The Nebraska FFA Foundation’s Board of Directors is made up of passionate volunteers that provide leadership and strategic governance for the organization. These individuals are active fundraisers and provide oversight for the Nebraska FFA Foundation.

• Lance Atwater
• Glenn Baumert - Treasurer
• Cary Becker
• Vernon Benes
• Katherine Byrne - Secretary
• Matt Dolch
• Mark Fahleson
• Teresa Ibach
• Brady Jenschke
• John Langemeier – Vice President
• Jerry Lentfer
• Kyle Perry – President
• Ron Preston
• Dean Settje
• Jennifer Wood
• Linne Vavrina
• Richard Douglass- Ex-Officio, Nebraska FFA Alumni Representative
• Jeff Moore- Ex-Officio, Nebraska FFA Association Representative
• Kris Spath- Ex-Officio, Nebraska Agriculture Educators Association Representative
• Stacey Agnew – Ex-Officio, Executive Director

This volunteer team is dedicated to the implementation of the Nebraska FFA Foundation’s sustainable funding model to increase individual engagement and giving to support the mission of the Nebraska FFA Foundation.

• Kara Anderson
• Lisa Brass
• Katherine Byrne
• Cheyenne Chromy
• Matt Dolch
• Mark Fahleson
• Spencer Hartman
• Ellie Havlat
• Carol Keiser
• Jerry Lentfer
• Morgan Ochsner
• Jessie Rudolph
• Dean Settje
• Nora Turner
• Ed Woeppel
• Jennifer Wood
• Stacey Agnew
• Sarah Mullen
• Abby Kaiser

Stacey Agnew, Executive Director

Sarah Mullen, Development and Marketing Director

Victoria Broders, Program Manager

Abby Kaiser, Development Coordinator

When the last school bell rang for the school year, Melissa Bonifas began gearing up for and dreaming about what she could offer next to her students.

Bonifas participated in a professional development training hosted by the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. She selected this professional development opportunity because she was seeking experiences that offer a more hands-on approach to learning. What she walked away with was handouts, digital copies, curriculum, presentations, labs and even agriscience fair project ideas she could provide to her students.

Bonifas says, “I realize that any summer professional development takes time away from family and your summer break, but it is so worthwhile because it helps you to become better at teaching and more knowledgeable about the ag industry.”

The Nebraska FFA Foundation invests in teachers and their students by providing funding for professional development and training opportunities. This particular training covered topics like meats grading, yield grading and carcass fabrication to be used in animal science class; seed identification for plant science class
or milling and utilizing crops in food science class. Additional hands-on learning focused on wiring switches for an electrical class, as well as disassembling and reassembling a small engine.

This hands-on, two day professional development training provides teachers like Bonifas with impactful and easy-to-implement curriculum that connects across career pathways. This highlights opportunities for careers that many students may not have known about or considered before. Bonifas knows that the unique combination of classroom instruction and hands-on learning provides students with an incredible education.

Bonifas believes this experience is particularly valuable for teachers that are new to the profession and hopes to serve those teachers as a mentor by sharing her knowledge and building their confidence with strong hands-on programming.

We are so proud of what teachers accomplish and implement in their classroom after participating in professional development training. That’s why  the Nebraska FFA Foundation continues working to provide more teachers with professional development and training opportunities.

Agriculture education students at Hampton were tasked with deciding if they would rather have more animal science or plant science experiences, and over 80 percent of students said they wanted to see animals on campus. Six years later, Hampton received a Nebraska FFA Foundation Grant to build the “Hawk Herd” animal learning lab. With the assistance of the Nebraska FFA Foundation grant, Hampton has purchased pasture ground at the school for their cows to graze all summer long. The shed was put in place last spring, and the students are currently setting posts and installing continuous fencing this fall.

The Hampton Hawk Herd currently consists of three production cows, two calves and a steer. In addition to their cattle herd, they have five laying hens. Students have the opportunity to assist with artificial insemination process, gain skills in livestock management and grow their communication skills by making phone calls to order feed and hay, ask for donations and contact their veterinarian. Since the start of this project, Hampton has bought a few steers to finish feeding out to use for their school lunch program.

One student enjoyed the experience so much that it led them to seek out a job working on a feedlot. This student had transferred from Lincoln and had little experience with livestock. The student turned this experience into their current Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) by gaining skills assisting with more than just the animals at the school. Another student has gained more of an understanding of the end product that they are producing by working for a local butcher for their SAE.

Students have learned the hard work and responsibility of the Hawk Herd knowing that chores have to be done no matter what the weather is doing or how busy their schedules are. During weekends and holidays, students take turns doing chores. They have gained an appreciation for cattle producers and the hard work that they do on a daily basis for much larger-scale operations.

With so much to do at their animal lab, Hampton students are never short of hands-on learning opportunities.

Morayah Cupp was driven by the idea of work and service rather than sitting in a classroom. She grew up in Champion, a town of approximately 500 people in southwest Nebraska, and attended Chase County Schools. The idea of work and service is why she joined FFA.

Her family runs a diverse cow/calf and row crop operation. They grow specialty crops in preparation for the fall event and pumpkin patch they host each year. They also have the town’s firework stand in the summer.

To say Cupp’s family keeps busy is an understatement. When it came time for her to start her Supervised Agricultural Experience, Cupp says she realized that although the community she lives in is very rural and agriculture heavy, there was a lack of opportunity for people to get involved with the industry that weren’t already. She found a way to provide people with hands-on producer experience and educate them each step of the way through Moe’s Mobile Coops.

Moes Mobile Coops allows families the opportunity to become producers and backyard hen owners without the year-round commitment. Renters receive a mobile coop, 4-6 hens (or pullets), a feeder, waterer, feed anb bedding to last the duration of the rental period. The rental season starts anywhere from March until June and ends between August and October.

Cupp received a Nebraska FFA Foundation local grant to expand her business in 2020. She used these funds to purchase enough supplies to build four of the six coops she added that year. Since then, she has also added the sale of pullets to those customers that want to own laying hens instead of rent them. She says “It is gratifying to me to see my services ignite a passion in people and that they want to start their own flock as a result.”

This year, Cupp was one of four National Finalists in the Agricultural Services – Entrepreneurship/Placement Proficiency Area. This honor takes a great deal of time commitment, recordkeeping and knowledge of the industry. She received her gold medal on stage at the 2022 National FFA Convention.

When asked what she learned, Cupp says “The real question is ‘What skills didn’t I learn from Moe’s Mobile Coops?’ I was able to grow in my public relations skills and focus on marketing, as well as fundamental physical skills like running power tools and understanding the building process while still making sure I abide by quality assurance standards.” She also found her love for educating others and providing opportunities to those who share the same passion for the agriculture industry.

Cupp is currently a sophomore at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She’s majoring in Agriculture Education and her plans include teaching agriculture in a rural school while also advising an FFA Chapter.