ADDIE CRINER
Addie Criner has a long list of accomplishments over her Future Farmers of America career at Porter High School.
“My entire FFA career at Porter High School has been based on one FFA Leadership goal,” Criner said. “My advisor is also my dad and he has challenged me to be my best, and I have accepted his challenge for everything, but my five most unique leadership experiences are winning the state meat contest multiple times, judging and winning the National Western, judging the National FFA Meat Contest in Indianapolis, winning the State Cattle Grading contest, and the OYE Ag Mechanics Contest.”
Criner’s 2023 state championship set the tone for her blossoming career.
“Being State Champion Meat Evaluations 2023 allowed me to compete at the National Western, where I was High Individual, first in ID with a perfect score, first in beef grading, third in placings, and on the overall National Champion team. This was my proudest moment by far and something my team and I have worked for continuously for years,” she said.
Porter went on to claim another state title in 2024 and then traveled to Indianapolis in October for the National FFA contest where the team placed third overall out of 48 teams and Criner was fifth in high individual out of 168 participants.
But Criner was fortunate just to be a part of the trip.
“I began having seizures in late August and being able to even make it to this contest was questionable,” she said. “I was determined to judge but I know my team was uncertain I could get through an entire contest. They had seen me have several seizures that were 15-20 minutes long so I know they all had their doubts, even my younger brother who is also one of my team members.”
Criner has also been a member of Porter’s FFA Cattle Grading state champion team. She tied for second place individually out of a pool of 953 students.
Criner also competed in the Ag Mechanics contest at the Oklahoma Youth Expo where her and her team presented a drop-and-load car hauler trailer. They finished first in their class and fifth in their division. Their project sold for a $3,800 profit to benefit Porter’s FFA chapter.
Criner, who also participates in softball at Porter and hit her first career home run this past season, wouldn’t be where she is today in the FFA world without her father.
“My greatest influence in FFA has been my FFA advisor and my dad, Brad Criner. He hasn’t hesitated to teach me anything, regardless of how challenging it may be for me or how far out of my wheelhouse it may be,” she said.
There are too many accolades in FFA for Criner to choose a favorite career-defining moment.
“My proudest moment in FFA is a lot harder to find,” she said. “I have been involved in FFA since long before I was officially in FFA. My dad was the ag teacher and now my mom is too. I have had multiple state championships in Meat Evaluation and Cattle Grading, but my proudest moment had to be at the National Western. My team and I were named the National Champion Meat Evaluation team, and I was named the Champion Individual. It took years of hard work and thousands of miles traveled practicing, but it all paid off in the end.”
