Thomas County Central High School Forestry teams swept a recent skills competition, taking first place in both divisions.
Teams competed in the Area V Forestry Career Development Event, or CDE, held April 14 at Reed Bingham State Park. Both the TCCHS Junior and Senior teams placed first in their divisions.
“These are competitive contests where students demonstrate the knowledge they have learned in the classroom,” teams advisor and TCCHS Forestry and Wildlife teacher Jerry Stone said.
This event was the region face-off with the top two teams per division advancing to state competition. The junior team scored 728 and the senior team scored 709.
Other teams were from Bainbridge High, Colquitt County High, Worth County High, Tift County, and Brooks County.
“I didn’t really think that we would win but when it came to the results announcement, one event after the other, Thomas County was getting called for first place awards,” Tori Stringer, who placed first in Land Management for the Junior Division and had the highest score in the entire competition, said. “As I told many of my fellow teammates once we were finished, we rocked the socks off of that competition!”
Junior Division consists of 9th graders only. It is TCCHS’s first year with a junior team. Senior Division consists of 10th -12th graders. This is the 13th consecutive year the TCCHS Senior team has earned a place in the state championship competition, Stone said.
“The Senior Team has put a lot of desire and effort in to getting this far and now I hope they will continue to stay focused as we prepare for state,” Stone said.
Both division competitions included tree identification, tree disorders, compass and pacing, land measurements, ocular estimation, cord volume, board foot volume, timber stand improvement, reforestation, and forest management categories. Numerous TCCHS students placed in the various categories (see box).
Brooks Bradley placed second in the Junior Division for Board Foot Volume.
“I had to measure the diameter of 10 trees and had to find the height of the trees to determine how many logs I could get out of the trees,” Bradley said.
Morgan Warr placed first in the Junior Division Compass and Pacing category.
“It felt like it was just a practice,” she said of competing. “It was quiet and comfortable. I did my normal routine and I was very confident.”
Brentley Odom placed first in Junior Division Tree Disorders.
“I felt awesome and so proud of myself for placing first in my category, and I was so surprised I won with an 85 because I made a 35 and 55 on my last two competitions.”
Team members have been preparing for the event throughout the year, and begin practicing after school in March.
“We do practices at school and also attend invitational field days around the region for practice before the competition,” Hailey Parrish, who placed second in forest management with partner Desiree Vinson, said.
Stone said it is important the school have a forestry team.
“Forestry is Georgia’s largest agricultural industry and Georgia’s second largest industry altogether,” he said. “Half of our county is forested land, so there are numerous careers available for students to obtain after high school and attending a post-secondary institution.”
Members are glad the team exists.
“It gives you an opportunity to experience other things and possibly make a career out of it if you put time and effort into it,” member Desiree Vinson said.
Now, the teams will focus on preparing for state competition, which will be held in Swainsboro this May.
“I’m really proud of our teams, but we know have to practice twice as hard in order to be competitive at the state level,” Stone said.
TCCHS Forestry Teams Winners
Senior Division: First Place: 709
Tree Identification: 2nd - 87, Dalton Burgess
Compass and Pacing: 3rd - 75, Bradley Griffin
Land Measurement: 1st - 94, John Sessions
Ocular Estimation: 1st - 69, Tanner King
Board Foot Volume: 2nd - 77, Riley Stringer
Timber Stand Improvement: 1st - 85, Caleb Phillips
Forest Management: 2nd - 55, Nathan Gaskin/Tyler Palmer
Junior Division: First Place: 728
Tree Identification: 1st - 75, Cooper Owens
Tree Disorders: 1st - 85, Brentley Odom
Compass and Pacing: 1st - 72, Morgan Warr
Land Measurement: 1st - 95, Tori Stringer
Cord Volume: 1st - 93, Nick Palmer
Board Foot Volume: 2nd - 56, Brooks Bradley
Timber Stand Improvement: 2nd - 73, Hunter Bryan
Reforestation: 2nd - 76, Luke Carroll
Forest Management: 3rd – 77, Hailey Parrish/Desiree Vinson