MURFREESBORO, TN – Lexington Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisor Jerry Wood took home the Teacher Mentor Award at the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) inaugural conference. The conference was hosted July 20-22 at Middle Tennessee State University. Wood was up against 288 other TAAE members for this recognition. 

The Teacher Mentor Award recognizes a positive relationship between beginning and experi-enced teachers. This award program showcases experienced teachers as mentors and provides those beginning teachers a way to show their gratitude of appreciation for those who have influ-enced them. Wood is recognized as being a premier mentor to all TAAE members. 

TAAE is an association of members that are involved in school-based agricultural education. The association advocates for agricultural education, provides professional development for agricul-tural educators and works to recruit and retain agricultural educators. 

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. Nationally, there are 610,240 FFA members, aged 12-21. The Tennessee FFA Association is comprised of more than 13,000 members from 214 high school chapters, seven middle school chapters, and eight collegiate chapters across the state of Tennessee.

Photo caption: Jerry Wood (right), FFA advisor at Lexington High School, awarded Teacher Mentor Award at the TAAE Conference in Murfreesboro.