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I would like to explain one of the larger areas mentioned above: career development events (CDEs) in this issue. The primary goal of the career development events and awards is to develop individual responsibilities, foster teamwork and promote communication while recognizing the value of ethical competition and individual achievement. Career development events and awards should be an outgrowth of instruction and recognize the value and contributions of the experiences and aspirations of individual members. FFA career development events and awards should reflect instruction that currently takes place in the Agriscience Education program, including classroom instruction, laboratory instruction, individual instruction and/or supervised agricultural experience. The following is an alphabetical listing of the CDEs offered statewide to Alabama’s FFA members followed by a brief purpose for the event. AGRICULTURAL CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT Purpose: This event recognizes students with agricultural construction and maintenance competencies important to the modern workplace. The technical content and required skills continue to include all traditional areas of agricultural construction. It involves many areas of building construction including: blueprint reading, layout, framing, electrical systems, plumbing systems, and roofing systems. AGRICULTURAL MECHANICS CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT Purpose: This event recognizes students with agricultural mechanics competencies important to the modern workplace. The technical content and required skills continue to include all traditional areas of agricultural mechanics. Additionally, the operation of modern equipment, the application of new management strategies, and the mastering of advance technologies are increasingly emphasized. FLORICULTURE CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose: To stimulate the study of and the interest in production and retailing flowers, plants, and foliage through the agricultural education curriculum. To give FFA members an opportunity to use the floriculture skills they have acquired in horticulture and make them aware of horticultural enterprises in Alabama. FORESTRY CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose: To stimulate interest and to promote forestry instruction in the Agriscience Education curriculum, as well as to provide recognition for those who have demonstrated skills and competencies as a result of forestry instruction. LAND CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose: This event is designed to help students learn more about land, difference in soils and their capabilities, methods of soil conservation and improvement, treatments to help in obtaining higher production, and selection of suitable home sites. LIVESTOCK CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT Purpose: To develop a student’s ability to understand and to interpret the value of performance data based on industry standards. To measure a student’s knowledge and abilities to: make accurate observations of livestock; to determine desirable traits in animals; to make logical decisions based on these observations; to discuss and defend their decisions; and to instill an appreciation for desirable selection, management and marketing techniques. NURSERY AND LANDSCAPE CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT Purpose: The Nursery/Landscape CDE includes all aspects of the industry in producing, marketing, utilizing, and maintaining landscape plants (woody and herbaceous plants and turf grasses), plus related products, equipment, and services including landscape design. To give FFA members an opportunity to use the nursery and landscape skills they have acquired in horticulture and to make them aware of the horticulture enterprises in Alabama. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT Purpose: To encourage students to learn to effectively participate in a business meetings and to assist in the development of their leadership skills. POULTRY CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose: To stimulate learning activities related to production, processing, marketing, and consumption of poultry products. To give FFA members an opportunity to use the skills they have acquired in agriculture education and to make them aware of the poultry enterprises in Alabama. PREPARED PUBLIC SPEAKING CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT Purpose: This event is designed to develop agricultural leadership through providing for member participation in agricultural public speaking activities and stimulating interest in leadership and citizenship. SAFE TRACTOR DRIVING CONTEST Purpose: The general purposes of this contest are: (1) to provide competitive activities which reflect certain abilities and areas of emphasis needed in the education of the successful future farmer; (2) to advance safety, skill and efficiency in the use of farm tractors and equipment; and (3) to give FFA members who are participating in the FFA Tractor Driving Contest an opportunity to demonstrate their skill in operating a tractor and their knowledge of tractors (SAFETY WILL BE STRESSED THROUGHOUT THE CONTEST.) SMALL ENGINES CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose: This event is designed to provide students of Agriscience Education and members of the FFA an opportunity to compete and demonstrate their skills, abilities, and competencies in Small Engines. QUARTET CONTEST
Purpose: The purpose of this contest is to develop musical ability and leadership characteristics through member participation in musical activity. STRING BAND CONTEST
Purpose: To stimulate interest in appreciation of country and western music, provide wholesome recreation, promote leadership, assist in radio and television broadcasting, promote group participation, and develop musical talent. OTHER CDEs The Alabama FFA is divided into three districts: North, Central, and South, as depicted by the state map shown. Each of the three districts has additional CDEs that are offered to FFA members. All three districts offer its FFA members the Creed Speaking CDE. The purpose of the Creed Speaking Career Development Event is to develop agricultural leadership by providing FFA members in Grades 7 and 8 an opportunity to participate in a leadership development activity by reciting the FFA Creed. The South District also offers its members a scrapbook contest to allow chapters to showcase their year-round activities and compete against other chapters in their presentation. The Central District offers two different CDE opportunities to its members: Extemporaneous Speaking and Compact Tractor Driving. The FFA Extemporaneous Public Speaking Career Development Event is designed to develop the ability of all FFA members to express themselves on a given subject without having prepared or rehearsed its content in advance, therefore causing FFA members to formulate their remarks for presentation in a very limited amount of time. The FFA Compact Tractor Driving Contest provides a competitive activity for FFA members to demonstrate their knowledge about the care and operation of compact or garden tractors and riding mowers less than 20 horsepower. The contest also gives members a chance to improve their knowledge of lawn care and safety. Thanks for visiting this article again. I hope you look forward to the next edition. Don’t forget to check out the Events to Remember list and plan to attend one of them to show your support for Alabama’s young people. To find out more about our organization, please visit the following websites: The National FFA Organization: www.ffa.org; The Alabama FFA Association: www.alabamaffa.org. Jacob Davis is the Executive Secretary of the Alabama FFA Association.
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