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New officers, award winners recognized at state FFA convention

New state officers were elected and winners of state awards were announced during the 97th Georgia FFA State Convention, held April 24-26 at the Macon Centreplex.

The convention wrapped up on April 26 with the election of the 2025-2026 State FFA Officer Team. The new team consists of State President Remiya Stephens from Rutland, Secretary Levi Leyton from Central of Carroll, North Region Vice-Presidents Leyton Morris from Morgan County and Quinn Pendley from Clarke Central, Central Region Vice-Presidents Aly Corzine from Veterans and Evan Hardeman from Montgomery County, and South Region Vice-Presidents Anna Grace Hunter from Colquitt County and Jose Gomez from Ware County.

Two of the state awards, the Discussion Meet and Extemporaneous Public Speaking LDEs, were sponsored by Georgia Farm Bureau.

Molly Huff of Winder-Barrow placed first in the Discussion Meet Career Development Event (CDE) competition. Other finalists were Lily Hendrick of Rome, Anna Grace Hunter of Colquitt County and Tessa Dial of Ware County. As the state winner, Huff received a $250 savings bond. Each finalist received a $100 savings bond. 

Isabelle Williams of Madison County placed first in the individual Extemporaneous Speaking CDE competition. Clay Lawrence of ECI placed second, Ryan Kelly of Crisp County finished third, and CarolAnn Cash of Chattooga County finished fourth.

Williams received $100 and $500 to travel to the National Convention where she will represent Georgia. The second-place individual received $50, and the third-place individual received $25. The fourth-place individual received $20. Additionally, the advisor of the state winning individual received a $100 cash award.

CDE and LDE awards are granted to FFA members and teams who have exhibited premier leadership, personal growth, and career success in a variety of competitions.

The Discussion Meet LDE is designed to teach the three fundamental bases of discussion: constructive criticism, cooperation, and communication. The role of the contestants is to exchange ideas and information to solve a problem. The Discussion Meet is patterned after the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer Discussion Meet. Students discuss topics to foster constructive ideas and problem solve.

The Extemporaneous Public Speaking LDE aims to provide the opportunity to enhance the speaking skills of participants. Participants present a speech they prepare in an allotted amount of time to a panel of judges. When the presentation is complete, participants respond to questions from the judges and are scored to determine a winner.

For information about all of the award winners recognized during the convention, visit https://gfb.ag/25GAFFAwinners.  

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