Herman's Greatest FFA Memory

Herman Roberts, Preston FFA Chapter

Throughout the years leading up to high school, I was always excited to join the Preston FFA Chapter. My four older sisters had participated and excelled in FFA, so I was determined to live up to certain expectations. Little did I know, I would make some of the greatest memories along the way.

As I made my way through Freshmen year, I tried to be involved as possible. I participated in multiple CDE’s, from Creed Speaking to Food Science to Dairy Handling, etc. Leading up to my Sophomore year, I started becoming interested in the Soil Judging competition. Two of the team members from the previous year had graduated, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get more involved in my FFA chapter. I remember the countless hours I put into flipping through study material. After a chapter run-off, I was ecstatic to earn a spot on the official team.

Our team swept the district contest, and we were quickly preparing for the state competition. We spent more and more time in the Ag shop practicing as a team as October approached. Soon, we were piling our suitcases into our rental cars and heading on a three-hour drive to Burley. Once we arrived, we ate dinner, checked into our hotel, and quickly fell asleep, awaiting the competition the next day.

I woke up very nervous and tried to cram in some last-minute studying. Mr. Crossley knocked on our door and I knew it was time to show what I had learned. I grabbed my clipboard, pocket knife, and pencils and I was ready to go.

Once we got to the high school, instructions and score cards were handed out and we were shoved onto various buses. They dropped us off in some random fields and served us doughnuts and milk before the competition. My nerves started to fade, and my confidence started to grow as we ate as a team. After a couple minutes, the huge crowd of kids were separated into individual groups and sent out to soil pits throughout the cluster of fields.

After a couple hours of finding slope, topsoil depth, and soil texture, my score card was completely filled out and the competition was over. I met up with my team and we talked about our thoughts on the way back to the high school. We hurried to change into our official dress and we rushed into the gym to eat some lunch while we waited for the results. After what seemed like years, the final placings were calculated and ready to announce.

They started with individual placings, and I was super excited to find out that I placed third individually with two of my other teammates placing fourth and fifth. We were confident that with our three scores, we could secure the state title. As they announced team results, we crossed our fingers. The Preston FFA Chapter had won! We were all super excited not only that we got the championship, but that we were able to compete at nationals in Oklahoma the following year

I have made many great memories in FFA. I’ve had the chance to serve as both a chapter and district president and compete at the state and national levels. I’m excited to stay active in the Idaho FFA Association and see what’s in store during my last year of FFA.

Herman, thank you for sharing your awesome experiences and memories with us. You are so impressive and we are lucky to have you as a member in the Idaho FFA. Keep up the great work!