The Sonoraville High School FFA members long hours of practiced paid off as both the junior and senior Nursery/Landscape teams placed first in the Northwest Georgia Career Development Event on October 15, 2009 at North Metro Tech in Acworth. Georgia Green Industry Association was the educational sponsor for this year’s competition.

Sonoraville High’s FFA members on the Junior team are Tanner Holloway, Brian Rapp, Haley Dodd, and Taylor Sills and the Senior team are Layson West, Amber Kay, Clay Hilgeman, and Sarah Barfield. The FFA Nursery/Landscape competition consists of a writ-ten exam, identification of plants, disorders and equipment and hands on skills in problem solving and landscape design. The competition is based on the educational objectives of the Georgia Agriculture Education horticulture curriculum and standard practices in the horti-culture industry.

The purpose of the career development event is to connect students with what is taught in the classroom to practices utilized in the floriculture industry. Additionally the competi-tion promotes academic achievement and competence for students who seek a future in horticulture industry.

This event is one of the many educational activities in which the FFA members apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations. The Georgia FFA Association has the third largest FFA membership in the nation with over 30,000 members. FFA strives to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leader-ship, personal growth, and career success through agriculture education.