Congratulations to Andrew Newcomb of Buchanan, a 2020 graduate of JRHS for receiving this years Scholarship. Andrew developed an interest in agriculture when he signed up for an ag class in 10th grade. “The first day there, my ag teacher handed me a sign up sheet and I wasn’t going to do it until I took it home and my mom suggested that I should sign up. Ever since that day, I’ve been hooked to FFA. FFA also made me find my passion for forestry.” said Andrew.
Andrew was an active member of the James River FFA Chapter since his sophomore year. He participated in competitions through FFA including; Envirothon, Environmental and Natural Resources, Forestry, Food Science, Land Judging, Homesite Judging, Poultry Judging, and Tractor Operator. Andrew seved as chapter Reporter and Chapter President while at JRHS.
While competing with JRHS Andrew’s soils team placed 1st in Virginia where they had the opportunity to compete in the National Contest in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His Environmental and Natural Resources team placed 2nd in the state and had the opportunity to compete at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts. Andrew has also competed in a variety of competitions including Forestry, Food Science, and Poultry.
Andrew’s biggest hobby would have to be bird watching. He has been a birdwatcher since 2014 where he started hawk watching at Harveys Knob and entering counts into HawkCount.org to see how bird numbers compare to previous years. Andrew is now getting into eBird, an app where you can put your observations into a database to help ornithologists figure out trends for both common and rare birds. Another hobby he loves is planting trees. He has spent the past couple years planting trees like White Oaks, Scarlet Oaks, and Red Mulberry’s around Botetourt County.