For the home team: Hartselle FFA completes community baseball viewing deck
Staff Reports
Students in the Hartselle High School FFA chapter recently completed a hands-on community service project that brought together school leadership, local government and student initiative.
The project, a baseball viewing deck constructed near the Hartselle High School baseball field, was the result of a collaborative effort between the FFA program, school administration and the Hartselle Parks and Recreation Department.
“The project was brought to us by assistant principal and athletic director Jake Miles,” said Austyn Randolph, FFA advisor and agriscience teacher at Hartselle High School. “This could not have happened without the support of our amazing administration.”
Students in the agriscience program took full ownership of the project—from the design phase through construction—gaining valuable real-world experience while also contributing to the school and broader community.
Participating students included Cierra Schultz, Owen Merritt, Blaine Johnson, Logan Brown, Storm Partain, Julian Anton and Wyatt Miller.
“Students laid the project out and built it from the ground up,” Randolph said. “This was a major community service project that students had the opportunity to participate in, and it was a major success.”
Randolph also credited the role of Thomas Phillips of Hartselle Parks and Recreation for helping make the project a reality.
“(Mr.) Thomas Phillips is also so great to work with as a leader in our community,” Randolph said.
The new viewing deck is expected to serve students and community members for years to come, offering a unique perspective on Hartselle’s rich baseball tradition.
“This will hopefully benefit many in the community and students at HHS by allowing them to get a front row seat to the tradition and legacy of some Hartselle baseball,” Randolph said.
Randolph added that the project is an example of how the FFA chapter continues to grow through meaningful, service-driven experiences.
“Opportunities such as this are how we continue to build our FFA chapter and agriscience program at HHS,” he said.
