Dieckhoff named finalist for first-ever state award
Educators devote limitless time, and often their own resources, to helping students pursue their passions. To recognize the contributions of Missouri’s leading agricultural teachers, Nationwide® and the Missouri FFA Foundation have partnered on a new to Missouri initiative, the Golden Owl Award®. In it’s inaugural year, students, parents, fellow teachers, and other supporters submitted almost 400 nominations for Missouri teachers! From those nominations, 18 teachers representing FFA’s areas and our post-secondary/adult education programs were selected as semi-finalists and moved onto the second round of competition.
During the second round of competition, seven finalists from across the state were chosen. Each are being surprised at their schools and presented with a $500 cash prize. Jason Dieckhoff, an ag education instructor at Cass Career Center, is one of the finalists for this prestigious program. Dieckhoff earned this recognition because of his outstanding dedication to students, commitment to agriculture education, and positive impact on both the community and the agriculture industry.
On Thursday, April 18, at the Missouri FFA State Convention, Dieckhoff, along with the six other finalists will be recognized for their hard work, with one teacher being named the Missouri Agriculture Educator of the Year, receiving a $3,000 cash prize and the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy.
“While reading the nominations that came in for the Golden Owl Award, one thing became apparent, Missouri is extremely fortunate to have passionate agricultural education teachers. Our selection committees all had the same monumental task, narrowing down all those nominations to 18 semi-finalists and then 7 finalists,” said Heather Dimitt-Fletcher, executive director of the Missouri FFA Foundation. “The Missouri FFA Foundation is committed to enhancing and strengthening agriculture education in our state. Programs such as the Golden Owl Award that honor our teachers is crucial to achieve that goal.”
Nationwide established the Golden Owl Award to recognize the contributions of agriculture teachers and thank them for their continued educational efforts. “We are proud to thank and honor these hardworking agricultural teachers for their dedication,” said Brad Liggett, president of Agribusiness at Nationwide.
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