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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

The Chilton County Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Central Alabama Electric Cooperative subsidiary Central Access made their third donation towards FFA programs in Chilton County on Aug. 30, this one to Maplesville High School. Executive Director of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce Rachel Martin presented Maplesville FFA President Bradley Brown with the funds at halftime of the school’s Aug. 30 football game against Isabella High School. The funds will go directly towards benefitting the program’s students who will be traveling to the National FFA Convention & Expo.

“It is awesome, and it really is a blessing,” Brown said. “It is not everyday someone gets to do stuff like this, and with an organization like this, it is awesome.”

The 97th annual event in Indianapolis, Indiana from Oct. 23-26 will have students from four high schools in Chilton County represented at the convention. The Chamber and Central Access is donating $2,500 to each FFA program to help with the growing costs to attend the convention. The donations began at Thorsby High School on Aug. 29, and continued on Aug. 30 with presentations to FFA programs at Isabella and Maplesville High Schools.

The Maplesville FFA program was not planning on going to the national competition, but the funds from Central Access and the Chilton Chamber helped them a lot. Brown and longtime Maplesville agriculture teacher Joe Dennis thought since it was Brown’s senior year, why not head out west one more time.

Maplesville will have 4 students representing their school at the national convention — Brown, Cody Jones, Colton Smith and Randall Stoudenmire.