L-R: Daniel Hartzell, Aldon Edger

Provided photo

UNION CITY — The Mississinawa Valley MVCTC-FFA Chapter participated in a public speaking invitational called “Drop The Mic”. The preliminary contest was held at Preble Shawnee HS on Jan. 23, 2024. Daniel Hartzell and Aldon Edger participated at the preliminaries. Aldon participated in the extemporaneous speech category. His topic was careers in biotechnology. Aldon had 30 minutes to write and prepare a 3-5 minute long speech. Aldon was then asked questions by a panel of judges after his speech. Even though Aldon did not move on, we are still very proud of him.

Daniel participated in the prepared speech category. He spoke about unmanned drone sprayers and their use on today’s farms. Daniel’s eight minute long speech was given to a panel of judges. Then, after his speech, he had to answer questions to gauge his knowledge of the topic. All of his hard work paid off and Daniel qualified to move on to the finals. Daniel traveled across Ohio to Bloom Carroll Schools in Caroll, Ohio for the finals contest held on January 27, 2024. Daniel placed fifth overall.

At the Darke County contest, Daniel and Aldon participated at Preble Shawnee HS. Both Daniel and Aldon represented Mississinawa Valley-MVCTC FFA well. Aldon participated in the extemporaneous contest where this time he spoke about the benefits of GMO’s. Daniel placed second at county in the advanced prepared contest giving the same speech on unmanned drone sprayers where he advanced to the district competition. Districts were held on February 7, 2024 at MVCTC. Daniel placed first in District 5 advanced prepared speaking contest and will be moving on to State! Daniel will compete at the State contest on March 2, 2024 at Marysville HS. Good luck, Daniel! We are extremely proud of all the hard work and time these two members put in.