COOKEVILLE, TN – Covington FFA took home first place honors in the Tennessee Future Farmers of America (FFA) State Poultry Judging competition held May 9th on the Tennessee Tech University campus. Fourteen FFA chapters representing the three regions from across the state participated. 

Covington FFA of Covington High School was represented by team members: Phillip Langlois, Chase Murray, Kevin Pilkington, and Ryan Wick. The chapter’s advisors are Bryan Cole, Liz Flanagan and Jerry Johnson. Covington will represent Tennessee at the National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky in October. The team will compete against other state winning teams for the national title. 

The National FFA Poultry Evaluation Career Development Event encourages learning through activities relative to production and management, processing, marketing, and food safety and quality of poultry products. Poultry Judging competitors completed a written exam and judged live poultry, ready-to-cook poultry, shell eggs, and further processed poultry. Teams also participated in a team activity where all members worked collaboratively to perform a scenario activity about a poultry industry situation or problem. 

The winner of the Eastern Region was the Anderson County FFA Chapter, which also placed second overall. The Middle Region was won by the Westmoreland FFA Chapter. 

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. Nationally, there are 610,240 FFA members, aged 12-21. The Tennessee FFA Association is comprised of more than 13,000 members from 214 high school chapters, seven middle school chapters, and eight collegiate chapters across the state of Tennessee.

Photo caption: Covington FFA members looking competitive after winning the State Veterinary Science competition. (L-R) Jerry Johnson (Advisor), Kevin Pilkington, Chase Murray, Tyler Rowland, Phillip Langlois, and Ryan Wick