Kentucky FFA Members Excel at the 99th National FFA Convention

Kentucky FFA was well represented at the 99^th Annual National FFA Convention, which was held October 21-24 in Indianapolis. Over 72,000 FFA members, advisors, and guests attended the Convention, which is the largest youth organization gathering in the United States.

Highlights

Aiden Manley of Menifee County was elected to serve as the 2026-2027 National FFA Eastern Region Vice President. Manley and his five teammates will each travel over 100,000 miles this year as they serve the over 1,000,000 members of the National FFA Organization. He will also visit with agriculture and business leaders and government officials as she serves as an ambassador for the organization and the agriculture industry. Aiden will take a year off from his studies at the University of Kentucky to fulfill the duties of his office. He is the son of Travis and Bethanie Manley. His FFA Advisors and James Kash and Julie Lane.

Spencer County FFA was named the National Premier Chapter in the area of Strengthening Agriculture. The chapter was recognized for their activity “Beyond the Barn: Mental Health in the Bluegrass” which provided a wellness breakfast, safety briefings, and health screenings for agricultural workers. Advisors are Darilyn Hamilton, Daniel Dunaway, and Casey Montgomery.

Cameron Williams of the Christian County FFA was named the National Winner in the Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Maintenance Entrepreneurship Proficiency contest. Cameron was recognized for his work in his small engine repair business. Cameron is the son of Kevin and Keri Williams of Hopkinsville.

Noah Mason, Cruse Edwards, and Levi Hausner of Daviess County- performing as the Blue Bridge Boys- won the National FFA Talent Contest. Allison McKinney and Avery Stewart of Jackson County also placed in the top three in the Talent Contest. Both groups competed against over 50 other talent acts, in order to earn a place in the final round.

Ayla Tolentino of Bondurant Middle School placed second in Social Science Division 1 of the National FFA Agriscience Fair. Her research project was titled, “Friend or Foe: A Comparative research study of the effectiveness of insect identification through extension programs for agriculturalists.”

Nathan Reid of Tates Creek Middle School placed second in Environmental Science Division 1 of the National FFA Agriscience Fair. His research project was titled, “ Determining the correlation between soil permeability and E.coli concentration in watersheds near pastureland.”

Jose Villanos of LaRue County was recognized as one of four finalists for the American Star in Agriscience award. The American Star awards are the highest awards given by the National FFA Organization and are based on a student’s work based learning records throughout the course of their high school careers. Villanos has completed a variety of plant science based research both as a high school student and as an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky.

Woodford County FFA placed fourth in the Agricultural Sales Career Development Event. Team members were Cooper Probst, Kenneth Grider, Emma Roberts, and Nathan Ott. All team members were rated as gold in the national event.

Bloomfield Middle School was recognized as one of the top five Middle School chapters in the nation as a finalist for the National Middle School Model of Excellence.

Two Kentucky FFA members were selected as national proficiency award finalists in their respective areas, meaning they were in the top four nationally. Finalists were:

Aiden Manley- Menifee County- Agricultural Education

Alyssa Benningfield- Taylor County- Swine Production Placement

Agriscience Fair

Kentucky had several finalists place in the top ten in the National Agriscience Fair. Students involved in the agriscience fair completed a research project based on a real problem in the agricultural industry.

Taylor Ellington- McNabb Middle School- Animal Science Division 1- 7^th place.

Addie Braun and Kelsey Milburn- Nelson County- Animal Science Division 6- 10^th place.

Evelyn Lux and Braydyn Talbert- Bloomfield Middle School- Environmental Science Division 2- 4^th place.

Olivia Calvert- Nelson County Schools- Environmental Science Division 3- 4^th place.

Kaylee Frizzell and Peyton Wellner- Nelson County Schools- Environmental Science Division 4- 9^th place.

Jacelyn Parsley- Bloomfield Middle School- Food Products and Processing Division 1- 10^th Place

Dayne Hamilton and Kaleb Adams- Bloomfield Middle School- Food Products and Processing Division 2- 8^th Place

Bridgette Smith and Addison Bow- Barren County- Food Products and Processing Division 6- 8^th Place

Keith Bolen and Jake Simpson- Bloomfield Middle School- Plant Science Systems Division 2- 6^th Place.

Addison Renshaw- Christian County- Plant Science Systems Division 3- 10^th Place.

John McKay- Old Kentucky Home Middle School- Power Structural and Technical Systems Division 1- 7^th Place.

Tyler Carey and Raylen Yates- Bloomfield Middle School- Power Structural and Technical Systems Division 2- 10^th Place.

Brayden Downs and Landon Edelen- Nelson County Schools- Power Structural and Technical Systems Division 6- 8^th Place.

Carsen Mynhier- Menifee County- Social Science Division 5- 5^th place

Career and Leadership Development Events

Spencer County FFA placed 7^th in the Nursery Landscape Career Development Event. Team members were Elijah Cook, Jocelyn Hasken, Aria Sanford, and Ruby Bradbury. Elijah Cook was the 9^th place individual.

McCreary Central FFA placed 10^th in the Forestry Career Development Event. Team members were Joah Mills, Dawson McCoy, Kyler Winchester, and Nathaniel King.

The teams/individuals below competed in National Career Development and Leadership Development Events:

CDE Area	Rating	Chapter
Agricultural Communications	Silver	Bourbon County
Agricultural Issues	Bronze	Taylor County
Agricultural Technology & Mechanical Systems	Bronze	Madisonville North Hopkins
Agronomy	Bronze	Menifee County
Conduct of Chapter Meetings	Silver	Western Hills
Creed Speaking	Silver	Kyla Harris- Madison Central
Dairy Cattle Evaluation	Silver	Cumberland County
Employment Skills	Gold	Haylee Tucker- Locust Trace
Environmental and Natural Resources	Silver	Montgomery County
Extemporaneous Speaking	Silver	Ella Smallwood- Menifee County
Farm Business Management	Silver	Spencer County
Floriculture	Bronze	Spencer County
Food Science & Technology	Silver	LaRue County
Horse Evaluation	Bronze	Christian County
Livestock Evaluation	Bronze	Lincoln County
Marketing Plan	Silver	Bourbon County
Meats Evaluation	Silver	Bethlehem
Milk Quality and Products	Silver	LaRue County
Parliamentary Procedure	Bronze	Western Hills
Poultry	Silver	LaRue County
Prepared Public Speaking	Bronze	Carolina Rhea- Woodford County
Veterinary Science	Silver	Locust Trace

National Chapter Contest

Three Kentucky chapters were recognized as Premier Chapters meaning that they were ranked in the top ten in the nation:

Grant County- Premier Chapter- Growing Leaders

Madisonville North Hopkins- Premier Chapter Growing Leaders

Caldwell County- Premier Chapter- Strengthening Agriculture

Nineteen Kentucky FFA chapters were recognized in the National Chapter Contest. Adair County, Carlisle County, Grant County, Graves County, John Hardin, Lynn Camp, Madisonville North Hopkins, Menifee County, South Laurel, and Taylor County were recognized as National Three Star Chapters. Clark County, Henderson County, Henry County, Jackson County, Jessamine County, LaRue County, McCracken County, and Rockcastle County were recognized as National Two Star Chapters. Harrison County was recognized as a National One Star Chapter.

Other National Recognition

Trenton Page of Adair County served as one of nine members of the National Officer Nominating Committee. Page spent over a week involved in a very in-depth process to choose the new slate of National FFA Officers.

Chance Blevins of Lynn Camp represented Kentucky in the National FFA Chorus.

Clark Byrd of Todd Central, Caraleigh Silvey of Robertson County, Jacob Tomlinson of Gallatin County, and Katie Beth Skaggs of Locust Trace represented Kentucky in the National FFA Band.

Josue Guerra of Spencer County was a semi-finalist in the Spanish Creed Speaking Invitational event. Zulekya Montoya of Nelson County Schools also participated in the event.

The American FFA Degree was awarded to 139 Kentucky FFA members. This honor is the highest award the organization can bestow on a member.

James and Gayle Morgan of Owensboro were recognized with the National FFA Convention Volunteer Award. The Morgans have volunteered to help run the FFA Mega Store at the National FFA Convention for over a decade.

Coty Back, Gayle Morgan, and the late Bill Gatton were recognized with the Honorary American FFA Degree for their service to FFA at the national level.

For a complete listing of National Convention winners, visit https://www.ffa.org/#CDELDE