed against some 130 students from the 18 career centers throughout Vermont.
As this competition occurs early in the school year, instructors Dennis Hamilton, Sam Rowley, and Errold Nelson began immediately to prepare students for this event - and with obvious and satisfying results, they said in a press statement.
Hamilton credited his students, along with good preparation, for their consistent victories: “When we're practicing, we make it as near to the actual contest as we can,” he said.
The top four statewide winners, in order, were Oscar Smith from Whitingham; Sam Rushton from Grafton and Tyler Dix from Whitingham, who tied for second place; and Adrianna Rhodes from Brattleboro.
Other WRCC students involved in the competition: Daniel Alaggio, Dylan Betit, Cassie Bratton, Ethan Dix, Cameron Johnson, Corey Nystrom, Max Potter-Earle, Tim Paradee, and Lukas Wallace.
In placing first in the state contest, the Windham Regional FFA will advance to represent Vermont in the National Land and Range Judging competition to be held in May 2014 in Oklahoma City.
Fundraising is ongoing to help cover travel costs; students are devoting a good deal of time to prepare for this national event.
The Windham Regional Career Center provides technical and career training to students from the Austine School for the Deaf and the following high schools: Brattleboro, Leland & Gray, Twin Valley, Bellows Falls, and Hinsdale N.H.