By Hannah Spivey
Recently, a group of over 260 Future Farmers of America (FFA) members and teachers attended the State Floral Design Clinic in Covington, GA. Among them was George Washington Carver Freshman Campus’ (GWCFC) very own Abbigail Vaughn and Natalie Grantham. Floral design is the art of using flowers, other plants, known as “filler”, and other floral design products to make floral arrangements. The two traveled to the clinic where they practiced with the advanced class. They practiced skills they already knew and practiced designing arrangements that could be useful in the upcoming Area Floral Design Career Development Event in Berrien County, which will be held September 26, 2017.
GWCFC FFA member, Abbigail “Abbi” Vaughn, is very involved in her FFA chapter. She is the President of the GWCFC FFA chapter, has taken part in many horse shows, and has participated in various FFA CDEs, including Floral Design. She has competed at the junior area level twice, and placed in the top three both times. She will compete in the senior area competition this year, where she hopes to bring home a first place win. She was asked how she felt about the competition. She stated, “I’m nervous but really excited to be competing and showing my skills at Floral Design.”
Another GWCFC FFA member, Natalie Grantham, is very well-rounded. Not only is she a cheerleader for the GWCFC, but she has also competed in FFA competitions such as Conduct of Chapter Meetings, which allows students to demonstrate their understanding of parliamentary procedure. She competed at the Perry Fair Floral Design competition last year against 50 other juniors, and she placed in second. She will compete in the junior division of the Floral Design CDE, where she also hopes to win the top position.
Mr. Highsmith, the advisor of GWCFC FFA chapter, is very confident in the abilities of these two competitors. Grantham and Vaughn will also both be competing at the area competition.