Texas FFA'er among 10 national winners of '04 RMA essay contest

By JULIET BRISKIN | Staff writer

May 6, 2004 -- Kari Bailes, representing Shepherd High School FFA, was recently selected as one of 10 national winners in the 7th annual FFA/Risk Management Strategies Writing Contest. Bailes has been an FFA member for the past three years, but this was her first time to enter the essay contest.

The theme of this year's contest was "Risk Management Strategies for My Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Program." A select panel of independent judges from USDA, academia, state governments, and private industry reviewed the essays, selecting the winners from over 160 entries on the basis of content, adherence to the assigned topic, grammar, organization, originality and creativity.

"My essay was mainly about the risks I took in my SAE Program," explained Bailes. "We raised beef cow-and-calf pairs, market broilers, market turkeys, elk, red deer and goats for the program this year. I no longer have the elk, the red deer or my goat, but they were part of my essay. They were a risk that I had to manage because they attracted predators that were eating the newborn calves."

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced the winners on April 27 in Washington.

"This cooperative program with FFA provides opportunities for young people to focus on risk management as a vital business tool and develop their leadership skills," said Veneman. "I congratulate these students for their individual achievements and for serving their communities through FFA."

The 10 national winners for 2004 are: Tyler Kimmel of Stoneham, Colo.; Waco Phipps of Kearney, Neb.; Kristi Brown of Canton, Okla.; Kari Bailes of Shepherd, Texas; Wiley Hendricks of Winchester, Ky.; Andrea Curry of Lawton, Okla.; Krista Ubbenga of Hartsburg, Ill.; Colin Lowe of Chickasha, Okla; Jeffrey Schroeder of West Point, Neb.; and Jordan Davis of Foss, Okla.

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) will provide the winners and their advisors with a trip to the nation's capital to celebrate RMA/FFA Day on May 6-7, where they will participate in a special recognition ceremony at USDA along with other activities.

"I am so excited about going to Washington, D.C., and getting to experience meeting people from all over the nation," said Bailes. "We get to go to the USDA and we are going to meet members of Congress. It just feels really good to be one of the winners. I'm not a very good writer, but this was a great opportunity so I thought I should just go for it."

Bailes, who is also active in the Liberty County 4-H club, plans on continuing her involvement with the Shepard High Schol FFA chapter throughout her senior year. "After graduation I want to go Texas A&M to study agriculture science," explained Bailes. "I don't really know what I want to do after college; you never know what the opportunities are going to be."

When asked what advice she would give to other students considering entering an essay contest, Bailes stated no one should pass up an opportunity, even if it doesn't sound like something they would normally do. "You never know how good you are going to be at it until you try."

To read all the winning essays, visit www.ffa.org/programs/riskmgt/.