The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG -- Five Waitsburg FFA members traveled to Pullman High School on January 5 where they competed in District FFA Marketing and Job In­terview Career Development Events (CDE).

Junior Caitlyn Jones, sophomore Zion Branson and freshman Emily Ad­ams competed in Market­ing for the first time and placed third, qualifying to advance to the state level. In the Marketing competition, teams develop and present a marketing plan for a cur­rent agricultural product, supply or service. The team presented a plan to increase sales of Little Buster Toys - realistic farm toys -- by adding truck and panel sets to the line. They presented their proposal and Power Point presentation to a panel of four judges. "It was fun. It helps with speaking in front of people and explaining your ideas - which is some­thing I'm trying to get more practice with," said Jones.

Senior Kimmie Hamann and junior Mikala DeRuwe competed in the Job Inter­view CDE but did not place. The students were required to submit a resume, com­plete a job application and participate in a mock job interview with a panel of possible employers.

Waitsburg FFA members will compete in more sub- district and district CDE's, including Parliamentary Procedure, Creed, and Pub­lic Speaking in March. The State Convention will take place at Washington State University on May 10.

FFA Advisor Nicole Abel said the main purpose of the CDE competitions is to develop career skills. "The students became more com­fortable speaking in front of a group and were able to an­swer impromptu questions with more ease. It was a good trial run for Marketing. They were able to find weak spots in presentation that we can work on before the State competition," she said. Abel was pleased with the group's performance and noted that Waitsburg competes in a "tough district."