“Anytime you put as much time and effort into a project or contest as what these kids have, it will definitely help you grow,” said Chenevey. “From learning how to work as a team and dealing with people who don’t see eye to eye with you on prioritizing work, school and practices, these kids are growing up more and more every day.”

The ag sales contest allows students to practice their sales, teamwork and customer relations skills, as well as focusing on a general knowledge of marketing, advertising and sales areas. Teams conduct a mock sale of their product in a 15-minute time span, handle a customer relations situation, participate in a team market analysis proposal and presentation and take a written test. The West Holmes team sells a location product, concrete statuary from Wilson’s Country Creations, and the focus for the team activity and customer relations is the crop industry this year.

“I’ve really learned to interact with people in a professional, business environment,” said Martin Overholt, a junior from Glenmont, Ohio, who owns his own herd of Boer goats and serves as chapter reporter.

“I’ve also learned to deal with complaints and problems that I face in everyday life.”

The hardest part, said Overholt, was giving up evenings for practice. “There have been some nights when I would have other things going that I’d really want to do, but I knew that I had to go to practice.”

Practice has been especially hard for the group this fall, since one of their team members is currently attending college in Indianapolis. The team practices two to three times a week and uses old tests, activities and customer relations situations to get an idea of what the national competition will be like. They also proactive selling to teach other and community members who are experienced in sales.

“The community people we have had help us made it easy to adapt real-work experiences with what we are working on,” Chenevey said. “One of the people we worked with said the kids were almost as good at selling as they were, and I fully support that statement.”

“It has given me more confidence to speak out and helped me out in a professional sense to give me a better hand on the selling markets and what all is involved in running a business,” said junior Linsey Howell of Danville, who also raised registered Dorset sheep. “I am so excited to compete at nationals, because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that not everyone has the opportunity to experience. To be there representing Ohio is crazy – to think about going against the best-of-the-best in the nation and seeing all that hard work pay off.”

To earn a berth to nationals, the team competed first in a chapter contest to even make the team.

Winning their District 8 competition against five other teams qualified the West Holmes team for state competition. Last March, they took on the top 20 teams in Ohio and again game out on top.

But as Chenevey says, the real win is in what the students gain as individuals.

“FFA has given me a great sense of confidence and pushed me to be involved in more activities in FFA, school and the community,” said Emma Brewer, a junior from Glenmont who hopes to become a large animal veterinarian. “Through this contest, I have gained a better grasp on making personal connections and listening to interpret a customer’s needs before they actually state them.” Chenevey says the hard work has already paid off.

“These kids have worked very, very hard to get where they are today, and I am so proud of them for that,” Chenevey said. “They have gained employability skills and learned many life lessons on this journey. I am looking forward to their experiences and efforts to come full circle at convention.