The 15th annual Barnwarming hosted by FFA featured the theme of “Fishin’ in the Dark” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. This theme was decided by FFA at their Oct. 7 meeting. Family, friends, and FFA members came together on Nov. 8 to enjoy food, line dances, the coronation ceremony, and several games.
“Barnwarming is important to FFA because it brings members together, builds chapter spirit, and helps raise money for future activities. It’s a long-standing tradition that encourages teamwork, leadership, and involvement in the organization,” FFA Advisor Amanda Smith said.
The dance couldn’t have come together without the set-up crew and the many FFA members who worked on organizing the event.
“I wrote the Barnwarming script and helped decorate and everything came along together,” chapter reporter junior Jordan Dove said.
The event is a family-friendly celebration for the chapter. As it has for the past 15 years, the night started off with food made by FFA students and their family and friends.
“I loved having a variation of foods to choose from and they were all very yummy,” sophomore Bekah Henderson said.
Line dancing followed dinner.
Sophomore Barnwarming King David Cobb really enjoyed the line dancing this year.
“My favorite part was probably the line dances. Everybody had a fun time, (freshman) Denver (Steinhoff) was crazy. It was fun to dance with him. We had a good time. It was probably the line dances, that was the best part,” Cobb said.
Freshman Silas Hammock agreed that the night was enjoyable.
“It was a lot of fun. I got to eat a lot of food made by a lot of fun people and it was just an overall great experience because of the people in the community,” Hammock said.
As the night settled down, the coronation events started.
The winners were chosen during that week. Organizers sent out a voting poll, and students elected who they wanted to win during that week. They also had money boxes with nominees on them and the night of the dance they played games and then finalized the choice for Barnwarming queen and king.
The candidates for Barnwarming king and queen included freshmen Sarena Hinkley and Denver Steinhoff, sophomores Kaylee Jackson and David Cobb, juniors Bella Schwartz and Roman Reser, and seniors Kimberly Tenold and David Glenn.
The 2025-2026 Barnwarming queen and king were junior Bella Schwartz and sophomore David Cobb.
“Feels good to win but it was very shocking to be a king; it shocks me that people voted for me and put money in my little box thing,” Cobb explains.
Senior FFA President Brayden Henderson was proud of the effort his chapter members made to put on this event.
“Everything went together well, it was a great chapter effort to get everything set up in time, and I think everybody had a great time overall,” Henderson said.
Freshman Destiny Miller explains that Barnwarming is a good example of why students should join FFA.
“Students should join FFA because it gives them a community where they can do things they love with their friends,” Miller explains.
