TEMPLE — Tommy Marchetti, of Rusk and a member of the Rusk FFA chapter was high point individual in the FFA division at the Region IV Wildlife Career Development Event held November 4, at the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest located near Nacogdoches. Marchetti earned a total score of 125 out of a possible 135-150 points.

Amanda Reynolds of the Angelina County 4-H chapter was high point individual with a top score of 100 points in the 4-H division.

The top scoring FFA chapter in the event was the Rusk chapter from Rusk. The team earned a collective score of 351 points. The Angelina County 4-H chapter from Lufkin earned a collective team score of 262 in its division.

In respective order, the second place high scoring individual in the FFA division was John Tromza who is a member of the Queen City FFA chapter from Queen City High School. Third place high scoring individual was Josh Fountain, a member of the Lindale FFA chapter from Lindale High School.

Second and third place high scoring teams in the FFA division was the Avery FFA chapter from Avery and Grand Saline FFA chapter from Grand Saline.

In the 4-H division, Justin Carpenter, a member of the Angelina County 4-H team, earned second place honors. Third place honors were claimed by Sawyer Means who is a member of the Van Zandt County 4-H team.

Second place high point scoring team honors went to the Avery 4-H team from Avery while the Grand Saline 4-H team from Grand Saline earned third place honors.

100 youth representing 49 FFA teams and 40 youth representing 10 4-H teams participated in the regional event.

The students and teams will be eligible to participate in the state contest which will be held at the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest near Nacogdoches. The state contest will be held on May 11, 2010.

The Wildlife Alliance for Youth (WAY) consists of a consortium of local, state, federal, and private organizations working together to provide support and technical assistance to agricultural science teachers and 4-H leaders who train youth in various aspects of wildlife conservation and habitat management.

Members of the consortium include the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Texas soil and water conservation districts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas FFA Education Agency Agricultural Science and Technology, Texas FFA Association, Instructional Materials Service, Texas A&M University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Cooperative Extension 4-H and the Welder Wildlife Foundation.

Competitive events in the program focus on plant identification, wildlife plant food preferences, wildlife biological facts, wildlife habitat evaluation, habitat management, fish and game laws, safety, the outdoors, wildlife identification techniques and navigation in the field.

Approximately 900 teams with nearly 3,000 FFA and 4-H youth in Texas participated in the program last year.