John
H. Coombs, Jr., son of John and Donna Coombs of
Elmer, Salem County, became the first New Jersey
FFA member in more than a decade to win a national
proficiency award. He took top honors in specialty
crop production at the 74th National
FFA Convention in Louisville, KY, last week. His
Woodstown FFA advisor is Mrs. Cheryl Lowe. Coombs
began growing vegetables and selling them in front
of his house when he was just 12 years old. In
his freshman year of high school, John began growing
pumpkins, planting them on three acres of ground
that he tilled by hand as a part of a Supervised
Agriculture Experience program that connects "real
world" experiences to classroom instruction. The
project has expanded to 10 acres of top-quality,
machine-cultivated pumpkins. Coombs is currently
a student at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown,
PA, majoring in agronomy. He hopes to return to
the family farm and carry on the family business.
Coombs, who currently serves as State FFA Parliamentarian,
will travel to Costa Rica in June as part of the
national FFA's international experience along with
current State FFA President Michael Brooks, also
a member of Woodstown FFA. Brooks was a finalist
at the national conference in the fruit and vegetable
production category. Proficiency awards recognize
FFA members who excel as agricultural entrepreneurs,
employees or volunteers. The specialty crop award,
one of 46 proficiency award categories, was sponsored
by Cerexagri; BASF as a special project of the
National FFA Foundation.
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| Doug
Kueker (left), National FFA Vice President,
congratulates John Coombs, Woodstown FFA's
National Proficiency Award Winner, on his
achievement. A beaming Cheryl Lowe, Woodstown
FFA Chapter Advisor, looks on. |
|
| Agriculture Secretary Art
Brown, Jr., (far left) and Assembly Speaker
Jack Collins (far right) joined Acting
Governor Donald DiFrancesco in congratulating
Woodstown FFA member John Coombs, Jr.,
on his national FFA Proficiency Award achievement.
Coombs, who who currently serves as State
FFA Parliamentarian, is the first New Jersey
FFA member to win the national award in
more than a decade. |
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