OREMC sponsored its annual FFA Wiring Competition Practice Session at Brantley County High School on January 12, at which 11 students from seven southern Georgia school systems participated. This is one of their last opportunities to practice real-world wiring applications for agriculture settings, brush up on their electric code knowledge and polish their presentation skills before area competitions begin with a pathway leading to a statewide competition.

For Jerry Stone, Area Agricultural Mechanics Teacher and South Region Agricultural Education, these practice sessions play an important role in shaping students’ future career aspirations. “Just think,” he said as the timed wiring problem got underway, “three or four years from now any one of you might be working on these applications for real.” You can hear the pride and excitement in his voice as he speaks with the students, giving them pointers on how to succeed once the competition is over.

Practice session winners were presented with a carved plaque from Mr. Stone and a cash prize from OREMC presented by Member & Community Services Representative Royce Proctor. First place went to Thomas Phillips from Wayne County High School; Kenton Sellars from Ware County High School won second place; and Wayne County High School’s J T Carter earned third place.

Open to high school students in grades nine through 12, the wiring competition is an Agricultural Electrification Career Development Event sponsored jointly by the Georgia FFA Association and the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation representing the state’s 41 electric membership cooperatives. The event is divided into three sections: a presentation/demonstration speech, problem solving questions and a wiring problem. Each section is timed and scored based on work completed and competency demonstrated. The top two winners from each of the six regions advance to the statewide competition.