The sold-out event brought in over $165,000 in student project sales

TEMPLETON — Templeton FFA held its first project auction since 2019 and brought in over $165,000 in student projects alone. This year’s auction was held in the Estrella building at the Paso Robles Event Center on Saturday, Apr. 2.

“It was our best [auction] ever,” said Templeton FFA advisor Chris Hildibrand.

Traditionally, each year Templeton FFA students build projects to be sold at the chapter’s project auction. Proceeds from the projects go directly back to the student, while ticket sales and sponsorship money go towards the Templeton FFA Support Club. The support club funds FFA related activities and scholarships. Per year, the club gives $10,000 in scholarships to Templeton FFA students.

Projects range from picnic tables, barbecues, and wine barrel art to anything students can imagine. Students keep track of hours and costs throughout the project in their FFA Record Book for class and FFA credits and count towards earning FFA Degrees. 

The State FFA Degree is awarded to FFA members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the California State FFA Association and made significant accomplishments in their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs). 

Approximately 1,800 State FFA Degrees are handed out each year. After receiving their State Degree, FFA members can work towards earning their American Degree — the highest honor awarded FFA members across the nation.

This year’s 64 student projects were auctioned to a sold-out building of 500 paying patrons. The auction brought in $165,000 in project sales and over $30,000 in ticket sales and sponsorship funds, which turned out to be the chapter’s most profitable auction to date.

This year, the auction’s sponsors were Powdercoating USA, Miller Drilling, and Barrelhouse Brewing.

Kyle Simonin’s outdoor furniture set won Best in Show. The set featured a break apart L-shaped bench with two matching chairs around a large fire pit. It took Simonin approximately 75 hours of planning and building.

“I wanted to do something with several different pieces that could be arranged in different ways for the prospective buyer. I got the design ideas from a project I built in the past,” he said.

Kadin Javadi’s smoker received this year’s Judge’s Award. It took him about 50 hours to finish the project. “I have been wanting to build a larger project for my last project auction and thought a smoker would be a fun and challenging build,” he said.

In addition to having their best auction to date, several Templeton FFA students were recognized at the State Leadership Conference, Mar. 26-29. The Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through their SAE projects, have developed specialized skills that they can apply to their future careers. Less than 1% of FFA members will earn a proficiency award. The students were:

• Shane Brennan: AG Mechanics Repair and Maintenance (Regional)
• Tyler Cassera: Agricultural Processing (Regional)
• Mackay Langely: Agricultural Sales Placement (Sectional)
• Emily Parks: Sheep Production (Sectional)
• Kyle Simonin: Beef Production Placement (Sectional)