Pictured, left to right, are members of the state champion Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Team: Brayden Rammelsberg, Megan Gardner, Madison Dornon, Alexis Peters, Erin Wollett (coach), Isabelle Hess, Ava Davis, Hailey Littlemeyer, Danny Townsend and Brandon Hughes.
Courtesy | Erin Wollett
For the first time in the program’s 84-year history, a Cardington FFA competition team has won a state career development event. This is only the second time in school history that any team has brought home a state title.
On Monday, Dec. 11, the Cardington FFA Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Team was officially announced as the champions of the Ohio FFA Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Contest. The Cardington team joined an esteemed group of teams in the finals in a tight run for the title with only 13 points separating first and fifth place, out of more than 900 points possible in one of the most rigorous contests hosted by the Ohio FFA Association.
The official state results in order from first to sixth were Cardington High School (score of 846.5), New Lexington High School (838.5, won tiebreaker), Liberty Union High School (838.5), Miami Trace High School (837), Waterford High School (833.5) and Bloom Carrol High School (681.5).
This win is especially impressive considering how young the team is, comprised of all sophomores. In a contest designed for sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school, the Cardington students faced off against teams with a lot more experience. The team showed great dedication to the contest this fall, starting preparations in mid-October and practicing nearly every night, 10-15 hours a week, leading up to the pinnacle of the season on Dec. 9.
Team Secretary Ava Davis stated, “It still doesn’t feel real.”
The team qualified through the county, sub-district, and district contests to work its way to this point. On Dec. 9, the team entered the preliminary bracket as the number one seeded team in the state in a pool of 20 state-qualifying teams. After winning its preliminary room, the Cardington team advanced to the finals where it faced off against the top six teams. The scores were deliberated and posted by the Ohio FFA Association at 7:45 a.m. on Dec. 11. The team was notified with the rest of Cardington High School as the results were read live over the school PA system.
The next step? This team has qualified for the wee-long National FFA Competition in Indianapolis, Indiana, next fall, where the Cardington students will compete against state winners from up to 52 other state associations (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are official sssociations of the National FFA Organization). Even more tasks are required to compete at this level, including a minutes practicum and a critical thinking team activity. If students score high enough, they will become nationally accredited parliamentarians.
Cardington FFA advisor Erin Wollett said, “I am so incredibly proud of these kids. They are unfailingly positive, intelligent, dedicated, and really fun to work with. They’ve put so much time into practicing their craft this season, and I’ve been energized by the attitudes. On Saturday morning (Dec. 9) I told them, ‘Go show them what I know you can do,’ and boy did they. We are humbled to have been in the presence of teams that we respect so much.”
In the state contest, teams are tasked with understanding Robert’s Rules of Order, demonstrating more than 20 abilities to dispose of business, moving, and deliberating main motions and items of business, answering oral questions to a panel of judges, completing a reference task utilizing their manuals, and a written test of knowledge. Teams are given two minutes to prepare for their demonstrations after being blindly given an agenda, and 12 minutes to complete their agendas. Points are awarded for correct execution of parliamentary law, quality of debates stating their opinion, quality and accuracy of minutes kept by the secretary, deliberation of the chair, and for staying within the time limits.
The Cardington FFA Chapter has valued the parliamentary procedure contest for the last several years, with eight teams in the last eight years bringing home a top 5 state banner. This team is the first one to break through and take home the gold.
Team members are Brandon Hughes (chair), Ava Davis (secretary), Brayden Rammelsberg (member 1), Megan Gardner (member 2), Hailey Littlemeyer (member 3), Isabelle Hess (member 4), Danny Townsend (alternate), Madison Dornon (alternate), Erin Wollett (head coach) and Alexis Peters (student assistant coach).
Submitted by Cardington FFA advisor Erin Wollett.
