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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Davenport FFA 17th of 43 teams at nationals
The nursery landscape team of Titus Griffin, Chase Zellmer, Jacob Harvey, Tanner Zaugg, Ryan Utley, Shelby Hargrave and Kiera Katz won a silver emblem at the National Convention Thursday, Nov. 2.
DAVENPORT - The local FFA chapter's nursery landscape team was named a silver emblem finisher at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis on Thursday, Nov. 2.
The emblem came with a 17th-place team finish of 43 nursery landscape teams from around the country.
Davenport's team of four competitors, one alternate and two other accompanying students consisted of Tanner Zaugg, Chase Zellmer, Jacob Harvey, Ryan Utley, Shelby Hargrave, Kiera Katz and Titus Griffin, who joined advisor Todd Hargrave on a week-long foray into the Midwest focused around the National Convention.
The team is believed to be the first to qualify for nationals in the school's history.
Competitors faced several tests and challenges during competition Wednesday, Nov. 1, Zaugg and Zellmer said.
"We had a written test of 25 multiple choice questions," Zellmer said. "We also had to identify plants...there were 20 live plants and five diseased plants that were photos."
Students also completed a multiple choice estimation challenge and present a landscaping plan. In practicums, individuals presented a verbal sale after being given a scenario about their given product and asked to present a solution or product.
Then, individuals formed teams with their chapters and had to complete a landscaping job in a 45-minute window.
"We had to plant a tree, align shrubs, fix piping and program a sprinkler system," Zellmer said.
"We divided into two teams of two, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten it done in time," Zaugg added.
The team made the most of their time outside of the three-day convention, taking a three-day jaunt through Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.
"We visited a lot of historical sites," Zaugg said.
Activities included a Carrie Underwood concert at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, a visit to the Louisville Bat Factory and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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