Cassie Carter won an agricultural services – entrepreneurship/placement proficiency award for her work in her family’s taxidermy business.
Cassie Carter started helping her dad in his taxidermy shop, Trophy Taker Taxidermy, when she was in grade school. The Habersham County, Ga., family business mounts more than 400 animals per year, including turkeys, bears and buffalo.
“There are a lot of hunters in my area, and white-tailed deer are the most popular mounts. Sometimes we’re working with a kid’s first deer or a big buck — it’s a memory our customers want to preserve,” she explains.
Carter, a 2021 Habersham Central High School graduate and Habersham Central FFA alumna, began working for the family business by recording customer information. The experience helped Carter win a state award for an environmental and natural resources supervised agricultural experience when she was in middle school.
Over time, Carter’s responsibilities grew to include washing and drying animal hides, applying preservatives, repairing holes and preparing complicated mounts. It’s an intricate and time-consuming process, but Carter loves seeing it come together.
“I like seeing how a customer reacts when they see the finished mount for the first time,” Carter says.
Carter quickly realized that her skills and experience made her stand out, especially in a male-dominated business like taxidermy. She entered her taxidermy work in agricultural services – entrepreneurship/placement proficiency, sponsored by Helena Agri-Enterprises, and took top honors at the 94th National FFA Convention & Expo.
“When I won, it felt like years of hard work and participation in FFA had finally paid off,” she says.
Habersham Central FFA advisor Aaron Newton believes Carter found a winning formula and was pleased to see her efforts recognized with the national award.
“She put so much effort into it,” he says. “Hard work and dedication pay off, and Cassie is a prime example of that.”
Carter is a freshman biology major at Oxford College of Emory University in Oxford, Ga., and plans to go on to medical school. She credits taxidermy and FFA for providing her with the confidence, leadership and decision-making skills that will help her succeed in a career in medicine.
“I had so many great FFA advisors who supported me,” she says. “I’d tell other FFA members not to let [cultural] norms keep them from achieving success. I’m a girl doing taxidermy and I won nationally.”
Learn more about agricultural proficiency awards at FFA.org/Participate/Awards/Proficiencies.
