TEXAS FFA 2014 Convention Review
Officers: Welcome to Convention
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A Mission That Matters
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Agriscience Fair
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Setting the #Trend
Table of Contents 86th Texas FFA Convention
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First Annual Fun Run
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Texas FFA Support
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Retiring Address - Heidi Ritter
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Retiring Address - Ryon Cox
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Retiring Address - Whitney Green
Retiring Address - Shelby Eckhardt Retiring Address - Sawyer Osborn Retiring Address - Bryce Winfrey
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Retiring Address - Hannah Ford
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Retiring Address - Kaci Major
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Retiring Address - Rhett Wilson Retiring Address - Quest Newberry Meet your 2014-2015 Officers Photo Album Sponsor Recognition
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86th Annual Texas FFA Convention & Expo Welcome to Cowtown! Better known as Fort Worth, Texas. This quiet town became a booming metropolis after it became a stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail. Fort Worth is known to be the cultural gateway to the American West and home to the oldest stock show and rodeo in the United States.
Ryon Cox Shelby Eckhardt Sawyer Osborn Bryce Winfrey Heidi Ritter Whitney Green Hannah Ford Kaci Major Rhett Wilson Quest Newberry 2
This year Fort Worth will also be home to the 86th Texas FFA State Convention presented by Justin Brands and Farm Credit. Texas FFA has had an extraordinary year. For the first time in FFA history our Association surpassed the 100,000 member mark, an indication that FFA and Agricultural Education continues to remain relevant and important in today’s world. This week we will have the opportunity to recognize the achievement of our members, chapters and supporters who embrace the attitude of “I CAN!” You will witness premiere leadership, personal growth and career success in action this week as we honor competitive event champions, Agriscience fair winners, degree and scholarship recipients and much more. Having nearly 3,000 members walk across the stage this week is proof that Texas FFA embraces the “I Can” attitude, both in and outside the classroom. This convention has so much to offer! From the exhibits, to the rodeo, to jamming out with the Casey Donahew Band, to hearing inspiring messages of retiring officers and keynote speakers. We want you to leave convention and go back to your chapters continuing to embrace the “I CAN” attitude!
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A Mission That Matters By: Shelby Mathison
The Texas FFA Organization envisions a future in which all agricultural education students will discover their passion in life and build on that insight to chart the course for their education, career and personal future. A study conducted in 2013 by Finis Welch, Ph.D., showed that FFA members are more prepared than their peers, have more confidence in their ability to succeed in college and continue to grow their leadership skills well into their college years. Universities value FFA members when recruiting students. University leaders say that FFA students are 1.6 times more valuable than athletic recruits and 1.13 more valuable than National Honor Society students. University leaders have also reported that FFA students have multiplied the scholarship value distributed by the Texas FFA and supporting sponsors. The same study showed that students with at least
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two semesters of an agricultural education have graduated at a much higher rate than their peers. Numbers continued to improve as students took more semesters of agricultural classes. Results showed that students taking anywhere from four to six semesters of agricultural education have lowered their disciplinary records. FFA students don’t have to stress as much about their financial aid. Majority of students who received an FFA scholarship, have covered at least 70 percent of their college tuition. An additional 60 percent of students were able to receive more financial support. Approximately 87 percent of FFA students would select a major and graduated on time and 82 percent of students that had some high school agricultural education experience had created their own career plan. Texas FFA has helped many students prepare for the future and continued to help them stay on the road of success.
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Agriscience Fair
By: Hannah Sharkey
Texas FFA members reinforce skills and principles they have learned in agriscience courses by participating in the 2014 Agriscience Fair at the Texas FFA Covnetion. Students conduct research projects and prepare a scientific report and display for judging at the state level. The State winner is awarded a thousand dollar scholarship and will advance to the National competition. Brandt Donathon from the Frenship FFA Chapter placed first overall, while fellow member Paden Ortega placed second. They were asked a few questions about their successful projects.
What category did you compete in?
What inspired you to do your project the way you did?
Brandt: Environmental Services/ Natural Resources Systems.
Brandt: To stop E coli from getting animals and people sick.
Paden: Food Products and Processing Systems.
Paden: To create antibiotics to help people from getting sick from ground beef.
Q. A.
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What was the hardest part about your project? What was the easiest? Brandt: Gathering data. Easiest would be just the collecting soil samples. Paden: Hardest was going through samples. Easiest, getting the research.
Q. A.
About how long did it take you to finish your project? Brandt: 4 year process. Paden: 3 months.
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Setting the #Trend
Texas F FA Fun Night
By: Alyssa Dussetschleger
The seventh general session of the Texas FFA Convention, also known as Fun Night, offers attendees the opportunity to enjoy performances from former and current members. Social media keeps everyone updated on what’s trending around the world. This year’s Fun Night theme, Setting the #Trend, is meant to encourage members to set their own trend and make an impression. Former Texas FFA member, Kayla Conn, left a lasting impression after her performance prior to the Texas FFA talent show. Kayla is native to Cypress, TX who hit iTunes top 40 Country Albums just before the start of her sophomore year in high school. Kayla spent the past year recording in Nashville and touring across the country with Scotty McCreery. “I actually have a video opening up my first time for Scotty and just the fan response was crazy because his fans are the same age as my fans. By the end of the night a group of people were singing my name.” Conn said. Kayla Conn first performed for the Texas FFA during Fun Night at the 2012 Convention in Corpus Christi. “I have built my fan base from the Texas FFA,” Conn said. Conn performed original songs such as “Jump Star” and “Ride” at this year’s Texas FFA Fun Night.
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Texas FFA Hosts First Annual Fun Run By: Shelby Mathison Texas FFA members and guests gathered at the Fort Worth Stock Yards to participate in the Texas FFA Foundation Fun Run and 5K early Monday, July 14. Bosqueville FFA participated in the fun run as a group in order to get their spirits up for the upcoming week’s events. Charles Prause, Bosqueville advisor, said that he brought 13 members with him to convention. He said that it was their way to show support to the foundation. “I told them that we were going to run the 5k,” Prause said. “My students said, ‘ok but we are walking’.”
“As runners were lapping me, I was high fiving people and telling them to keep going strong,” Pieniazek said. Not only did they support other runners, they also supported their own chapter members that had fallen to the back of the pack. “One of the best feelings was as I was crossing the finish line, I could hear the young men from my chapter, cheering me on for a strong finish,” Prause said.
Bosqueville FFA member, Alex Hankhouse, ran the 5K and encouraged those who were struggling to finish. By cheering on fellow runners and walkers, Hankhouse said it made it a great environment. “I would recommend this event to future runners,” Hankhouse said. Ray Pieniazek, East Central FFA advisor, had a great time participating and said his students thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The fun run gave everyone a chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves. It created a chance for not only FFA members, but also community members to feel the spirit of the blue and gold.
“When everything was over, my students approached me and said, ‘we are so glad we did this. We had a blast’,” Pieniazek said. Both chapters enjoyed the supportive environment that surrounded the event. It helped keep their spirits high and encouraged them to boost other participant’s morale.
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Texas FFA Support:
Sponsor Highlight By: Alyssa Dussetschleger
The 86th Texas FFA Convention would not be possible without the servant leadership and dedication of our sponsors. This year the Texas FFA Foundation added three new corporate partners to the ever growing list of companies who generously sponsor the Texas FFA. McCoy’s Building supply has sponsored the FFA since 2006 and continues to encourage the importance of agriculture in the future of our country. “These kids are our future. We were FFA kids too and look where we are now,” McCoy’s sponsors said. This year’s sponsors have donated over $2 million dollars in scholarships. Their support and dedication to the Texas FFA Foundation motivates members to be future leaders and gives them the opportunity to continue their education. This year proved to be most successful for the Texas FFA in membership, national champions and scholarship donations. Current and former members are forever thankful to the sponsors for their dedication to the organization. Sponsors were thanked for their investment in the future of agriculture during the VIP breakfast and onstage recognition, July 17, during the Fifth General Session. Sponsors have not only given monetary support to Texas FFA, but their time as well. Without the sponsorship of the corporate partners success of Texas FFA would not be possible.
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Retiring Address: Ryon Cox
“You have to surround yourself with people
that believe in you; walk away from the nay sayers. Seek out experiences that fuel your fire, if you want to be a rodeo clown, go to rodeos and see what it takes, if you want to be a vet, go job shadowing at the local vet office. Then go out and just make it happen. You have to dream on!
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“No matter what,
remember that somewhere out there is a small town East Texas boy that believes in you.
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“It’s incredible
what someone can do when they follow their passion and persue their ” State President, Area VI
“You have to believe in yourself; whether its changing the lock screen on your
phone to a quote that you love or just as simple as reminding yourself daily that you are good enough. Set goals to where you want to be in ten years; whether it’s that you want to own a metal fabrication business, or be in a graduate program through a major university, write your goal down, look at them often and share with others so that they can hold you accoutable. Believe in yourself.
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Retiring Address: Shelby Eckhardt “Bad days will happen, but our
“I am a firm
believer that life is either a grand adventure or nothing!”
challenge is to be defined by 2 things: our patience when we have nothing and our attitude when we have everything. If we choose to care regardless of the state of the world around us, we can show the people in our lives the positive things that can happen when we choose to create our own world instead of deriving happiness from circumstance.
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“The only people we should be comparing ourselves to are the people we were yesterday. Count your own blessings, and realize that the people in our lives are meant not to be perfect, but to be loved. ” “Texas FFA, when you
can’t change your life, change your attitude. When you can’t change the world, change your own.
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State First Vice President, Area VII
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Retiring Address: Sawyer Osborn “Every day is a gift, a new opportunity. What we as
people are challenged with is how we are going to attack every day, and how we are going to push our body and our minds to be the best they can be.
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“True heroes are
the ones who see and love people for who they are.”
“We need to stop dreaming
about having super strength or the ability to control lightening. We have to open our eyes and hearts to the real heroes in the world. Real heroes are people who accept others for who they are. Real heroes are people who strive for greatness. Real heroes are people like you.
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State Vice President, Area I
“A good hero is one that finds a
need, sets a goal, and attacks it. It’s an individual who’s not going to take no for an answer and it’s someone who isn’t afraid of failing. In every situation we have to strive for greatness.
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Retiring Address: Bryce Winfrey
“We must live our lives by accepting the
gift of freedom it brings, reflect on our days of who we are becoming and where we are going, and come to the realization that once we conquer the unknown then and only then, will we have the best day of our life by making the most of uncertainty.
“As FFA members we
are going to be faced with uncertainty every single day.
“In our lives we are put
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in a variety of situations and we must embrace how each day is an opportunity to impact others around us.
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“As we grow up we always look
forward to having more freedom, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like freedom. Freedom actually comes in the form of uncertainty. With more freedom come more decisions that we have to make. Sometimes those decisions can be scary, like choosing to run for district office and give a speech in front of all your friends. This type of freedom to choose is full of uncertainty but as FFA members we must embrace this uncertainty with courage. As it makes us a better person and defines who we are. State Vice President, Area II
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Retiring Address: Heidi Ritter
“Love even though you don’t have to. It will make people start to do the same
and create a chain of happiness and random acts of kindness! Live because you never know when the chance to live won’t be there anymore. Take the road less traveled and make it your own, take a leap of faith, and live your life.
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“The Dash” by Linda Ellis I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend He referred to the dates on her tombstone From the beginning to the end He noted that first came the date of her birth And spoke of the ending date with tears But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years. If we could just slow down enough To consider what’s true and real And always try to understand The way other people feel. For it matters not how much we own The cars, the house, the cash, What matters is how we LIVE AND LOVE And how we spend our dash.
State Vice President, Area III
“Once we have
“The dash is what we do with our
lives: it’s who we are and will one day be what we are remembered by.
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learned not to dwell on the past and see that our dash is about loving others over ourselves, all we have left is to live!
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Retiring Address: Whitney Green “Fitting the mold will
never make you happy. You can’t be content living a definition that someone or something has set for you.
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State Vice President, Area IV
“Everything in your life will try to define who you are. The
experiences you’ve been through, the things you own, even the opinions of others. Despite all of these things, you make the choice to be what these things say you are, or define who you are and who you want to become.
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“Stand out and live
according to who you want to be. Never try to fit the mold. Be the person deep down you know you have the potential to be.
“I realized that there was more
to life than just competing in a sport that may or may not be able to support you. I realized that this was an organization where I could make a difference.
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Retiring Address: Hannah Ford “Life is crazy, simple, and the only person that
can decide how your day, your week, or your life is going to go is you. Look at life through a child’s eyes. Laugh daily, love unconditionally, and live
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“The ball is in your
court, and we only have a limited time to decide whether we want to enjoy the opportunities we were given, or to waste our lives wondering what the score at the end of the game will be.
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State Vice President, Area V
“Forgive and Forget. Nothing is worth wasting a day with loved
ones. Never be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve. Let your smile change the world, don’t let the world change your smile. Love unconditionally.
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Retiring Address: Kaci Major
“ALWAYS accept kindness, because sometimes it will be the only thing that will
help you turn a bad day into a great day, Focus on TODAY, because if you spend too much time worrying about tomorrow, you can miss those precious moments today has gifted to you.
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“No matter what situation
you’re in or how much you have going on in your life you should always take a deep breath, step back and realize that all that truly matters is what’s in front of you now.
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“If you want to watch
that west Texas sunset, do it! Focus on today. If someone opens a door for you go through it, accept kindness. We can all be a better person, it’s your choice as to whether you choose the journey or not. Texas FFA, will you take the journey?
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State Vice President, Area VIII
“GIVE to others, because no
matter how much you dislike you’re life, someone always has it worse and that one thing you do for someone can be what makes them start their journey.
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Retiring Address: Rhett Wilson
“Choices you make
during your day can determine the path you walk, and how you will be affected while following through with your goals. Every choice you make isn’t going to just go over, sometimes you meet adversity and have to fight for what you want.
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State Vice President, Area IX
“Sometimes the choices that
help you the most are not in your hands. But the journey that you embark on based on these choices can be life altering.
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“Texas FFA , thank you for a year of pursuing my own dreams and puting myself out there to serve the greatest youth organization in the world: you the members of the Texas FFA. No one is born a winner or a looser, we are all born choosers.
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Retiring Address: Quest Newberry
“It doesn’t matter if you are asking a girl to dance, stepping in to the batter’s box, or taking a chemistry test; you must be brave and never think of failing as an option. We cannot get locked down in the thought of failure because there is a wonderful world around us waiting to be conquered.
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“Life has its ups and downs, but what matters is
how we react to the unplanned events in our lifes that catch us by suprise.
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“As we go through this
circle of life, we will have our up and downs. Going through life with the fear of failing ourselves and the people around us will not allow us to be happy when our circle ends.
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State Vice President, Area X
“We are given limited time on this planet. There is no time to waste fearing
the thought of what if. We have to go after what we want in life. No matter what, failure cannot dictate our actions. As we go through this circle of life it has its challenges but it’s the circle, the circle of life.
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Getting to know your officers... Area I- Kyle Mahagan
Hometown: Plainview, Texas Favorite type of music: Rap Favorite Food: Steak Favorite phone app: Snapchat Why did you run for State Office: I just really felt like I hadn’t accomplished all I needed to in the FFA at this point.
Area II- Zach McMeans
Hometown: Gail, Texas Favorite type of music: Christian Rock Favorite Food: Chicken Fried Steak Favorite phone app: Instagram Why did you run for State Office: I decided to run for State Office so I could give back and make a difference in the organization who made me who I am today.
Area III- Jeb Hogan
Hometown: Franklin, Texas Favorite type of music: Texas Country Favorite Food: Mexican Favorite phone app: Zombieville 2 Why did you run for State Office: Ever since I attended WLC in 2011, my life has been focused on serving others. As a State Officer I have a premier opportunity to make a difference in so many other lives and that truly pushed me to run.
Area IV- Katie Holt
Hometown: Irving, Texas Favorite type of music: Texas Country Favorite Food: Hot Wings Favorite phone app: Pinterest Why did you run for State Office: I wanted to give back to an organizatoin that became my family over the past four years. Who is the biggest influence in your life: God, Jesus, and my Ag teacher Ms. Kay. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.
Area V- Matthew Huston
Hometown: Lindsay, Texas Favorite type of music: Texas Country Favorite Food: Barbecue Favorite phone app: 2048 Why did you run for State Office: I ran for State Office so that I could influence FFA members throughtout the State of Texas. Who is the biggest influence in your life: The biggest influence in my life would have to be my grandfather. Not only is he the one that introduced me to agriculture, but he has shown me the true meaning of servant leadership.
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Area VI- Micah Newton
Hometown: New Boston, Texas Favorite type of music: Texas Country Favorite Food: Filet Mignon Favorite phone app: Pandora Why did you run for State Office: I ran for State Office so that I could be a role model for students younger than myself. As a freshman, I always looked up to FFA members older than me. I want to serve in a similar fashion and be that person that they can look up to and talk to.
Area VII- Ryan Prindle
Hometown: Cedar Park, T Favorite type of music: Rap & Texas Country Favorite Food: Honeybuns & Home Cooking Favorite phone app: Spotify Why did you run for State Office: I always thought that State Officers where incredible people who inspired the members of our orgnization and I always wanted to do just that. But this year my perspective of this organization changed. Not only do I want to make an impact on all the members of the Texas FFA, but I also want leave a mark on this organization through the instrumental changes that need to take place.
Area VIII- Gracie Hedrick
Hometown: Groesbeck, Texas Favorite type of music: Texas Country & Classic Country Favorite Food: Seafood Favorite phone app: Flashlight app Why did you run for State Office: I ran for State Office because I want to bring joy into peoples lives by being a positive influence while advocating for agriculture.
Area IX- Cullen Reeves Hometown: Pineland, Texas Favorite type of music: Texas Country Favorite Food: Fried Pork Chops Favorite phone app: Pandora Why did you run for State Office: To continue my service to others and make a difference.
Area X- David TreviĂąo
Hometown: Mission, Texas Favorite type of music: Rock Favorite Food: Steak, Tortillas, and Macaroni Favorite phone app: Music Player Why did you run for State Office: I’ve always looked up to officers in the FFA. They have always been role models for me, as well as someof my mentors. Being a State Officer gives me the opportunity to be able to be an influence on others. I believe that this is the best way that I can give back to the Texas FFA association.
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2 0 1 4 Texa s F FA C o nve n t i o n S p o n so r s & S u p p o r t e r s T i t l e S p o n so r s Farm Credit Justin Brands
G o l d S p o n so r s La Quinta Inns & Suites ExxonMobil First United Bank Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate Luminant Power
S i l ve r S p o n so r s Vi s t a C o l l e g e U.S. Army / ROTC
B ro n ze S p o n so r s Te x a s C o r n P r o d u c e r s
C o nve n t i o n S u p p o r t e r s Aaron Alejandro Anne Kimmey / Cultivate Agency Barney McClure Dan and Linda Taylor Daniel and Stacy Stanton David and Terri Krebbs Della Serna Hagan and Molly Dutton Joel Cowley Kevin, Andrea & Cheyenne Swor Larry Barker Mitchell Dale / McRee Ford Nancy Minchillo Teresa Ferguson Tom Maynard Vicki Engler Virbac Wayne Goldberg
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Convention Review Staff Student Editor: Tyler Montogomery, Florence FFA Photographer: Travis Opiela, Falls City FFA Erin Free, Rockdale FFA Content Coordinator: Noah Ontiveros, Weimar FFA Advisors: Ashley Dunkerley & Brittany Martindale
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