San Angelo ISD FFA Students Place At Ag. Mechanics Show

• Central High School FFA: 5th place – All Other Shop Equipment – Welding Skid 
  • Laken Moore
  • Kasen O’Neil
  • William Smith
  • Christopher Lannom

• Lake View High School FFA: 5th place – Multi-Piece Large Indoor Furniture – Indoor Built-In Cabinet
  • Trey Henry
  • Wyatt Henry
  • Misael Rodelo
  • Izayah Cruz
  • Eli Stone
  • Isaac Monreal
  • Auston Perez

“Our students represented SAISD very well and are motivated talking about projects that they will build for next year,” said Hunter Smith, who teaches Welding 2 & Practicum in Manufacturing at Central High School. “The quality of work at a show is very high. Many projects are built every year, but special attention and direction go into project show entries to be competitive.” 

For some of the students representing San Angelo ISD, it was their first time competing at the Ag Mechanics Show. 

“My students are freshmen and beginner welders and construction students. They had no clue about the Ag Mechanics Show and what it was about,” said Alicia Theriot, who teaches Intro to Welding, Principles of Agriculture, and Principles of Construction at Central High School. 

Ms. Theriot said after she told her students about the annual competition and showed them pictures of projects from previous shows, they wanted to participate in this year’s show. 

“Some didn’t realize how much effort is necessary to compete in these shows and show off their skills to other schools and judges,” said Ms. Theriot. “For most of my students that competed, they have decided that they want to continue taking these classes or continue membership with FFA so that they can participate next year and/or learn the trades better for future employment.”

For Ms. Theriot’s students, deciding what to build for the Ag Mechanics show came down to a class decision. 

One group of Ms. Theriot’s students built a children’s table and chair set, while the other group built a fire pit. 

For other San Angelo ISD FFA students, deciding what to build came from requests from individuals in the community. 

“We had two different individuals express interest in us building both the cabinets and a 12-foot trailer,” said Jory Wiemers, who teaches Principles of Construction and Agriculture Mechanics at Lake View HS. “That was ideal because we didn’t have to sell projects after the show was over.”

Lake View High School had 18 of their 25 FFA members competing in this year’s Ag Mechanics Show. 

“This year, I had a very dedicated group that had been to the Ag Mechanics competition with me before,” said Mr. Wiemers. “They knew what to expect, and also knew our projects had to be the best they could be to compete with all of Texas. They started working as a team last semester and pushed each other to get the projects completed on time. 

“A good number of them will be returning to the Ag Mech show next year as well,” he said. “It has been a great experience for them and has taught them what it takes to place in the Ag Mech show. I am very proud of them all.”

For Central High School, almost 20 of the 51 members of CHS FFA competed in this year’s Ag Mechanics Show. 

“We look forward to the San Angelo Stock Show Ag Mechanics show each year,” said Mr. Smith. “It is a great opportunity to showcase some of the projects that we have built. Students have the opportunity to meet other students from across the state at the event. We had a record number of projects at the show overall (around 778), which is as big as any other major show in the state.”  

Other Ag Mechanics Show entries from Central HS and Lake View HS FFAs included a truck tailgate bench, a table, and a bow stand. CHS FFA and LVHS FFA members spent anywhere from 20 hours to four months working on their projects. 

“The amount of dedication from these students made me appreciate the process of learning this trade even more,” said Jesus Ugalde, who teaches Welding 1 at Central HS. “Undoubtedly, with a few hiccups along the way, I couldn’t be more proud of them and their progress this year. We are already planning next year’s projects to get a head start as we plan on entering more intricate projects. Moving forward, I plan to continue working with these students and others to keep competing in these competitions to really show what the CHS Welding program is capable of.”

The San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Association’s Agricultural Mechanics Show is open to Texas junior exhibitors who are members of a Texas 4-H Club or FFA Chapter. 

All exhibits entered in the Ag Mechanics show must have been developed or constructed within one calendar year of the exhibition date and must fall into a subclass of one of the following divisions: Bumper Pull Trailers, Gooseneck Trailers, Agricultural Machinery & Equipment, Livestock & Wildlife Equipment, Home Convenience, Outdoor Cooking, and Tractor Restoration. 

Judging of exhibits is based on workmanship, students’ knowledge of the project, design and materials, degree of difficulty, finish and plans, bill of material, photographs, and, if applicable, DOT standard for the project.

“The students plan on putting much more work into their projects now that they’ve been through the process and have been judged, seen other students’ projects, and know about the awards,” said Ms. Theriot. “Now, they are excited about upcoming Ag Mech shows and what projects they’d like to build next. They’re already thinking about it, and some have already started working on one which they plan to bring to the show next year.”

“San Angelo ISD celebrates all the ways our students are smart and the methods our educators use to cultivate their individual smartness,” the school district stated. “We commend our students who competed in the Agricultural Mechanics show for the months of planning and hard work they devote to create their projects and we thank our Difference Maker educators for their guidance in cultivating their talents.”