LaCrosse FFA team wins national marketing contest

From left to right, Abby McGregor, Britte Harder and Jason Wigen make their championship winning presentation during the FFA Nationals marketing competition in Louisville, Ky. They defeated 32 other state champion teams.

A team of three LaCrosse High School students was named national champions at the 88th national FFA convention in Louisville, Ky. The FFA Marketing Plan Competition team was comprised of LaCrosse Juniors Britte Harder and Abigail McGregor, and 2015 graduate Jason Wigen.

The path to the championship was a long one for local team from LaCrosse High School, a school of about 30 students. After winning their district competition last year, the trio defeated 22 other Washington High School teams at last spring’s state convention in Pullman. Following the win at WSU, the team spent the summer and fall polishing their plan and presentation skills in preparation for the National Convention in Louisville, which annually draws more than 60,000 attendees.

The team prepared and presented a plan designed for the Dixon Land and Livestock Company of Pomeroy to improve the annual Joint Venture Club Calf Sale. The team worked at the annual sale, and they were able to apply this real world experience in conjunction with direction from their FFA chapter advisor and teacher Lisa Baser to garner the national award.

In Louisville, LaCrosse faced off against 32 other state champions. Each round of the competition included a team presentation followed by a question and answer session with a panel of expert judges. Following the initial round, the pool was narrowed to 18 teams. Representing Washington State FFA, LaCrosse advanced to the final round against teams from Georgia, Michigan, and Nebraska.

Although McGregor, Harder, and Wigen presented at 5:30 a.m. local time Oct. 30, they didn't find out until the awards banquet later that night they had won. As national champions, each student was awarded a $1,000 cash prize from Bunge North America - a St. Louis based agricultural commodities marketing company.

Following the completion of her high school studies, Britte Harder plans to become a commercial airline pilot, and Abby McGregor plans to study architecture. Jason Wigen is currently serving as State FFA Reporter and will attend WSU in the fall to study crop sciences.

This is the second team that Baser has taken to the National FFA Marketing Plan Competition. In 2008 she coached the team from Pomeroy High School where her husband J.D. was the FFA advisor at the time.