A Gilmer County educator recently accepted a state-level award that recognizes strides made by the local agriculture education program.
Young Farmer Teacher Mike Bushey received the Golden Key Award from Dr. Barbara Wall, Georgia CTAE (Career, Technical and Agricultural Education) director, at the 2022 Georgia Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (GVATA) Summer Conference held last month at the UGA Conference Center in Tifton.
The award recognizes quality career-focused education in Georgia schools, which includes partnerships between schools and outside industry/employers.
Bushey said the award stems from the partnerships Gilmer’s ag-ed program has developed with the poultry, fruit and dairy industries at local and state levels. “It’s really a token of appreciation for the entire ag-ed program,” which includes fellow instructors Nick Cantrell, David Bushey, Emily Cantrell and Shelby Merrell, he noted.
“It’s a testament to our program as a whole, and it has a lot more to do with our overall program,” Bushey said. “I was the one who got to get the (award). It’s an honor, and I appreciate it, but it’s just a reflection of what the board and (Gilmer Schools superintendent) Dr. Ridley have allowed us to do. We’re known on the state and national levels and have developed a lot of partnerships with a lot of people at the local and state levels.”
One of those partnerships, with the Pilgrims Ellijay poultry plant, has resulted in employment opportunities for several local ag students. A poultry research center on the Clear Creek Middle School campus, now in the early permitting stages, is being funded by the Pilgrims corporation’s Hometown Strong project funding program.
“It will basically be a 200- foot broiler house with a meeting room. The kids can come in, especially our poultry science classes, and see what’s going on inside the broiler houses without contaminating anything,” Bushey said.
“Several (of our students), either when they’re in college or just coming out of high school, have interned with Pilgrims. Kind of a goal for us, in partnering with Pilgrims, is being able to develop their managers and growers coming out of our high school classes,” he added.
Georgia’s Career, Technical and Agriculture Education (CTAE) or “Pathways” program is designed to prepare students for a transition to college or the workforce. Agriculture Pathway options offered here include plant, animal and poultry science and metal fabrication classes, Bushey noted.
“I think a lot of our ag students come out of our program with good skills we’ve taught them,” Bushey said. “(That’s) not only in the ag classes, but also FFA contests and state projects that make them more ready for whatever career they pursue, whether it’s going the college or technical school route or right into the workforce.”
Student participation in the local FFA and agriculture education programs have increased since Bushey, originally from New York, started with Gilmer Schools in 2011. According to Gilmer High School, nearly one in four students at GHS was a member of FFA in 2021.
“A lot of our kids get experience not only talking with people, (including) industry people, but also in leadership speaking contests (like) Parliamentary Procedure,” Bushey said. “These contests prepare them on a technical level and also make them more employable because they can really talk to people and communicate.”
Gilmer FFA was a state Chapter of the Year award winner in 2019 and, earlier this year, Bushey was named Outstanding Advisor of the Year at the Georgia Young Farmers State Convention in Savannah. Gilmer is among 55 Georgia counties with a Young Farmer education program.
“My role as Young Farmer Teacher is to help run the day-to-day ag program, be a spokesperson for the program and work with adults in the community, as well as students. All our ag teachers do such a great job with the students,” Bushey said. “One part of my role is running the cannery, but another part of it is making sure people in the community know all the good stuff our program is doing.”
Bushey said none of the ag-ed program’s success would be possible without the support of Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley and the local school board, which has allowed the program to flourish.
“The only way I’m able to develop these partnerships is because our board of education and Dr. Ridley. They allow me to get out there and do those things in Gilmer County and across the state. That doesn’t happen everywhere,” he added.
This was the first Golden Key Award for Gilmer’s ag-ed program, Bushey confirmed.
“It was a shock to me. Kind of a neat thing about it is that it wasn’t just out of the ag teaching world, but all of CTAE across the state. It could have been a business or audio visual tech program, for example,” he said.