KANSAS CITY, MO | Veteran agricultural educators Jim Morgan of Louisburg, Kansas and Deanna Schnuck of Boonville, Missouri have been selected by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City to receive the group’s Distinguished Service Award.
“We are indebted to the many educators like Jim and Deanna who have inspired, guided and mentored young people from rural America,” said Dustin Johansen, chair, KC Ag Business Council. Johansen, senior vice president of Farm Journal’s Livestock Division, pointed out these individuals have influenced hundreds of young people in their career choices and experiences, often without the recognition they so richly deserve.
Jim Morgan was named to Louisburg’s agricultural education position in 1982, soon after graduating from Kansas State University. When the new school term begins this fall, it will mark his 42nd year in the classroom. In his tenure at Louisburg, Jim has had Louisburg FFA teams win 52 State FFA Career Development Event championships and has had 42 State Runners-up. Louisburg has also had two National FFA Career Development Event Champions. Also, while at Louisburg he has had two state FFA officers, over 30 State FFA degree winners and numerous proficiency award winners. Jim has hosted 18 student teachers from Kansas State University while also serving on their Curriculum Review and Licensure committees. He has also served on the Competency Profile Review and Agriculture Education Accreditation committees for Career and Technical Education Division of the Kansas State Department of Education. Jim has served on many committees on the state and national level within the Kansas and National Association of Agriculture Educators. In 2014 he served as president of the Kansas Association of Agriculture Educators. In his spare time, Jim looks after his family farm near his hometown of Greeley, Kansas.
Deanna Schnuck has been an agricultural education instructor for 21 years. She began her teaching career in 2003 at the Grand River Technical School in Chillicothe, Missouri, and moved to the Boonslick Technical Education Center in Boonville in 2004 where she has been an instructor for the past 20 years. Deanna has been a leader in agricultural education on many levels. She was elected President of the National Association of Agricultural Educators at the 2022 NAAE Convention after serving as NAAE President-Elect, NAAE Region IV Vice President for three years, and NAAE Region IV Secretary for three years. She had the
honor of serving the Missouri Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (MVATA) for eight years on the area, district, and state levels. Additionally, Deanna serves as a NAAE representative on the National FFA Board of Directors, serves on the National FFA Board of Directors/FFA Foundation Joint Governance Committee, and chairs the National FFA Board of Directors Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee. Deanna has also been awarded both the Honorary State and American FFA Degrees. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Missouri. In her spare time, Deanna helps run the family produce business as well as helping her husband, Art, with his livestock and row crop operation.
The Council will honor Morgan and Schnuck for their distinguished service at a reception in Kansas City on July 6.