OXFORD, Ohio – One year when Chyann Kendel was at FFA camp, some Ohio Teach Ag Ambassadors visited and said if anybody was interested in teaching ag they should come to a picnic on the porch.

Kendel hadn’t thought about teaching ag but she went to the picnic. That played a big part in shaping her career. Now in her second year as an ag educator at Talawanda-Butler Tech FFA, she was recently named a Golden Owl honoree.

From September to December 2023, the FFA’s Golden Owl Award accumulated more than 450 nominations in Ohio from local students, fellow teachers, parents, and community members. Ten became Golden Owl honorees.

Kendel’s involvement in ag started when she joined 4-H in third grade. She joined FFA as a freshman in high school at Eaton (Ohio) Twin Valley South. Her ag adviser was Alison Derringer.

“Once I got involved (in FFA), I kind of fell in love with everything about it,” she said. “My teacher was super encouraging to get me involved in different events and activities. I raised market and breeding rabbits as well as market broilers. I was able to grow within that project. It introduced me to how the organization itself can transform people.”

She found a path to Wilmington College and more involvement in FFA. She served as a state officer and that opened the FFA network for her. She was also in the Aggies Club, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and Sigma Alpha, the professional ag sorority.

During Kendel’s senior college year, while deciding whether to go on to graduate school, the post at Talawanda High School opened up. She applied and the rest is history.

“I probably accomplished more in year one than I thought I was going to accomplish in the first five years of my teaching,” she explained. “I had a lot of training and support from not only Kari (Kari Beckner Roberts) as my co-teacher, with her having 20 years of experience and then me being a first-year teacher right across the hall. The chapter was recognized as a top 10 chapter in the state of Ohio last year.

“So, it is not necessarily the work I have done,” Kendel said. “I feel like I am standing on the shoulders of giants in a sense of like this has been a successful program, but it was rewarding to know that it didn’t fall to pieces when I came in, that I was able to keep the ball rolling.”

This year Kendel was able to dig into some personal goals that she had for the classroom, she said. She wanted her students to develop a class business. They did a Twelve Elves Tree sale – wooden Christmas trees they made from 2-by-4s.

“They did everything, from the creation to the advertising to taking orders,” she said. “Their goal was to make a profitable business; they were able to do that tenfold. They were hoping to profit $400; they profited $2400. That was really cool to see them be able to grasp the concepts of ag business.”

Meanwhile, right across the hall, Beckner Roberts (who was a Golden Owl honoree in 2021) saw Kendel’s passion for teaching and how she valued student voices and was building an excellent relationship with those students.

“Chyann Kendel is an inspiring educator who brings boundless enthusiasm and motivation to the Agricultural Education Department at Talawanda High School & Butler Tech,” Beckner Roberts said. “As a young educator, her fresh perspective and innovative ideas have truly made a big difference in all three components of the Agricultural Education model: Classroom Instruction, FFA, and SAE’s. Her dedication to our students’ success is evident in her tireless efforts to create engaging and impactful learning experiences.

“When I was notified that Chyann was a Golden Owl top 10 honoree, I was beyond excited for her, as she deserves the recognition for her phenomenal work in and out of the classroom setting,” Beckner Roberts said.

Ohio’s other Golden Owl Honorees are Jessie Schulze, Delta; Tod Fox, Ashland; Tom Mazzaro, Pymatuning Valley; Julie Stawowy, Old Fort; Dena Wuebker, Versailles; Tom Jolliff, North Union; Caleb Hickman, Utica; Tyler Lones, Sheridan; Rob Brokaw, New Lexington.

They each received an engraved plaque, $1,500 for their school’s ag program, and the opportunity to be chosen as Ohio’s Ag Educator of the Year in May 2024 during the 96th FFA convention and win an additional $5,000 for their school’s agriculture program.

The award is the result of partnerships between Nationwide, Ohio FFA, Ohio Farm Bureau, Farm Credit Mid-America, and AgCredit.

“I feel like (the award) is a reflection of all the people that I have in my life, between my students and my student’s families and the community that I have been placed in through this position,” Kendel said. “I am very fortunate for that. I say ‘thank you’ to all that have supported me, nominated me, and done all the good things to help me.”