By Ansley Hollingsworth
On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, the Hollow Rock-Bruceton FFA engaged in the popular FFA competition, Agcomms. The event was held at the Boling University Center and Paul Meek Library in Martin. This competition involves a team working together to create informational ways to communicate agricultural news to public audiences. For example, one student would make a social media post about the topic they were given. The team included Cadence Guinn (Freshmen), Ansley Hollingsworth and Cooper McMackins (Sophomores), and Allie Paschall (Junior). The team was also accompanied by their advisor, Michael Stanford.
The event began with a presentation about the University of Tennessee at Martin’s role in the Tennessee’s Governor’s School for Agriculture. Every summer, the University of Tennessee at Martin holds an agricultural based Governor’s School where students stay throughout the month of June and take college classes. After the presentation, the students were able to ask questions over the topic. Then, each team was sent to the college’s library to create their communication projects. They were given 90 minutes to complete their assignment. Along with the presentation, interview, and projects, each student was also given a 50 question exam to test their knowledge on effective communication.
In this time, the Hollow Rock-Bruceton team worked cautiously and creatively until they were finished. The competition ended at 7:10 that night, and the Hollow Rock-Bruceton team felt confident about their work. This confidence proved correct when the exam scores arrived later that week. All of the members of the Hollow Rock-Bruceton team did exceedingly well on the exam. Especially Ansley Hollingsworth, who won first place with only one missed question. The school’s FFA chapter celebrated the win with kind and grateful words. In the overall competition, the team did well on their projects. In the end, the Hollow Rock-Bruceton FFA chapter felt that the competition was a path for future wins and achievements with a second place district win. They hope to participate in many future events and to continue working hard to earn more titles among West Tennessee.
Photo (from left): Allie Paschall, Ansley Hollingsworth, Cadence Guinn, Cooper McMackins