By Burton Cole
FALMOUTH — The students erupted in applause last Wednesday morning when agriculture teacher Chris Thompson walked into the Pendleton County High School auditorium.
Thompson soon learned why: He had won the Kentucky FFA Golden Owl Award as the top agriculture educator in the Northern Kentucky Region.
Along with a check for $500, Thompson now is in the running for the statewide Kentucky Educator of the Year award.
“Incredible,” Thompson said afterward. “I had no idea any of this was happening.”
Ruth Ann Fink of the Kentucky FFA Foundation said 115 agriculture educators across the state had accumulated 440 nominations for the second annual Kentucky Golden Owl awards, which are presented by Nationwide, the Foundation and the Kentucky Association of Agricultural Educators.
“From October to December, we worked together to ask students, faculty and community members to nominate a deserving teacher,” she said
“The Golden Owl Award allows us to also extend our support to agricultural educators who devote countless hours, and often their own resources, to positively impact the lives of their students,” Fink said in presenting the award.
Thompson is a 2006 PCHS graduate who still lives in the Morgan area, where he owns 100 head of sheep.
He returned to his alma mater to teach agriculture, saying, “These students are eventually going to keep the industry going.”
Several FFA and ag students took to the podium to read the nomination letters they wrote.
“Mr. Thompson consistently pushes his students to achieve greater heights, all while making whatever we are doing enjoyable,” Isabella Roberts read.
Riley Combs wrote, “He encourages us to be the best we can be in FFA, class and as a person,” Riley Combs wrote. “He genuinely cares for his students and will always listen and give advice.”
“His passion for teaching and agriculture in general truly enhances his classes, and his enthusiasm inevitably leads to enthusiasm from our students,” Paige Bowling read.
PCHS Principal Chad Simms, who noted that Thompson also has been nominated for Certified District Employee of the Year, said he has gone to Thompson with ideas over the last two years. “If it benefits his students, he’s quick to say yes.
“He consistently demonstrates a willingness to embrace new ideas and approaches,” Simms said.
But Thompson doesn’t believe a suggestion will benefit his students, he turns it down, Simms said, because it’s all about the students.
Jaimie Mann, the other ag teacher and FFA adviser at PCHS, said Thompson is always there, always working, always ready to help students resolve any of their agricultural issues.
“He believes in students before they believe in themselves,” Mann said.
She remarked on Thompson’s reliability, “If there’s a deadline, you can bet he met it yesterday. … If dedication was a jackpot, he would win every time.”
“We like to tell our kids people cannot live without ag,” Mann said.
The agriculture programs are meant to make sure students are ready to be good employees from the first day, she said.