BAND

The Pride of the Pecos Valley is under new leadership this year and has been hard at work rebuilding the band program, including the return of the color guard! Band members put in more than 80 hours of hard work over the summer to fine tune this year's halftime show, "Across the Universe," and have been helping keep the energy high during games.

Band director Eric Benton and his musicians kicked off the month of August with a Summer Band Showcase that provided parents and fans with a sneak preview of what was in store for the new school year.

The Bulldog band program is also inviting band alumni and the public to attend its booster meetings this year and join in the excitement of supporting the district's young musicians. Keep an eye on the APS Facebook page for Band Booster meeting dates!

FFA

State and National Conventions

PICTURED: Bailey Trujillo, center, poses with, from left, APS Superintendent Darian Jaramillo and school board members Ben Harvey, Cherie Widmayer, Jeff Bowman, Kristy Crockett and David Conklin during the August meeting of the APS Board of Education. Trujillo was recognized as the New Mexico state champion in Extemporaneous Public Speaking.

Following the hustle and bustle of the Eddy County Fair, the Artesia FFA had a little time to take a breath and reflect on the rest of its students' big summer accomplishments as the new school year began.

For starters, the group had come home from the New Mexico State FFA Convention in late May with a host of honors, starting with Bailey Trujillo's state championship in Extemporaneous Public Speaking. Trujillo also placed fourth in Chapter Prepared Speech, while Morgan Waldrip was fifth in Agriculture Education and Swayzee Folmar advanced to the top 10 in Creed.

The chapter as a whole received a Superior/National rating, qualifying them for the National FFA Convention, where they were named a Two-Star Chapter. Receiving American Degrees at the National Convention were Bryce Bain, Addysen Folmar and Bailey Virden.

In addition, Chance Boans, Maddisun Mancha, Taylor Salter and Jase Starnes received their State Degrees; Kyle Bean and Jace Deans were elected as District V vice presidents; the chapter was recognized by New Mexico Ag in the Classroom for completing 88 ag literacy visits to local elementary schools.

Chapter Officer Election

Next on the agenda was the election of 2025-26 chapter officers, which include:

• Taylor Salter, President
• Sam Fodge, Vice President
• Morgan Waldrip, Secretary
• Hayden Treadway, Treasurer
• Sophia Estrada, Reporter
• Jace Deans, Sentinel

State Fair

The first week of September brought the New Mexico State Fair and more exciting results for Artesia FFA!

In the livestock competitions, Sam Fodge, above, claimed the ultimate prize, finishing as the Grand Champion of the market beef show with his Class 4 first-place Crossbred. The steer was also named Breed Champion. Fodge was honored by the Fair alongside other Grand and Reserve Champions from the Junior Livestock Show, which ultimately ended in the second-largest sale in State Fair history with a total of $738,700 raised. Fodge's steer went under the hammer at $29,000.

Taylor Kennedy, below, showed the Reserve Breed Champion Angus with her second-place steer in that division, along with the Class 2 fourth-place Limousin and Class 1 fifth-place Simmental.

Bailey Trujillo, above, earned Reserve Division Champion in the Light-Weight Division for her Class 1 first-place meat goat. Klanclie Conklin also took first-place in Class 1 of the Medium-Light Weight Division and third in both Class 1 and Class 2 of the Medium-Weight Division, and Jaylee Joy got a third-place ribbon in Class 2 of the Medium-Heavy Weight Division.

The lamb show saw Trujillo, above, racking up continued accolades, including Champion Senior Showman. She showed the Division Champion and Class 1 first-place Blackface lamb in the Light-Weight Division, which came in third overall in the show, and the Division Champion Wether Dam, which finished fourth overall. Earning a Reserve Division Champion award was Maddisun Mancha, below, for her Class 3 first-place Light-Weight Division Blackface. Mancha also showed the Class 2 third-place Dorset, while Joy finished third in Class 2 for Speckle/Whiteface Cross.

Click here for full results and photos from the meat goat show.

Click here for full results and photos from the market swine show.

Click here for full results and photos from the lamb show.

Click here for full results and photos from the market beef show.

Fodge and Trujillo were also honored for their work outside the show ring as the Exhibitors of the Year in the Beef Barn and Goat Barn, respectively, "showing respect, lending a helping hand to others, stepping in to help show animals, and always keeping a positive attitude."

The New Mexico State University Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business also conducted a public speaking contest that saw Taylor Salter take Grand Champion honors in the Senior Division.

BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS OF AMERICA

National Leadership Conference

Members of Artesia High School BPA ended their school year with a bang at the 2025 BPA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla. It was a week of excelling, learning, and growing for all involved and saw the City of Champions chapter return home with some high achievements in tow. Halle Harris was the grand-prize winner and a 2025 national competition qualifier as the champion of Microsoft Office Specialist 365's PowerPoint Associate category. She also came in third in the nation in Integrated Office Applications. Finishing as the nation's runner-up in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications was Korinne Morrison, above left, who was also a national top-10 finalist in Database Applications. Zachary Sedillos and Morrison, below, were also honored as recipients of the BPA Torch Award.

State Leadership

Artesia BPA's representatives on New Mexico BPA's board of officers were able to spend time at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales over the summer, planning out their chapter's coming year and a host of Career Technical Leadership Project events. Zachary Sedillos will be serving as the 2025-26 Vice President of Correspondence, and Nabil Flores will serve as the 2025-26 Vice President of Community Relations.

Chapter Officers

Artesia BPA elected its chapter officers in the first week of September, which include:

• Nabil Flores, President
• Zachary Sedillos, Vice President of Community Relations
• Sarah Plotner, Vice President of Communications
• Alexandra Galvez Anabia, Vice President of Hospitality
• Brent McIntire, Vice President of Membership
• Edwin Villarreal, Vice President of Correspondence

DECA

Artesia High School's DECA program is currently seeking employment opportunities for two students with school commitments until 4 and 4:30 p.m. daily. One student is seeking to incorporate their outdoor labor and shop hand experience, and the other would like to improve and grow their customer service and business skills. Any interested businesses may contact Kendra Janway at kjanway@bulldogs.org.

DECA students introduced the new school year by working on their elevator pitches: a style of introduction that conveys who you are, what you do, and why it matters in a succinct and compelling manner. These Bulldogs are learning to take the workforce by storm!