A student at West Liberty High School received second place at a state contest Aug. 27.
Addyson Lehman, placed second overall at the FFA state livestock-judging contest.
“When they announced my name it was a pretty special feeling,” Lehman said. “I knew I did pretty well but being and individual and not having a team it was really hard to find out where I would end up compared to everybody else they were announcing.”
Lehman is a member of the West Liberty High School FFA team but showed independently at the state livestock-judging contest because West Liberty FFA doesn’t have a livestock team currently.
There were nine classes of livestock Lehman competed in for judging, which were beef, swine and goats.
“We did three sets of reasons where we explained the way we judged a certain class,” Lehman said. “And in FFA, you also take a test so they used your scores from each class and your reason scores, which all scores are out of 50, and the 50 question test.”
For Lehman, competing in livestock-judging is something she really enjoys doing.
“It’s just something I’ve kind of found my place in,” she said. “It’s something I’m really pretty natural at I think.”
West Liberty High School Ag teacher Zach Morris said he wasn’t surprised when he heard she placed so high at the competition.
“Addyson has been involved with livestock for her entire life,” Morris said. “I believe this plays into what she wants to do in the future. This also has been very good for her to examine new species of livestock and she believes that has really helped her as she shows in the livestock industry. Needless to say, with her work ethic and desire to grow I was not surprised with her results.”
Morris said Lehman keeps to herself but puts herself in different situations in FFA so she can grow as a leader.
“She is not necessarily an animated FFA member,” Morris said. “She is very focused. She has a lot of responsibilities on the farm and with that comes a lot of hours, which makes her additional FFA responsibilities more challenging but she always has a positive attitude and continues to grow.”
Lehman is a part of the Parliamentary Procedure team headed to the National FFA convention in October. Morris said he puts a lot of trust in Lehman but knows she can do it.
“I just appreciate her willingness to grow and work and improve,” he said. “We still have a lot of big goals to accomplish in the next two years but I believe we will get there if she stays on track. She has a lot of support at home so it’s nice to know that I can push her professionally and get that support as well.”
Lehman already has a goal in mind for herself for next year’s state FFA livestock-judging contest.
“I hope to maybe even do better in the judging contest next year,” she said.