Prairie Central High School ag teacher Kyle Miller is a finalist for Illinois Ag Educator of the Year through the Golden Owl Award program from Nationwide.
The award recognizes the contributions of ag teachers in Illinois, California, Indiana, Iowa, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania in preparing the next generation of young people for successful careers in agriculture. Each finalist receives $500 and the teachers are entered into a final selection stage for the chance to be selected as their state’s Ag Educator of the Year.
The overall winner receives a $3,000 cash award and the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy.
“It was certainly a surprise to me that somebody would go out of their way and nominate me and it was a really nice honor here at school. They kept it a secret for a long time,” Miller told Fairbury News on Thursday morning.
Miller graduated from Prairie Central in 1988 after a high school career of FFA judging. He went to Joliet Junior College obtaining a degree in ag business before attending Western Illinois University where he received his ag education degree.
As former ag teacher Gene Weber was retiring, Miller was fortunate to come back to Prairie Central when he graduated from college.
Award information states the following about Miller:
“His true passion is providing opportunities of growth for his students. Giving the students a chance to find their strengths within agricultural education and the FFA. He spends countless hours preparing students for CDE teams and has helped the Prairie Central FFA become one of the best chapters in the state and as a nationally recognized judging program.”
A post this week on the Prairie Central FFA Facebook page congratulated Miller on being the District Two Golden Owl winner, thanking Nationwide, Farm Credit Illinois, Compeer and Illinois FFA for their support of the program.
To learn more about the Golden Owl Award, visit www.GoldenOwlAward.com.
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