Honorary American Degree: Caleb Wright

At the 92nd National FFA Convention this past October, Pennsylvania was able to have one of our own FFA Alumni, Caleb Wright, was recognized as a recipient of the Honorary FFA American Degree, one of the highest honors that can be received by an Alumni.

Caleb was recognized for his role in helping Pennsylvania and the National FFA Organization through his work as a lobbyist with Versant Strategies. Caleb is one of our own Penn State Ag Ed graduates, and has dedicated much of his life post-college to furthering the interests of many agricultural organizations, with the FFA being just one on a lengthy list.

We reached out to Caleb to lean more about what drives him to do a tough job in one of our nations hardest work environments; Washington D.C.

1. What does it mean to you to receive your Honorary American degree?

It’s an amazing honor. I’m very fortunate to be able to be able to support FFA at the local, state, and national levels in varying capacities, which I take great pride in. This award is presented to a select group of individuals, and I’m humbled to be included with such great recipients from all across the country.

2. When you were wearing your blue jacket, did you ever expect that you would end up where you are today?

Absolutely not! If the life plan my younger self had determined panned out, I’d be practicing veterinary medicine with a wife and kids by now. None of those have happened! However, I wouldn’t change a single part of my life’s course. I’m especially grateful my life’s path included FFA and agricultural education to a deeper level than originally planned. It’s been a true blessing personally and professionally.

3. What part about your job do you enjoy the most?

I like the many places my  job has taken me. I know it sounds like the Dr. Seuss book, but I’ve been in fancy dinners in New York City, to tours of forests in Washington state, to our nation’s capital with FFA members, and a lot of places in between. I’ve made amazing friends and connections, all while lifting up rural America through Versant Strategies’ work and clients.

Caleb regularly donates his time to the Pennsylvania FFA Foundation, our Gold Toe SOCS leadership program, and can always be found around Harrisburg whenever anything ag occurs.

To learn more about Versant Strategies, please visit their website at versantstrategies.net

Connection to Industry: AgChoice Farm Credit

Over the course of this fall semester, The Center for Professional Personnel Development is connecting Agricultural Education to the industry through webinars. Each webinar will feature a different presentation and presenter. Our goal is to provide educators with resources and knowledge to better serve their students.

Industry

Our featured industry for the month of November is AgChoice Farm Credit. Some of us may know what the services AgChoice provides for its members. However, to reiterate their services, AgChoice is a member-owned cooperative that supports rural communities and agriculture with loans and financial services. They serve 10,000 customers in 52 Pennsylvania counties and four counties in West Virginia through ten branch offices. AgChoice has been providing services to its members for over 100 years. 

Presenter 

Our presenter, Ryan Davis, is the Director of Credit Administration. His overall mission at AgChoice is to establish and promote a positive credit culture. "My role is to establish and promote a positive credit culture through loan approvals, credit training, and procedures. This is accomplished through serving on our Senior Leadership Team, Credit Committee, and various other credit functions within our Association." - Ryan Davis. He had attended Messiah College where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a Finance concentration. He further went on to receive a Master in Business Administration degree from Penn State University. When asked how he became interested in AgChoice Farm Credit he stated, "I was attracted to AgChoice Farm Credit because of their strong focus on helping their customer-owners succeed in an industry that is vital to both Pennsylvania and national economy. My position combines an overall leadership focus with training and development – an opportunity to positively impact both our customers and employees."

Webinar Highlights

The webinar will focus mainly on the "5 C of Credit" - the areas of focus that are used to make a good credit decision. Through the discussion, he will also touch on factors that impact credit score and share resources that AgChoice can provide in the classroom. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, November 13th at 3:30PM follow the link to participate https://tinyurl.com/AgChoiceFarmCredit

Luke Kerstetter

2020 Agriculture Teacher Candidate

Twitter Handle: @Luke_Kerstetter

Connection to Industry: Bob Clements International (BCI)

Over the course of this fall semester, The Center for Professional Personnel Development is connecting Agricultural Education to the industry through webinars. Each webinar will feature a different presentation and presenter. Our goal is to provide educators with resources and knowledge to better serve their students.

Industry
Our featured industry for October is Bob Clements International (BCI). You are probably wondering; what is Bob Clements International? BCI is a training company the works with about 4,500 OPE, Ag, Trailer, Powersport, and Marine dealerships across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Their goal is to implement and improve parts and services processes and profitability. "We often joke that we are the Gordon Ramsey of kitchen nightmares in the dealership. We often go into a dealership and turn a struggling dealership around with a little tough love and some proven processes," - Sara Hey.

Presenter
Our presenter, Sara Hey, wears many hats within the company since they are a small team. Her two main roles in the company are traveling around the world speaking to manufacturers and dealers, and to make sure the programs partnered with BCI are successful. It is worthwhile mentioning that Sara had attended North Park University in Chicago and received a degree in psychology. Her degree has helped her work with their dealers and inside the family business. 

What Sparked Her Interest?
Her parents had started BCI over 30 years ago, so it is safe to say she was born into it. When she began working for BCI, she recently had twins and was passionate about making a paycheck. Her dad gave her the opportunity to work in an inside sales role. Throughout the past eight years, Sara has had the opportunity to explore other areas in the dealership realm. Her daily excitement to work for the company comes from giving hope to dealers that are at the end of their rope. She states, "When we get to come alongside them and help them realize that the way things are, isn’t the way they have to continue to be. This is the reason I do what I do."

Webinar Highlights

• How they decide it’s time to add an additional person in the service department
• How they determine what they can pay their technicians and what their expectations are of their technicians.
• What the products mix in each of the dealerships look like and what that mix means for training.
• What each one of the dealerships wants you to know about what they look for in new employees and the knowledge they have as they come out of school.
• The webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 23rd at 3:30 pm follow the link to participate https://tinyurl.com/AgEquipmentWebinar

Luke Kerstetter

2020 Agriculture Teacher Candidate

Twitter Handle: @Luke_Kerstetter