Kansas Ag Connection - Kansas FFA Awards Honorary State FFA Degrees

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Kansas FFA Awards Honorary State FFA Degrees
Kansas Ag Connection - 07/25/2016

Four individuals were recognized with the Honorary State FFA Degree at the 88th Kansas FFA State Convention on the Kansas State University campus. Recipients of the honor include: Dr. Jason Ellis, Bill Disberger, David Lehman and Bill Johnston.

Dr. Ellis, a former member of the Wellington FFA chapter, is currently an associate professor at Kansas State University in the department of communication and agricultural education. As an associate professor, he invests his time and talent in future agricultural leaders as they work to become professional communicators for the industry. He is a coordinator for the Ag Communications Career Development Event. Ellis also dedicates his time and talent toward helping the Kansas National FFA Officer candidates improve and develop their skills for writing and written communication.

Disberger, a former member of the Council Grove FFA Chapter, was previously the livestock judging coach at Hutchinson Community College and provided assistance in hosting the HCC Aggie Days. He is currently an admissions representative for Kansas State University working with transfer students. Disberger is a previous coordinator of the Veterinary Science Career Development Event, which under his leadership became a challenging CDE that prepares students for success in veterinary science.

Lehman is an instructor in the Department of Marketing in the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University. He is also the coach of the National Agri-Marketing Association competition team at K-State. This team helps individuals, many of whom are former FFA members, in the agricultural economics industry become prepared for real-world situations. Lehman is the coordinator for the Agricultural Sales Career Development Event and does everything in his power to make it the competitive contest it is today.

Johnston started his career in 1983 teaching agricultural education in the Riley County school district. He then continued on to Marmaton Valley and now serves as the instructor at Jayhawk Linn, planning to retire at the end of this year. Throughout his career, Johnston has empowered hundreds of students to accomplish the goals they set and to implement what they are passionate about. He is currently the president of the Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators (KAAE) and has served as a committee chair for numerous positions within the KAAE.

"Each recipient believes in the leadership and experiences provided by FFA so much, they have continually donated their time and money to the efforts of our organization," said Kansas FFA secretary Dean Klahr. "Recipients of the Honorary State FFA Degree always demonstrate what it means to really believe in leadership."

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