A high school band in black formal wear performs on a stage as a female band director leads them.

Activities in Action: BPA, band, FFA, skilled trades

Brienne Green

December 20, 2024

BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS OF AMERICA

A group of male and female teens in professional clothing pose for a photo outside a school bus.
PICTURED: AHS BPA members pose for a photo prior to departing for the regional conference in Roswell.

The Artesia High School chapter of Business Professionals of America attended the regional conference in Roswell Dec. 9, bringing home 16 regional championships and 45 state qualifiers in 57 events!

Regional champions included:

A graphic lists regional champions from Artesia High School.

State qualifiers included:

A graphic lists state BPA qualifiers from Artesia High School.

A graphic lists state BPA qualifiers from Artesia High School.

Click here to view photos from the regional competition!

The BPA students then capped off the 2024 portion of their year with a Christmas party and Secret Santa exchange. Congrats and good luck in 2025, BPA!

A group of male and female teens poses for a photo.
SKILLED TRADES

A male teen operates a crane simulator.
Dec. 5-6, Artesia High School students were able to gain a valuable glimpse into the world of skilled trades during a campus visit by Be Pro Be Proud. Be Pro Be Proud strives to introduce students to industries in need of a skilled workforce, which also serves to highlight alternative post-secondary paths. Bulldogs were able to engage in a variety of hands-on activities, including welding, semi-truck driving, crane operation, and surgical tech work.

Click here to view a photo album.

AHS students Leo Garcia, below left, and Clay Kincaid were also recognized in November for an impressive project the pair completed in Brandon Brabson's metal fabrication class. The two showed off their skills while constructing a metal semi-truck for use in a display at the FFA's annual Pie Auction.

Two male teens stand side by side with welding masks lifted above their faces. In front of them is a metal replica of a semi-truck.

FFA

Artesia FFA members have been hard at work in district competitions over the last two months and racking up impressive results!

On Nov. 15, FFA students attended the District Creed and Quiz Competition with the following results:

A graphic lists District Creed and Quiz winners from Artesia High School.

Click here for photos of Artesia's competitors.

On Nov. 20, Chance Boans, Taylor Salter and Paisley Phillips were off to the New Mexico Farm Bureau's Young Farmers and Ranchers Youth Discussion Meet. Boans and Phillips advanced to the Elite Eight and Boans to the Final Four before finishing fourth overall.

A male teen stands in front of a graphic in the shape of New Mexico holding a certificate.
Nov. 22 saw the Artesia FFA and the FFA Pardners hosting the annual Pie Auction at the Eddy County Fairgrounds, where community members and local businesses were able to vote for and bid on some incredible -- and tasty! -- pie creations by FFA members.

Two female teens pose in front of a pie display in the shape of a barn and silos.
PICTURED: First-place winners Hayli Greenwood and Maddisun Mancha.

A male and female teen stand in front of a pie display arranged on a small metal semi-truck.
PICTURED: Second-place winners Garyn Usherwood and Bailey Trujillo.

A female teen and a man stand adjacent a pie display that reads "Artesia Pie-oneers".
PICTURED: Third place went to the team of Kaelyn Conklin and Jace Deans.

In late November, FFA member Makayla Monk showed at the 2024 Lone Star Junior Dairy Extravaganza in Wichita Falls, Texas, where her honors included Reserve Champion in the Jersey Show.

A teen girl stands next to a jersey cow holding a banner reading "Reserve Champion".

A graphic lists awards won by a student at a livestock show in Texas.
Eighth-grade FFA members from Park Junior High School took their turn Dec. 13 at the District Junior High Leadership Development Events competition, where the Opening Ceremonies Team of Garyn Usherwood, Kaydence Klontz, Averly Ray, Beau Hendricks, Lyla Woolsey, Jenna Marbach and Daleigh Bean took top honors and Klanclie Conklin finished fourth in Illustrated Talk.

A graphic shows a group of male and female teens who won an Opening Ceremonies contest.

A graphic shows a teen girl congratulating another on placing fourth in an Illustrated Talk competition.
BAND

The Artesia Public Schools band programs represented the City of Champions well recently at the All-District and All-State auditions. Selected musicians will now participate in the All-State Musical Festival Jan. 8-11 at UNM in Albuquerque and the All-District Band Clinic and Concert Jan. 24-25 in Hobbs.

A graphic lists students selected for All-District Band.A graphic lists students selected for All-State Band.
The Zia, Park and AHS bands also treated Artesians to their annual Winter Concert this week at the AHS Auditorium, providing a fun and relaxing evening of music to help make spirits bright.

A preteen band sits on a stage and plays their instruments as a male conductor leads them.A band of young teens sits on a stage and performs as a male band director leads them.A high school band in black formal wear performs on a stage as a female band director leads them.