COLUMBUS, Ohio –Jeffrey Stimmell (Ohio), Duane Huge (Indiana) and Trent Tabor (Illinois) are among nine agricultural educators and FFA advisers honored with their state’s prestigious Golden Owl Award.

Agricultural educators play a crucial role in their communities, dedicating countless hours and often their own resources in preparing students for successful careers and helping them follow their interests. To shed light on the contributions of these agricultural teachers, supporters in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, California, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, New York and South Dakota nominate their favorite agricultural teachers and summarize what makes him or her the best in their state. The ultimate prize is the Golden Owl Award.

As grand prize winners, these teachers earned the title of their state’s Ag Educator of the Year, the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy and $3,000 in funding to help bring new opportunities to their programs. Each finalist was also recognized in front of their school and awarded with $500 for their program.

Stimmell, an agricultural educator and FFA adviser at Big Walnut High School, received his Golden Owl Award last month at the 95th Ohio FFA Convention.

Stimmell emerged as the Golden Owl Award winner from a pool of more than 500 nominations in the Buckeye State. With 10 years of teaching experience, Stimmell has significantly grown the FFA program at Big Walnut High School, attracting over 230 students for the upcoming academic school year.

“It’s surreal to be selected,” Stimmell said. “The award typically goes to a more experienced teacher, and I was completely shocked when my name was called. I have always been so thankful to have dedicated and passionate students who make showing up to work special.”

A pair of Big Walnut High School seniors were quick to speak highly on Stimmell’s behalf.

“I never thought I would have a place to fit in at school because sports were never my thing, but taking Mr. Stimmell’s class was the best decision I would have ever made,” said senior Lilly Cappitte.

“The way he teaches and makes every day a good day has inspired me to become an ag teacher,” said senior Mallory Cline. “His dedication to the program and his students is something that I admire and I hope to be half the ag teacher he is in the future.”

Stimmell is entering his 10th year of teaching, all of which has been at Big Walnut High School.

“For me, it shows that I have done some things in really non-traditional ways,” he said. “It means that what I’m doing is working and what I’m doing is giving students new opportunities. I get the kids that don’t really fit in anywhere else, but that’s what is really cool for me is giving the students that might not have another spot a place to connect and a place to belong.”

Stimmell has helped quadruple the size of the FFA program.

“If the students are going to put in the time, I’m going to put in the time,” said Stimmell, who credits his success to a large community of volunteers.

Stimmell’s FFA chapter has won three back-to-back national FFA championship titles for the Food Science and Technology DCE and six-in-a-row state FFA championships.

Other Ohio finalists for the Golden Owl Award included Donald Barnhart (Leipsic High School, Leipsic), Judd Baker (Fairfield Union High School, Lancaster), Krysteena Lawrence (Elmwood High School, Bloomdale), Jeffrey Karcher (Bellevue High School, Bellevue), Heather Tegtmeier (Northwestern High School, Springfield), Erynn Hayes (Trotwood-Madison High School, Trotwood), Kayla Richter (Monroe Central High School, Woodsfield), Kelly Rickabaugh (Green County Career Center, Xenia) and Katherine Dickson (Gallia Academy High School, Gallipolis).

Huge, an agricultural teacher at Danville Community High School, received Indiana’s Golden Owl Award and was named Ag Educator of the Year at the Indiana FFA Convention at Purdue University last month.

Huge served both the Cloverdale and Danville communities the last 38 years as an agricultural educator. Huge graduated from Twin Lakes High School, then from Purdue University with a major in agricultural education. He arrived at Cloverdale Schools in the summer of 1985, to what then was a one-teacher ag program. He was then offered the opportunity to teach at Danville High School and build up its ag program. He is on the brink of retirement, though.

“I’m walking away feeling like I’ve accomplished a lot, that I’ve built two really strong agricultural programs at two really good public schools,” Huge said. “I’ve tried to do everything I can do, to try to connect with students and make them realize that there are tremendous opportunities in the field of agriculture in terms of a career.”

Other Indiana finalists included Mike Appleton (Lewis Cass High School, Walton), Myia Bromm (South Knox High School, Vincennes), Leah Henderson (DeKalb High School, Waterloo), Mike A. Jones (Adams Central High School, Monroe), Adam Miller (Fountain Central High School, Veedersburg), Mike Shirey (Heritage High School, Lincoln City) and McCord Snider (East Central Middle School, Brookville).

Trent Tabor, an ag teacher at Cambridge High School in Illinois, received his Golden Owl Award last month at the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers 101st Anniversary Conference.

Other Illinois finalists included Riley Hintzsche (Streator High School), Jody Heavner (Pittsfield High School), Cassie Crouch (Maroa Forsyth High School) and Tamra Gerstenecker (Carlyle High School).

“These outstanding agricultural teachers play a vital role in shaping the future of their communities,” said Brad Liggett, president of agribusiness at Nationwide. “We’re committed to work with our state partners to honor these dedicated educators who continue to inspire future generations of agriculture leaders.”

Other Golden Owl Award state winners included Emily Kruse (Iowa), Jason Ferreira (California), Randy Vlasin (Nebraska), Deb Fletcher (New York), Michael Clark (Pennsylvania) and Noelle Swanson (South Dakota).