Six Fallbrook National FFA Organization members receive Agricultural Proficiency Award

The National FFA Organization has a multilevel Agricultural Proficiency Award competition, and six members of Fallbrook High School's FFA chapter won 10 San Diego Section awards, six of those were also Southern Region winners and four Fallbrook FFA members were state finalists.

Delana Sehnert was a section winner for beef production, diversified livestock production and swine production and was a Southern California Region winner and state finalist for diversified livestock production and swine production. Madison Causey was a section winner, region winner and state finalist for nursery operations and was also a section winner for agricultural sales entrepreneurship. Damon Gallegos was a section and region winner and a state finalist for agricultural sales and also was the vegetable production section winner. Karina Gutierrez was a section and region winner and state finalist for diversified horticulture production. Maude Hutson won the section and region competition for veterinary science. Sydney Breese was the sheep production section winner.

"They've all excelled in their projects," Fallbrook FFA adviser Margaret Chapman said. "They're finally getting recognized for their achievement."

The Agricultural Proficiency Award program recognizes students who through their supervised agricultural experience programs – project activity outside of class time – have developed specialized skills which can be applied to future careers. Students can compete for awards in 53 different categories. Fallbrook FFA had 20 applications for this year's awards.

The San Diego Section consists of the 13 high school FFA chapters in San Diego County. The section winners compete for the Southern California Region awards. The region consists of San Diego County, Imperial County, Orange County, Riverside County and portions of Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County.

The region-level winners compete at the state level. Three state finalists in each category are selected.

None of the Fallbrook state finalist entries won at the state level, but Chapman said that being a state finalist is in itself an honor.

"They were the top three in the state," Chapman said.

Gutierrez graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2019 and was in her FFA alumni year. She utilized her FFA nursery operations projects to obtain a job in a flower shop, and she also opened her own floral business called Hummingbird Creations. Gutierrez has also been a florist at Major Market for the past three years. She is currently attending Mira Costa College, and although she is pursuing a teaching career, her ultimate goal is to open her own flower shop in Fallbrook.

Sehnert graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2020 after four years in the FFA program – an incoming freshman can also be a member of FFA, and Sehnert joined Fallbrook FFA in time to show as an FFA member at the 2016 San Diego County Fair. She has raised market beef, swine, goats and poultry, and she has also improved her facilities and selected optimal genetics for her projects. Sehnert raises poultry for eggs as well as for meat. She will be attending a cosmetology school and desires to become a hair stylist.

Causey was in Fallbrook FFA for four years before her graduation. She owned and operated her own succulent arrangement business for three years. Her activities included designing arrangements, caring for plants and making the soil mixture, and she has grown and propagated agave nursery plants which are sold to local nurseries. Causey intends to use the proceeds from her FFA projects for tuition; she plans to major in ornamental horticulture and minor in floriculture.

Hutson was a 2019-2020 junior, and outside of school, she works in the boarding facility at Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital in Vista. Her responsibilities there include feeding, walking, sanitizing and medicating the animals and ensuring their safety, and she also assists the veterinarians and veterinary technicians when needed. Hutson plans to use her FFA earnings for schooling which will enable her to become a veterinarian.

Breese completed her junior year at Fallbrook High School and her third year in FFA. She has raised market lambs and is also part of the FFA chapter's advanced parliamentary procedure team and the nursery landscape judging team. Breese desires to become an agriculture teacher following her college education.

Gallegos was a sophomore and a second-year FFA member during 2019-2020. He is involved in the FFA floriculture program and was the Greenhand president for 2019-2020, and he also participated in advanced parliamentary procedures and impromptu speaking. Gallegos works at Ray's Ranch in the Old Town Temecula farmers market and is responsible for marketing and selling produce, honey and eggs and for setting up and breaking down the booth. He hopes to hold additional Fallbrook FFA chapter offices before studying landscape management and design in college.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].