Four members of the Apollo High School FFA chapter qualified to represent Kentucky in national competition in a career development event at the 91st annual National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis on Oct. 24-27.
Ella Clapacs, Katelen Long, Faith Payne and Cara Storm competed in the category of agricultural sales, placing 17th in the nation.
Agricultural sales is one of 25 career and leadership development events and includes job skills in areas such as communication and mechanics. The AHS team collaborated to develop a plan for a variety of customers, then utilized their skills to gather information to sell a pre-selected product to one of the customer types. Members are also assessed on a written examination on knowledge of sales principles.
The program is designed to encourage skills such as critical thinking, communication and effective performance that are essential in the competitive job market.
The AHS FFA chapter earned a Silver Rating at the national convention.
The team competed in December 2017 at the Green River Region Ag Sales Contest at Murray State University, where they won first place. They advanced to the state competition in Lexington in June, competing against teams from 11 other regions, placing first in the state and advancing to the national contest.
Chapter advisors are Debbie Muse, Matt Johnson and Aaron Tucker. “The purpose of the National FFA Agricultural Sales Career Development Event is to evaluate and demonstrate skills that are essential for an individual to be successful in the Agricultural Sales field,” Muse said. “The AHS FFA team developed verbal, written and interactive communication skills and learned the benefit of building rapport with people – skills which they can carry through life that will help them be successful in the career world.”