Yelm FFA Chapter wraps up “great showing” at Thurston County Fair

Since the creation of the Thurston County Fair in 1871, one of the longest standing traditions at the annual event is the inclusion of FFA and 4-H sales and exhibitions.

Yelm’s FFA chapter, one of the largest in the United States, has built a strong reputation of hard work, consistency and dedication to the craft of agriculture, and the chapter recently displayed those qualities through a strong showing at the Thurston County Fair, which spanned from Thursday, July 31, through Sunday, Aug. 3.

Matt Mounts, a longtime FFA adviser and the current athletic director at Yelm High School, believes the Thurston County Fair is a big opportunity for FFA and 4-H members to learn about agriculture and grow in their respective crafts. Specifically, he believes the annual event serves two purposes.

“Number one, it’s a great avenue for these kids to communicate with the public and display what agriculture is all about. It gives them the opportunity to interact with the public and talk to them about the positive benefits of not only the FFA organization, but agriculture and the role it plays in their lives. The awesome other avenue is the Thurston County Youth Market Animal Sale because it creates such a great opportunity for these kids to exhibit animals and sell them and put together an auction. It supports their supervised agricultural experiences, helps them get qualified for their state FFA degrees and American FFA degrees, and gives them an opportunity to do a little entrepreneurship.”

Mounts also highlighted the long list of Yelm chapter members who received awards and ribbons during the fair.

His daughter, Bailey Mounts, was the beef category’s grand champion senior showman and also had the grand champion market steer at the county fair. The senior classification is the most advanced class of showmanship at the annual event, according to the FFA adviser.

In the turkey classification, Haley Poland had the grand champion bird and was also named the grand champion showman. Blake Goetz was named reserve grand champion, while Kyla Poland earned the honor of novice grand champion showman. In the chicken category, Carole Kirsten was named the novice reserve grand champion.

In the goat category, Maile Poland earned the honor of market goat grand champion, while Haley Poland was named market goat reserve grand champion. Jayden Hernandez received the honor of champion senior showman, while Haley also earned a junior showman grand championship. Keilynah Pedro-Erickson was the novice showman grand champion, while Alina Mendoza-Wolfe was the novice showman reserve grand champion.

In the pig category, Kolton Nash took home the honor of market hog grand champion, while Brandy Larson took home two honors –—market hog reserve grand champion and senior showman reserve grand champion. Mounts’ son, Brody Mounts, earned the honor of senior showman grand champion, and Kricket Nash received the award for junior showman champion. Kamiaken Nash received the honor of junior showman reserve grand champion.

Finally, in the rabbit classification, Alea Myers was named senior reserve grand champion showman, while Tristan Waters was the junior grand champion showman. Hernandez was also named the novice grand champion showman.

“Our kids had a great fair, like usual. A lot of kids put in a ton of time, and it showed in the results,” Mounts said. “All of them who exhibited animals here had market animals, and they get judged on two different things. They get judged on their showmanship skills, which is a test of how well they present their animal, the knowledge they have, and their overall presentation and ability to show the animal looking its best. The other thing is their animal gets evaluated on its market worthiness and if it fits the ideal market standards for a finished animal.”

Additionally, several Tornados took home honors from the event’s round robin — which Mounts described as an activity for “master showmen.” Kyla took home the honor of round robin grand champion showman, while the adviser’s daughter, Bailey, was the reserve grand champion.

“Any of these kids who were grand champion got to compete against each other in every event,” he said. “Every single one of them had to show beef, hogs, goats, dairy goats, sheep, dairy cows, pigs, turkeys, and rabbits. They got evaluated on how well they did across every single species. They were competing for a belt buckle on that.”