To highlight the contributions of leading agricultural teachers, Nationwide, the No. 1 insurer of farms and ranches in the U.S., is honoring exceptional teachers as finalists for its Golden Owl Award.

Nationwide recognizes agricultural teachers play an essential and selfless role in the communities they serve, preparing future generations for successful careers by devoting countless hours and often their own resources to make a difference.

Nationwide collected thousands of nominations from local students, fellow teachers, parents and community members from August to December in 2020.

Each finalist will receive an individualized plaque and a $500 donation to their school’s agricultural program and will be entered into a final selection stage for the chance to be crowned as State Ag Educator of the Year this spring.

In addition to the Ag Educator of the Year designation, the grand prize winner also will receive a $3,000 Nationwide-funded donation to their school’s agriculture program and the Golden Owl Award trophy. 

Ohio’s 2020-21 Golden Owl Award finalists are Don Hammersmith, Ayersville High School; Mike Hoffman, Wynford High School; Shari Anderson, Marysville High School; Kari Roberts, Talawanda-Butler Tech High School; Andrew DeLong, Chief Logan High School; Ryan Sell,  Archbold High School; Ryan Rosselot, Western Brown High School; Abbey VanTyne, Norwayne High School; Pamela Schultz, Fayette High School; and Mark Hoffman, Hillsdale High School.

Pennsylvania’s 2020-2021 Golden Owl Award finalists are Katherine Ranck, Garden Spot High School; Thomas Hojnowski, Canton High School; Sherisa Nailor, Big Spring High School; and Laura Palmer, Conneaut Area Senior High School.

New York’s 2020-2021 Golden Owl Award finalists are Patrycja Zbrzezny, John Bowne High School; Anne Allen, Sharon Springs Central School; Elizabeth Foote, Greenwich Jr./Sr. High School; Renee Johnson, Oxford Academy High School; Mandi Millen, Cazenovia High School; Nichole Hirt, Indian River High School; Leann Jordan, Tully Junior Senior High School; Mary Coolbaugh, Marcus Whitman High School; Todd Eick, Medina High School; Patricia Walker, Randolph Central School; and Jeff Perry, Cornell University CALS.

“Similar to Nationwide’s mission of delivering extraordinary care, teachers across the country go above and beyond to bring new educational opportunities for their students and help them pursue their passions,” says Brad Liggett, Nationwide’s agribusiness president. “We created the Golden Owl Award in 2018 to honor the contributions of teachers, highlight the growing need for their services, and supply additional resources to help boost their programs and provide students with optimal learning experiences.”

In the award’s second year, Nationwide broadened the program from two states to five, recognizing the efforts of 31 agricultural teachers across California, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania with the 2019-20 Golden Owl Award. As a result of the positive response from the communities that Golden Owl Award nominees make a difference in, Nationwide expanded the 2020-21 Golden Owl Award even further to include Indiana and New York.

“We’re proud to recognize hardworking teachers in seven states for their dedication to preparing future generations for success,” Liggett says.

Nationwide is also investing $5,000 in each participating state’s FFA organization to further support aspiring agriculture professionals.

The Golden Owl Award is the result of partnerships between Nationwide, the California FFA, California Farm Bureau, Illinois FFA, Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers, Farm Credit Illinois, Indiana FFA, Farm Credit Mid-America, the Iowa FFA Foundation, New York FFA, New York Farm Bureau, Ohio FFA, Ohio Farm Bureau, AgCredit, Pennsylvania FFA, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and Compeer Financial.

To learn more about the Golden Owl Award, visit GoldenOwlAward.com.