Jeff Gillespie of Anderson County, Matt Baxter of Morganville, and Bob and Leah Alredge of Cedar Vale were presented the Honorary Kansas FFA Degree at the 90th Kansas FFA Convention on the Kansas State University campus on Thursday, May 31. Honorary Kansas FFA Degrees are bestowed upon individuals who have donated time and money to the efforts of the FFA organization, demonstrating their belief in the leadership and experiences provided by FFA.

• Gillespie is in his 19th year as the agricultural educator and FFA advisor at Anderson County where he resides with his wife Karen, and children, Hailey, Tyler, and Braden. To his students, Gillespie is known as a BBQ expert, cat lover, and excellent advisor as he always goes above and beyond for his students. He sees the value in all components of the agricultural education model, placing emphasis on scholastic achievement, Supervised Agricultural Experiences, and leadership development in his program. Mr. Gillespie is also serving as president of the Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators.
• Baxter is a recently retired Kansas FFA Alumni Association President who currently resides in Morganville with his wife, Melissa, and children, Anna and Ryan. He has shown true passion for the Kansas FFA Association. The first to volunteer to support the association in any way possible, he has also judged many events, helped start chapter alumni affiliates across the state, and currently serves as the Kansas FFA Alumni Association Executive Director. Baxter hails from the Clay Center FFA chapter, and to most can be identified as the “FFA guy” popping up on many Kansas FFA members’ and advisors’ Twitter feeds.
• Over the past five years, Mr. and Mrs. Alredge have hosted the Southeast District Horse Evaluation Career Development Event (CDE), investing more than 40 hours of their time to ensure the district has a strong event. Since their involvement began, Mr. and Mrs. Alredge have also helped to increase the interest in equine and assist 4-H and FFA members with their equine projects.

Thank you, to our newest honorary members for their constant support of the Kansas FFA Association. We are proud to have you as honorary members.

Photos are available at Flickr.com/ksffa or upon request.