Thirteen representatives of the Pioneer Valley FFA will move on to the Regional Speaking Finals on March 22, 2019 to compete and qualify for the State Finals competition after another dominant and successful showing at the Sectional Public Speaking Competition in Arroyo Grande.

Junior Marina Cuevas was the Regional Qualifier of the Job Interview Competition. Marina filled out an application, submitted her resume and cover letter for a mock job in the field of administrative assistance and finally interviewed with a panel of judges where she excelled and came out victorious. Marina is an active FFA member, Ag Leadership student, and Chapter Officer.

Sophomores Marissa Arias and Marc Cabeliza were Section and Reserve Champions as they continued their successful career with the impromptu contest. Only four individuals get to move on and Pioneer Valley FFA will have the top two from our section consisting of seven high schools in our area. These students were able to take an unknown question, quotation, and agriculture related word and instantly give a two-minute speech on its importance and application to agriculture and their lives.

Junior Sergio Arias will represent Pioneer Valley at Regionals for his showing in the extemporaneous public speaking contest.

Their ability to research and prepare for twenty different agriculture related issues is one of the most challenging obstacles. Students randomly draw one topic, are given twenty minutes to prepare, and then deliver a four to six minute speech. When their speech is completed, they answer a variety of questions demonstrating their knowledge for the topic and their potential solution.

Freshman Elizabeth Pantoja, Elizabeth Beebe, Yesenia Aleman were finalists for the Creed Speaking Competition. Along with Araceli Flores, Roberto Perez and Arely Duran they will be competing at Regionals. Elizabeth Pantoja was Reserve Champion Creed Speaker while Aleman and Beebe were 4th and 6th respectfully.

Pioneer Valley had 27 students competing in the Sectional Public Speaking contests where they earned the most Regional Speaking Qualifiers in the district again. This is a continued goal that the Agriculture Leadership class at Pioneer Valley High school had set out to accomplish this year for the Chapter. The students at Section and moving on to Regions were coached and supported by Ag Teachers Mr. Guerra, Mr. Dickinson, and Ms. Alexandrea Guerra.

“Initiate, Conquer, Empower. The theme of the 2018-2019 Chapter Officers was developed over the summer at our retreat. These words are the standard for what they try to do within our FFA students at Pioneer Valley High School. They want to initiate and engage students to take advantage of the leadership opportunities available. They want to conquer their fears, abilities, and challenges that they face within all areas of their Agriculture Education. Finally, they want to empower others by their successes showing them that hard work, determination, and commitment to excellence is not an accident but a habit. ” said Agriculture Instructor and FFA Advisor Mr. Ponce.