Hillsdale’s Nursery and Landscaping team brought home a top-five overall finish in regional competition in September.
The career development event (CDE) team traveled to West Springfield, Mass., to compete in The Big E.
The FFA members who competed were: Reed Twining (Senior), Hunter Hickey (Senior), Josh Burson (Junior), and Jacob Schwendeman (Sophomore). As a team, they placed 3rd overall, individually Twining in 7th, Hickey in 13th, Schwendeman in 14th, and Burson in 20th.
What’s the Big E?
The Big E is the Eastern States Exposition, which combines all of the Eastern States for one large fair. Those states included are Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Virginia, Vermont, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Ohio. To be eligible for the Big E FFA competition in Ohio, you must place second in your career development event.
The Nursery and Landscaping CDE, a career development event, is a competition judging
team dedicated to fostering career interest, encouraging skill development and recognizing excellence among participants. The event covers all areas of the industry involved in cultivating, marketing, utilizing and maintaining landscape plants (including woody and herbaceous varieties and turf grasses), as well as associated products, tools, equipment, and services, including landscape design.
Thank you to Hillsdale FFA Alumni member, Tom Kaufman, for the many hours he put in coaching the team and for traveling with the team to the Big E. We are proud of their accomplishments and the progress this team has made this season.
Congratulations to the Nursery and Landscaping Team!