GALT, CA (MPG) - Liberty Ranch FFA went to the National FFA Convention and Expo in October and took home a bumper crop of awards.

More than 25 Liberty Ranch High School students attended the convention in Indianapolis from Oct. 23 to Oct. 26. The students attended leadership workshops and a career show, as well as sessions run by national FFA officers. In competitions for parliamentary procedure and agricultural sales, three Liberty Ranch teams ranked among the top two in the nation: the Novice Parliamentary Procedure Team, the Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Team and the Agriculural Sales Team.

Agriculture teacher Taylor Foster, who coached the Novice Parliamentary Procedure Team and the Agricultural Sales Team, said the whole school was excited by the victories. For the competitors, the convention was exhilarating. 

“I think after we got back, it took a couple of days for it really soak in, but while we were there, a lot of it was unbelievable to experience,” Foster said.

The Novice Parliamentary Procedure Team was named the national champion. Parliamentary procedure, or parli pro, tests students’ knowledge of the essentials for an orderly meeting, as well as their ability to debate motions and use parliamentary law.

“Parliamentary procedure is used to run a proper meeting and run it with efficiency,” Foster said.

Team member Kennie Thomas received the Outstanding Debater Award and Caitlynn Camacho was ranked No. 3 in the exam.

The novice team members are Jeffrey Garner, Allison Richardson, Hannah McCune, Kennie Thomas, Nolan House, Christian Maciel and Caitlynn Camacho, as well as alternates Mili Towell and JoJo Ruiz.

“The novice parli pro team are sophomores that won the contest as freshmen, and so I think it was very surreal for them to not only go on their very first overnight convention experience, but to be able to stay as focused and disciplined as they were and be able to pull that off is incredible,” Foster said.

The Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Team was named reserve national champion. The Outstanding Debater Award went to Joey O’Neal, and Vanessa Iturriaga earned the Outstanding Secretary Award.

The advanced team members are Trevor Schweitz, Gabi Akers, Zia Ruppert, Vanessa Iturriaga, Joey O’Neal and Abby Woods, as well as alternate Ariana Carpio. Ag teachers Bryan Dodson and Brittney Thompson coached the advanced team.

Foster highlighted the outstanding-debater recognitions for Thomas and O’Neal, noting that the award is essentially for the “best debater in the nation.”

“And so to have two students from the same school in both contests is pretty incredible,” Foster said.

The Agricultural Sales Team also earned the reserve national champion title. In the agricultural sales competition, each team of four takes a product and must develop a persuasive sales plan for customers. Other stages see individual members pitch the product to customers and work with purchasers to solve product issues.

The Liberty Ranch team was charged with selling skid steers and track loaders from tractor company Kubota. They educated themselves on the products by visiting the new Kubota facility in Elk Grove and driving the equipment in Stockton.

Aliyah Scarlato was named the No. 1 individual in the nation; Taylor Klein and Taryn Cooley were ranked gold, and Larry Lucas was ranked silver.

The Agricultural Sales Team members are Taryn Cooley, Larry Lucas, Taylor Klein and Aliyah Scarlato.

Foster said she started the ag sales team last fall, inspired her own FFA experiences from high school. This was the team’s first national competition.

Foster said parli pro and ag sales give the students useful skills that they can apply in future careers, such as clear communication with employers and customers, and particularly the ability to solve problems efficiently.

“I think problem-solving is huge in the workforce because no matter what career you want to go into, it’s important to know how to fix problems on your own or how to attack things at certain angles, and both of these contests prepare them for that,” Foster said.