Avery Ridgley had reason to celebrate during the fifth and final session of the Missouri FFA Convention on the evening of April 21 at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Hearnes Center.

The Montgomery County sophomore found out that she was a state champion public speaker.

Ridgley won a championship in the Division II prepared public speaking leadership development event at the state convention. She was one of 16 students from six districts who were selected to compete at the state level.

Sitting in the agriculture room at MCHS on April 27, Ridgley still couldn’t believe what happened on that Friday night at the Hearnes Center.

“It was really exciting,” Ridgley said. “I was not expecting that.”

MCHS FFA co-advisor Amanda Sullivan said she believes Ridgley is the first member from chapter to win a state title in public speaking.

“We have gone through a lot of the scrapbooks,” Sullivan said. “We have never seen anyone who was a state champion for public speaking. So we’re pretty sure Avery is the first.”
At the public speaking state competition, contestants had to deliver a speech based on an agriculture topic they selected and researched in front of a panel of judges. Ridgley’s speech was titled, “Nitrates, Nitrites and Meat.” She started working on the speech in January.

“It was mostly about the misinformation with nitrates and nitrites because people tend to say they are cancer causing and way worse than they actually are,” Ridgley said. “So I just wanted to inform them that they’re not as bad as people think.”

Ridgley’s classmate, sophomore Beckham Cothren, placed sixth in the Division I prepared public speaking category. Finishing second through fifth were Rebekah Roberts of Windsor, Reagan Pendleton of Mount Vernon, Alyssa Bargfrede of Sweet Springs and Charlie Smith of Fairfax.

Ridgley competed in a preliminary round during the morning. She advanced to the finals later that evening.

Sullivan said the MCHS FFA chapter was ecstatic after finding out that Ridgley won a state title.

“I freaked out and I know her cheering section freaked out,” Sullivan said. “I was down below the stage taking pictures of her. It was a very exciting moment.”

Ridgley also helped the food science team – which included sophomores Landon Pottebaum and Ava Rakers and freshman Gracie Cobb – place third in state competition.
Ridgley said she enjoyed her time at the two-day convention.

“Even though they were pretty long days, it was exciting to compete and we get to recognize everybody’s accomplishments,” the sophomore said.

The state title was part of an outstanding sophomore year for Ridgley. She finished second in public speaking at the Missouri Quarter Horse Association state contest, was one of 21 members to receive a chapter degree and was selected as a chapter officer for the first time.

“She has done so much on the local level with committees and with being an officer and being a very active FFA member,” Sullivan said.

Now, Ridgley is looking forward to next year, when she will share secretary duties with Pottebaum. She is currently the parliamentarian.

“I’m excited about the secretary duties, but I’m just more excited for our officer team,” Ridgley said. “We get to work together to help improve the chapter.”