November 1, 2016
Horticulture faculty assist at National FFA Convention
Kim Williams and Chad Miller helped plan and judge the national floriculture career development event at the National FFA Convention, Oct. 18-22, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
As a member of the planning committee, Williams designed and ran the "growing procedures" practicum where students demonstrated their potting technique. Also participating as a judge in that event was Joshua Craver,former 1xbet online casino horticulture graduate student who is now completing his doctorate at Purdue University.
Miller served as a judge for the "selling one-on-one" component of the career development event in which students were evaluated on their ability to professionally sell a floral design, and he assisted with the plant identification portion of the competition.
After the event was finished, the floral designs created by the contestants were donated to the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Centerin Indianapolis. About 150 event participants and faculty distributed hundreds of floral arrangements to the facility and patients. It was a great opportunity to share in the impact that floriculture has on peoples' lives.
This work with FFA National is an outgrowth of ongoing research by Williams and Miller to understand how the career development events in horticulture correlate and influence participants' choice to pursue a career in the field.