On April 18, Bear River FFA’s Novice Parliamentary Procedure team drove home from Fresno with a silver bowl at their feet. But their journey began long before winning the state championship title last month. Since their first late night practices in November, the team has not only grown stronger, but grown together. Coached by Alex Whitney and Dylan Weddle, the team has prioritized teamwork, communication and progress.
Aside from utilizing Robert’s Rules of Order to run an efficient meeting, students in parliamentary procedure (dubbed ‘parli pro’) learn debating and critical thinking skills. But, as team member Payten Allen will tell you, it takes a lot of studying to understand the competition.
“(Parli pro) is intense. Your every move is being watched,” shared the team’s chairman, Claire Hoffman. “You just know that one mistake, one word being said wrong could mess up your entire team’s chances.”
Early in the team’s season, they were trained by their older peers, who had taken gold in the US the year before.
“Having them was a huge bump in confidence, (knowing) we had someone looking out for us,” said sophomore Luci Cohen. “The best part of competing as a team is, we all have one goal, which is to win.”
“We’ve grown together as people, not just competitors,” Ava Moyer said. “We put ourselves in very vulnerable situations, and so I feel like I can go to them with anything, and that they can come to me with anything. We work more as a family.”
Because of the months spent training together, the team has found respect in each other, and their differing positions. In parliamentary procedure, a team is made up of five debaters (or ‘chairs’) and a chairman, who supervises the room and maintains order.
“I feel that they had a harder job because my script was kind of just laid out for me,” Hoffman said. “I mean, I used it strategically, but I was told what to say and when to say it. It’s a lot of memorization and how I present myself.”
Sophomore Tessa Strong agrees with Hoffman, emphasizing the importance of public speaking for the future of agriculture.
“From my experience being on a cattle range, we need to be able to go and step in front of the California legislative office, and make sure that our land is being taken care of,” Strong said. “We need to be sure that our animals and all the technological advancements are well thought over.”
Strong, Moyer, Cohen, Allen and Larsen Paasch served as debaters on the team, with Paasch and Cohen being recognized for their outstanding efforts.
“I’d made it a goal to win high chair,” Cohen shared. “I did not expect that; I guess my studying on tests and oral questions paid off.”
Bear River FFA was joined in their win by Susanville, who took home the gold at the Advanced level. Susanville’s team was coached by Ms. Whitney, in her final years of teaching.
“In the holding room, we kind of bonded with Susanville. It was just a full-circle moment because Ms. Whitney coached both teams,” Allen shared. “She’s just the best coach – she coaches winning teams.”
Being a novice team with sophomores, this year’s team will be unable to compete at the national level. However, they continue to be optimistic, and their resilience and hard work show the continued success of Bear River FFA.
