FFA kids take time for fun

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Mitchell Ling, a sixth grade junior FFA member from Pioneer, sits atop a 3020 John Deere form the mid-1960s. The Western New York 2-Cylinder Club brought nine John Deere tractors to the state convention.

FFA members are taking turns at a booth promoting agricultural education. The booth is among many displays promoting careers in agriculture in the middle school gym. This group of students is from the Cazenovia FFA. They include, from left: Easton Young, Paige Horan and Tim Hunt.

ALBION – It’s not all work and no play for the 1,100 FFA students in Albion for the state convention.

With temperatures near 80 degrees on a glorious sunny day, many of the students took to the outdoors to lounge on the grass, play on a swing set, and climb old tractors this afternoon.

It’s been a busy first two days of the convention with students competing in 26 events, picking new officers, and attending numerous leadership seminars and career fairs.

Students are looking forward to a concert in the high school gym tonight by country music singer JJ Lawhorn.

The convention wraps up tomorrow.

Kelsey Delles, left, and Brittany Allen – both members of the Indian River FFA near Watertown – relax on the high school front lawn this afternoon. The two competed in a foods competition, making frozen raspberry yogurt. They were waiting for the results from the competition. Twelve students from Indian River are attending the state FFA convention in Albion.

A.J. Fletcher, a ninth-grader from the Cobleskill FFA, swings on the middle school playground this afternoon. There are 19 Cobleskill students in Albion for the state FFA convention.