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2 Newton students elected to FFA office
Ava Jane Teasley, Dos Harper to serve as statewide VPs
2018-19 Georgia FFA Leadership
Georgia FFA students elected their 2018-19 leadership team on Saturday, April 28, 2018, in Macon.

Two Newton County students made history from their schools on Saturday by winning election to statewide FFA offices.

Both Dos Harper and Ava Jane Teasley were elected as vice presidents at the 90th Georgia FFA Convention in Macon.

Harper is a student at the Newton College and Career Academy, while Teasley is a student at Eastside High School.

FFA Officers
Newton County students Dos Harper and Ava Jane Teasley were elected as state FFA officers for 2018-19. From left are Eastside High School teacher Catrina Pollard, Teasley, Harper and Newton College and Career Academy teacher Marcus Pollard in 2018.
Sherri Davis, the spokeswoman for the Newton County School System, issued this statement:

“Congratulations to Dos Harper and Ava Jane Teasley on their election to serve as vice presidents for the north region of Georgia FFA. Dos and Ava Jane are each outstanding students who have excelled tremendously in the Newton County FFA program; they are great ambassadors for their schools and our school system. We know that the Georgia FFA program could not have selected two finer students to serve as statewide officers to promote agriculture and ag education. Their election is a major accomplishment for which we are extremely proud, as Newton County has not had a state FFA officer since the mid-1990s — now we have two elected in one year. This will no doubt open many doors for Dos and Ava Jane; as a result, we expect even greater things to come for these two exceptional students.”

Todd Teasley, the director of development and leadership at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center, agreed.

“They have represented Newton County well in many FFA endeavors on the state and national level in their high school careers,” he said. “To top it off with becoming state officers is amazing. There are only two from north Georgia that are able to serve on the state officer team and it just so happens that both of them came from Newton County.”

Steven Robinson, in 1995-96, was the last Newton County student to serve as an FFA state officer.

“Dos and Ava will represent over 42,000 FFA members from Georgia as they promote agriculture and agriculture education across the state and nation,” Teasley said. “We’re incredibly proud.”

Students attending the convention heard from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

Managing Editor Jackie Gutknecht contributed to this report.