What Washington FFA Leadership Development Events Are
Leadership development events, or LDEs, are the FFA contests built around speaking, meetings and job skills, as opposed to the technical career contests. The Washington FFA Association's events page says CDEs and LDEs "build on what is learned in agricultural classes," that some events are individual and others are team events, and that the state level has "upward of 30 CDEs/LDEs." It lists eight LDEs:
- Agricultural Issues Forum
- Conduct of Chapter Meetings
- Creed Speaking
- Employment Skills
- Extemporaneous Speaking
- Parliamentary Procedure
- Prepared Public Speaking
- Rituals
Spanish Creed Speaking has also been contested. A 2017 Lake Chelan Mirror report called its Chelan entry the "first ever" Spanish Creed Speaking LDE at state, and a Spanish Creed winner appears in the 2025 results. This guide covers the speaking and meeting contests. Technical contests are in the companion career development guide.
How the Events Work
Speaking events
A district contest hosted by Yelm High School in 2024, described by Yelm Online, shows the formats. Prepared Public Speaking was a six- to eight-minute speech on an agricultural topic followed by five minutes of questions. Creed Speaking was described as a first-year member contest. Extemporaneous Speaking is the impromptu cousin of the prepared speech.
Employment Skills
In the same district contest, participants submitted a cover letter, resume and application, then took part in an interview and sent a follow-up letter. It is the closest thing in FFA to a practice job hunt.
Team meeting events
Parliamentary Procedure and Conduct of Chapter Meetings are team events. Yelm entered a team in each in 2024, and the Conduct of Chapter Meetings contest there was for first-year members. Agricultural Issues Forum is also a team event, with Pomeroy winning in 2025 and Reardan in 2024.
How Students Reach State
Most students qualify through a district contest. At the 2024 Yelm contest, eleven schools competed in eight contests, and the top four individuals in each competition qualified for state, with fifth place serving as alternates. The article did not say whether first-place teams advanced. Chelan's 2017 report shows district placings can reach state too: a fifth-place First Year team earned a berth at the District VII contest in Pateros. Rules can differ by district and year, so ask your advisor.
The state association also posts a sifting policy, grade level eligibility chart, a table of teams allowed per chapter and event rules updated July 2026 on its events page. Those documents set the actual qualification rules, and they are the ones to read.
The State Convention
The Washington FFA State Convention is held in Pullman on the Washington State University campus. Per the Yelm article, it falls over Mother's Day weekend, students stay in WSU dorms for four days, and about 3,500 other members attend. An older Ritzville Journal report put the 2018 convention at May 9 to 12. The Washington FFA page for the 95th convention lists results with first-place teams recognized at a convention session. Its 2025 LDE winners included:
- Employment Skills: an individual from White River FFA
- Rituals: Waterville FFA
- Conduct of Chapter Meetings: Liberty FFA
- Prepared Public Speaking: an individual from Lind-Ritzville FFA
- Extemporaneous Public Speaking: an individual from Sumner FFA
- Agricultural Issues: Pomeroy FFA
- Parliamentary Procedure: Asotin FFA
- Creed Speaking: an individual from Kamiakin FFA
The same page shows teams from small and large chapters alike, from Asotin to Waterville to Sumner.
What Judges Look For
The published details are thin, so use your event handbook for scoring. What the sources do show: Prepared Public Speaking has a timed speech and a question period, Employment Skills scores a whole packet and an interview, and the team events reward coordination as well as knowledge. A 2025 results list from the state shows chapters of very different sizes winning, so preparation matters more than enrollment. Start with your chapter's strongest speakers, but also give new members a role, since Creed Speaking and First-Year Member events exist for exactly that.
Choosing an Event
- New members: Creed Speaking and Conduct of Chapter Meetings have first-year formats at the district level.
- Comfortable at the microphone: Prepared and Extemporaneous Public Speaking.
- Thinks fast on a team: Parliamentary Procedure, Agricultural Issues Forum.
- Planning a first job: Employment Skills.
- Likes ceremony and detail: Rituals.
Preparing
- Practice out loud. Prepared speeches are timed, and the question period is part of the score.
- Build the Employment Skills packet early: cover letter, resume, application and follow-up letter are all part of the event.
- Rehearse team events together, and learn the current handbook for your event from the state page.
- Ask your advisor for the district date, because some LDEs are held in the spring ahead of the state convention.
- Check grade level eligibility before you commit to an event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Washington FFA State Convention?
In Pullman, on the Washington State University campus.
How many LDEs does Washington list?
Eight on the state events page, plus Spanish Creed Speaking, which has appeared in state results.
Can a first-year member compete?
Yes. Creed Speaking and Conduct of Chapter Meetings had first-year member contests at the 2024 Yelm district event, and there are separate First-Year Member CDE teams.
Who do I ask about qualification?
Your agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor, and the state rules posted by the Washington FFA Association.
Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.