107 teachers named Golden Owl Award® finalists

107 teachers named Golden Owl Award® finalists

Finalists across 15 states have a chance to be named Ag Educator of the Year

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As interest grows in careers supporting farming, agribusiness and environmental stewardship, agricultural education programs are experiencing a surge in student enrollment - alongside mounting challenges. A growing shortage of qualified teachers entering and remaining in the profession continues to place pressure on the future of these programs.

To help address this trend, Nationwide established the Golden Owl Award in partnership with state FFA organizations to celebrate excellence in agricultural education and invest directly in programs that help keep learning accessible for students across the country.

Following more than 4,900 nominations across 15 states for the 2025-2026 Golden Owl Award, Nationwide and its partners are proud to honor 107 educators as finalists.

California:

• Shelby Fishman, Atwater High School
• Jennifer Knight, Clovis-East High School
• Robyn Payne, Sunset High School
• Russell Zimmerman, Nipomo High School
• Tara Meade, El Capitan High School
• Heather Thomas, Colusa High School

Delaware:

• Holly Hufford, Smyrna Middle School
• Stefanie Freimuth, Smyrna Middle School
• Karen Breeding, Woodbridge High School
• Kellie Michaud, Smyrna High School
• Lauren Ruskey, Caesar Rodney High School
• Mark Breeding, Caesar Rodney High School

Iowa:

• Malayne Meyer, Osage High School
• Krystal Wright, Benton Community High School
• Tyler Wingert, Ridge View High School
• Allison Reuvers, Colfax-Mingo High School
• Zach Morris, West Liberty High School
• Ben Booth, IKM-Manning High School
• Barb Clawson, Iowa State University

Illinois:

• Scott Riden, United High School
• Joe Steffen, Newark High School
• Steve Sargeant, Bushnell-Prairie City High School
• Betsy Burgener, Central A&M High School
• Curt Robbins, Fairfield Community High School
• Jay Solomonson, Illinois State University

Indiana:

• Lynnette Markley, Argos High School
• Michael Jones, Tippecanoe Valley High School
• Rebekah Peterson, DeKalb High School
• Mike Shirey, Heritage High School
• Chris Kaufman, Westfield High School
• ZoeAnn Chernowsky, Blue River Valley High School
• McCord Snider, East Central Middle School
• Emily Russ, Clinton Prairie High School

Kansas:

• Sonya Roberts, Hillsboro High School
• Jim Weller, Chapman High School
• Allison Dix, Phillipsburg High School
• Caity Thompson, Spearville High School
• Jeanie Wege, Hiawatha High School
• Dr. Kelly Hoelting, Mission Valley High School
• Karlea Clark, Cherryvale High School

Kentucky:

• Catherine Poole, South Warren High School
• Melissa Blackburn, Lawrence County High School
• Madison Goodlett, Leestown Middle School
• J.R. Zinner, Western Hills High School
• Aaron Tucker, Apollo High School
• Jason McWhorter, South Laurel High School
• Erin Arnett, Campbellsville High School
• Noel Pack, Meade County High School
• Cecil "CJ" Vise, Mason County High School
• Chris Thompson, Pendleton County High School
• Ben Prevette, Hopkins County Central High School
• Mercedes Branham, Carlisle County High School

Maryland:

• Becky Yost, Northern High School
• Greg Stull, Walkersville High School
• Sarah Skinner, Center of Applied Technology North
• Sarah Raulerson, Hereford Middle School
• Jerry Kelley, Parkside Career & Technical Education

Missouri:

• Johnny Viebrock, Smithville High School
• Jarred Sayre, Milan C-2 High School
• Shelby Haag, Pettis County R-V Schools
• Kristy Sivils, Aurora High School
• Jon Wilson, Gainesville High School
• Nick Nordwald, Sikeston Career & Technology Center
• Jack Green, North Central Missouri College

Nebraska:

• Brandon Jacobitz, Adams Central High School
• Lee Schroeder, West Point High School
• Shelly Kubicek, Aquinas Catholic Schools
• Tony Jensen, Freeman High School
• Christy Hodges, Johnson County Central
• Ben Robison, Alma High School

New York:

• Robert Markuske, New York Harbor School
• Rachel Rose, Greenville Central School
• Lee Levine, Galway Central School
• Nichole Cunningham, Sherburne-Earlville Central School
• Katie Lindsey, Mount Markham Central School
• Rachael Howard, South Lewis Central School
• Cheyenne Nowalk, McGraw Central School
• Mary Coolbaugh, Marcus Whitman Central School
• Kelly Wilcox, Letchworth Central School
• Arissa Hitchcock, Randolph Central School

Ohio:

• Ryan Avers, Woodmore High School
• Shanna Finnegan, Firelands High School
• Roy Dria, Jackson High School
• Cody McClain, Seneca East High School
• Carmen Hartzell, Mississinawa Valley High School
• Alex Zimmer, Buckeye Valley High School
• Deanna Karpuz, Watkins Middle School
• Taylor Ryan, Indian Valley High School
• Brian Cummings, Hillsboro High School
• Marcheta Ferguson, Northwest High School

Pennsylvania:

• Doug Masser, Pequea Valley High School
• Curtis Swineford, Selinsgrove High School
• Kelly Kuhn, New Oxford High School
• Jessica Maron, Penns Manor High School

South Dakota:

• Adam Koll, Florence High School
• Dave VanderWal, De Smet High School
• Malynda Penner, Freeman High School
• Susan Roudabush, Ethan High School
• Austin Bishop, Belle Fourche High School
• Shane Gross, Hitchcock-Tulare High School
• Josh Christensen, Harrisburg High School
• Renae Gebhart, Lemmon High School

Utah

• Johnathan Burton, Juab High School
• Jim Freston, Union High School
• Emili Sweat, Wasatch High School
• Chaleesa Brocious, Spanish Fork Junior High
• Chad Warnick, Delta High School

"Behind every thriving ag program is a dedicated teacher planting the seeds for tomorrow's food and farm innovations," said Brad Liggett, president of Agribusiness at Nationwide. "By spotlighting their impact through the Golden Owl Award, we're not only honoring their commitment, we're also investing in the future of agriculture and the students who will shape it."

Since its inception in 2018, the Golden Owl Award has supplied more than $800,000 to support teachers, students, school agricultural programs and FFA organizations. This year, the award expanded to two new states - Delaware and Utah - due to its positive impact and popularity.

Each year, the selected honorees, chosen by established state committees, are awarded $500¹ in recognition of their contributions. One finalist in each state is then selected as the Ag Educator of the Year and receives an additional $3,000 and the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy. Nationwide also contributes $5,000 to each of the participating state FFA organizations.

To see a complete list of partners, read more about the state honorees, see past winners or learn about the nomination process in select states, visit www.GoldenOwlAward.com.

^{1 Ohio finalists will receive a personalized plaque and $1,500 to fund their programs. Ohio's Ag Educator of the Year title will receive the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy and an additional $5,000 to help fund future educational efforts for their program. Ohio's partners, Farm Credit Mid-America and AgCredit, provided funding for the increase in prize money. In accordance with Ohio law, cash prizes in Ohio are awarded to the winner's school ag program.}