Cameron Addington delivers his speech at the national finals.
Cameron Addington from the Cannon Falls FFA Chapter in Minnesota was not thrilled when his advisor signed him up for creed speaking his eighth grade year. Despite being thrown into the event, he competed and advanced to state, where he placed second.
“That kind of got my excitement and passion ignited for leadership development events,” says Addington. His freshman year, he competed in creed speaking again, earning the opportunity to compete at the National FFA Convention & Expo.
Since that moment, Addington has competed in various leadership development events (LDEs), ranging from parliamentary procedure to the farm bureau discussion meet. It wasn’t until his junior year, though, that he competed in prepared public speaking. In this event, his talent for speaking shined as he advanced to the national finals and placed third in the nation.
Addington says much of his success in the event came from his unique strategy for preparation.
“Whenever you’re researching for your speech, it’s always meaningful and unique when you can go out of your way to find direct sources,” he says. “That could include lining up a meeting with someone, taking time to make a phone call or really digging into the experience of industry professionals so you have direct quotes, direct information and direct knowledge from those people you can put in your speech.”
Throughout the course of his competition in the event, Addington spoke to as many as 15 different industry professionals to aid in his research.
Despite his strong method for preparation, Addington faced a major twist in his topic as he prepared to compete at the national level. The topic for his speech was H5N1 avian influenza, also known as bird flu. In the summer of 2024, right after Addington had delivered his speech at his state convention in April, the virus had mutated to infect dairy herds. This forced him to completely adapt his speech to cover not only the poultry industry, but the dairy industry as well.
“It was probably one of the greatest challenges I experienced during [prepared public speaking], but I think it was almost maybe one of the biggest advantages, too, because it just made the topic so relevant.”
Fortunately, Addington made the best of this challenge and went on to place third in the nation.
Addington is recognized at the National FFA Convention & Expo for the prepared public speaking LDE.
Addington’s biggest advice for those competing in speaking events is to choose something they’re passionate about. “It will not only lead to your enjoyment or your passion for speaking, but it’s definitely going to lead to you be more successful when you can talk about something you really enjoy talking about,” he says.
Addington says his experience in the prepared public speaking LDE has helped in many activities in his chapter, school and state as well. “The ability to get up and deliver a message or impact an audience in that way, and do it in a professional manner, is such a valuable skill. The prepared public speaking LDE does a really good job of making a foundation for that.”
