MURFREESBORO, TN – Retired Dyer County Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisor Rich-ard Ross took home the Outstanding Service Award at the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) inaugural conference. The conference was hosted July 20-22 at Middle Ten-nessee State University. 

The Outstanding Service Award recognizes current and retired teachers who have made signifi-cant contributions to agricultural education at the state, regional and national levels. Ross is one of 288 TAAE members who were in competition for this prestigious award. 

Ross taught at Dyer County High School in Newborn, Tennessee for over 30 years where he im-pacted 250-300 students annually. He is credited with many awards and recognitions for his in-volvement in TAAE including Tennessee Teacher Mentor of the Year, Outstanding Achievement Award and West Tennessee Teacher of the Year. 

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: Richard Ross (left), retired Dyer County FFA advisor, awarded Outstanding Ser-vice at the TAAE Conference in Murfreesboro.