Three members of the East Knox FFA recently competed in the Knox County FFA public speaking career development event held at Centerburg High School.
The top two contestants in each of the speaking categories advance to the District 7 contest hosted by Clear Fork FFA this year. The event is designed to enhance members’ communication skills that are vital in developing leadership and career success, according to East Knox Local Schools.
In the Advanced Prepared Division, Miranda Fawcett finished fourth place with a Gold rating in the county with a six to eight minute speech entitled "Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture." In this division, contestants write and memorize an agricultural speech that meets time requirements and are scored on presentation and response to questions.
John Chadwick participated in the Extemporaneous Speaking competition, where members draw a topic and have 30 minutes to research and prepare notes before presenting a four to six minute speech. This year, Chadwick presented his speech on "Will the widespread adoption of ‘super weed’ resistant crops eventually lead to a total collapse of chemical weed control" and placed seventh overall with a Gold rating.
In the creed division, which is open only to freshman members, participants recite the five-paragraph FFA creed and answer questions from judges about it. McKenzie Schwartz finished fifth place with a Gold rating in the county.
More information about East Knox FFA can be found at East Knox Local Schools.
