Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE- The Badger/Lake Geneva FFA floriculture team, including three University of Wisconsin-Platteville students, recently received a silver rating at the national FFA floriculture contest. The contest was held in conjunction with the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

UWP students Cassie Petrie, Nadine Cummings and Ashley Bauer, and Erin McNally of Badger High School in Lake Geneva, completed 10 different tasks for the contest. Tasks included a written exam, floriculture design, an interview, making a television commercial, plant identification, making arrangements for a prom as a team, identifying plant disorders, a floriculture problem solving test, handling a customer complaint and sales.

In addition to the team receiving a silver rating, Cummings received a gold rating individually and Bauer received a silver rating.

"We had to be creative and able to make a new design every time," said Cummings.

Added Petrie, "It gave us a lot of hands on experience; working with flowers and doing the designs ourselves."

To prepare for the contest, the team practiced with Gretchen Kamps, camp coordinator for the UWP School of Agriculture, twice a week. During practices, the team went to florists in Mineral Point to get new ideas for floral designs.

Bauer said that competing in the contest prepared them to help other student competitors in the future. "We all want to eventually be FFA advisors. This will help us help our teams. We did this because we like it," said Bauer.

Anyone wanting more information about the floriculture contest may contact Kamps at (608) 342-1371 or kampsg@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Gretchen Kamps, camp coordinator, School of Agriculture, (608) 342-1371, kampsg@uwplatt.edu Written by: Krystle Kurdi, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, kurdik@uwplatt.edu