NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication
April 2017
Spotlight on Agriculture Education Shane Crafton, Henrietta
Congratulations! You have now officially survived another stock show season. I want to commend everyone on your many successes over the past three months as you traveled all over our great state to compete with your student’s projects. The people of Texas are definitely interested in what we do because I think I waited in line behind every one of them at some point over the past few weeks. I do believe the crowds have never been bigger than what we saw this year. This month I would like to discuss a little about leadership in the Agriculture Education family. Fred Fiedler once said, “The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.” I think this statement is so very true about our Ag Education family. We have always been truly blessed with great leadership in Austin, and our current executive directors are prime examples of that excellence in leadership. Take a moment and consider the kind of people we have leading, representing and simply being the face of our organizations. Mr. McClure at the VATAT is one of those individuals who you know has your back in any situation. He has lived his entire life in service to our organization and to the students of the Texas FFA. Mr. McClure remains calm and makes very sound, intelligent decisions on our behalf. He is respected around
the state and always strives to make our profession better in everything he does. We should all feel extremely privileged to have Mr. McClure as the face of the VATAT. Mr. Alejandro, who serves at the foundation, is another lifelong family member. His work speaks for itself; look where the foundation was when he started and where it is now. The trait that impresses me the most about Mr. Alejandro is the continuous futuristic outlook he has on the organization. Our foundation is so strong because Mr. Alejandro is always pushing the needle towards where we could be, instead of settling for where we are. Mr. Large, our newest addition, is already making an impact on the Agriculture Education family. I have not had the opportunity to spend much time with him yet, but just from outside observations, I am confident we have the right man for the job. Mr. Large has a burning desire to make the Texas FFA the best it can be, whatever it takes. Mr. Whitson remains as our only connection to TEA. He is challenged with the task of ensuring that Agriculture Education remains a valuable and viable part of the Texas education system for the future. These four men, who comprise the leadership of the Agriculture Education family, play a major role in our success, but I think it is very important that we all understand
that without all of us getting on board, their jobs are impossible. We as ag teachers need to understand that they need each of us to help tell the story of the Texas Ag Education family. Too often we worry about what they can do for us. Why not ask how we can help them sell our product? These four men are all trying to advocate for the members of the Texas FFA, and we have been very successful under their leadership. However, ask yourself this: What if all of us got behind them and pushed in the same direction? How bright would the spotlight on our students be then? We all have the power to shine the spotlight. I challenge each of you to do your part to help advance the future of the Agriculture Education family.