PITSBURG — Franklin Monroe FFA members had the opportunity to participate in two spring CDE’s. These two spring CDE’s were the Ag Mechanics Skills contest and Outdoor Power contest. These contests allow the students to take some of the information that they have learned in the lab and in working with their SAE projects and apply it in a competitive setting. Students from all over District 5 attended both of thee events to test their skills against other high school students. There were over 30 schools and 90 students eligible to compete in this contest.

The Ag Mechanics Skills contest took place at St. Mary’s High School. The students from Franklin Monroe that competed in this contest were Mason Liar, Ty Riffle and Keir Boyd. This CDE consisted of electrical identification, welding, fluid identification, reading a micrometer, identifying engine parts and many other Ag Mechanic skills. Each member rotated through all of the stations and completed each of the activities. At the conclusion of the event all of the scores were added up and a team score was determined. The top two teams and individuals would then qualify for the State contest. The team ended up placing third overall in the contest. Mason Lair placed second individually in the contest allowing him to go to state. At the State Contest, Lair went through many similar stations and competed against individuals from all over the state. Lair placed 11th out of 60 contestants at the state competition for Ag Mechanics Skills.

The Outdoor Power contest was hosted at Koenig’s in Germantown. Lair, Sam Haney and Riffle represented the chapter in this contest this year. This contest allows students to test their knowledge in the area of small engine operation, diagnostics, and troubleshooting. The CDE consisted of engine identification, micrometer readings, fluid identification, diagnosing engine problems, reading an engine manual, and many more. As with the Ag Mechanics contest, the participants rotate through a series of stations that test their knowledge and ability in different areas of small engines operations. At the conclusion of the contest, all scores are added up to determine the team score. The top two teams and individuals from this contest were sent to compete at the State Contest. The Franklin Monroe-MVCTC team narrowly missed traveling to the state contest as they placed third.

The students that compete in these CDE’s really enjoy them because they teach things you wouldn’t learn everyday in the classroom that can help you in the future. They were proud of how they finished, but they are looking forward to competing again next year and doing even better.

These members would like to thank the administration of Franklin Monroe and the Miami Valley CTC for allowing them to compete in this competition and they would also like to thank the judges and hosts for making this a good learning experience.