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Members of the Lord Botetourt High School FFA Chapter competed in the Federation Public Speaking Competition that was held along with the 4-H/FFA Showcase at Lord Botetourt on Friday, Feb. 21. The members competed in Creed, Extemporaneous, and Senior Prepared Public Speaking.
Kirin Miller represented the chapter in the Creed Speaking competition. The FFA Creed Speaking Leadership Development Event (LDE) recognizes outstanding FFA members in seventh through ninth grades for their ability to present the FFA Creed from memory and answer three questions related to it.
The FFA Creed outlines the organization’s values and beliefs regarding the industry of agriculture, FFA membership, and citizenship and patriotism. Students participating in the Creed Speaking LDE learn to communicate in a powerful, organized and professional manner and build self-confidence.
Reagan Hall represented the chapter in the Extemporaneous Public Speaking competition. Students in the Extemporaneous Public Speaking LDE showcase their agricultural knowledge and ability to think on their feet by giving a speech and answering questions with limited prep time.
During this event, participants draw from 12 agricultural topics then select three of interest. From those three, students select the topic of their speech and have 30 minutes to prepare, using five resources. Participants then present a four- to six-minute speech on their topic to a panel of judges. After their speech, students answer five minutes’ worth of questions on the topic they just presented.
This event challenges students to practice their presentation skills, articulation, and logical thinking and advocate for agriculture and agricultural education.
Representing the LBHS FFA in Senior Prepared Public Speaking was Faith Settle. During the Prepared Public Speaking LDE, students write and deliver a six- to eight-minute speech about a current agriculture-related topic. Students research a topic of interest and then put together a creative, informative speech. The speech is then presented to a panel of judges, who score the student based on the speech’s content, composition and delivery.
All of the LBHS competitors placed first in their respective contests and will be moving on to area level competition on April 1.
