Members of North Surry High School’s FFA had a chance to display their talents at the Regional Rally earlier this month in Morganton.

Some of them placed high enough in their categories to qualify for a trip to the state competition in Raleigh in June. Colby Roberts, Shane Gammons and Alex Nichols took first place in the talent show and will take the show on the road for states. They dressed in costumes similar to the film in “O Brother Where Art Thou” and sang “Man of Constant Sorrow.”

“I’m not scared of being in front of a bunch of people and I thought it’d be fun and exciting,” said Gammons of deciding to participate.

The dairy judging team of Mandy Brim, Brady Payne, Will Bullin and Tyler Jarrell also placed first at the regional rally and will advance to the next level of competition.

The regional rally provides an opportunity for students to compete in different categories of agriculture education depending on their interests and talents. The categories include agriculture mechanics, horticulture, extemporaneous speaking and the talent show.

Brady Payne competed in the horticulture category at the rally. In the competition, he had to identify different types of plants and the diseases present on them.

“I’m in Horticulture 1 and I was pretty good with plants,” he said. “I stayed in the greenhouse a lot to get experience.”

Students said the experience of the rally is what makes them want to attend. They get to meet new people and have new experiences. They also believe in the value of the FFA in teaching life lessons.

“It’s a good experience to have in high school,” said Colby Roberts. “You can develop qualities like how to speak in front of people. You can also mature a lot.”

“It can help you choose a career if you’re interested in doing something with agriculture,” said Robby Shelton.

“It means a lot. It teaches you a good work ethic,” said Payne.

Other winners at the regional rally include the livestock judging team of Austin Hester, Colby Roberts and Payne, Chase Chandler who won second place in dairy showmanship and Dillon Hawks who placed fifth in extemporaneous speaking.

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.