Fett Elected to Lead National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization

The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO), a non-profit membership organization that supports Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) state programs around the country, recently elected officers to lead the group in its efforts to increase agricultural literacy in K-12 classrooms nationwide. 

Will Fett, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation in Des Moines, IA, has been elected president, and Tammy Maxey, executive director of the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, has been elected president-elect by NAITCO members for 2018-19. 

In addition, Katie Carpenter, executive director of New York Agriculture in the Classroom, has been elected treasurer, and Tonya Wible, education director of Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation, has been elected secretary by the NAITCO Executive Committee. Rounding out the officer team is Immediate Past President Willie Grenier, executive director of Maine Agriculture in the Classroom. 

“We’ve got a great team of Agriculture in the Classroom representatives from around the country to lead our national organization,” Fett said. “I look forward to working with them as we strive to show teachers how effective using agricultural concepts can be to teach reading, writing, science, social studies, math and more.” 

Regional representatives elected for the upcoming year are: 

Central Region – Darlene Arneson of Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s AITC program and Tonia Ritter of Michigan Farm Bureau’s AITC program. 

Southern Region – Scott Christmas of Kentucky Farm Bureau’s AITC program and Audrey Harmon of Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry’s AITC program. 

Western Region – Amber Smyer of Nevada Department of Agriculture’s AITC program and Jessica Jansen of Oregon Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. 

Eastern Region – Secretary Wible and Treasurer Carpenter also serve as the Eastern Region representatives of the organization. 

NAITCO is a non-profit organization representing most of the 50 state Agriculture in the Classroom programs around the country. Its mission is to educate K-12 teachers and students about the importance of agriculture by providing them with web-based materials, workshops and awards programs that demonstrate how agriculture can be used to effectively teach core subject areas. 

For more information, contact NAITCO Executive Director Lisa Gaskalla by emailing lisa.gaskalla@naitco.org or calling (352) 745-0246. 

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IALF serves as a central resource for educators and volunteers who want to teach Iowa’s students about agriculture. The mission is to educate Iowans, with a focus on youth, regarding the breadth and global significance of agriculture. Iowa is a leading producer of agricultural products that are essential to feed a growing world population, estimated to reach more than 9 billion by 2050. IALF believes it is important for all Iowans to understand the essential role agriculture has in their lives. IALF will support existing agriculture education efforts such as FFA, 4-H and Ag in the Classroom. IALF was created through a joint effort of agricultural stakeholders, including the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Soybean Association, Silos and Smokestacks Foundation, DuPont Pioneer, GROWMARK, and the Iowa Beef Industry Council. For more information visit IALF online at IowaAgLiteracy.org, on Facebook, and Twitter.

National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization

Lisa Gaskalla, Executive Director

National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization

lisa.gaskalla@naitco.org

515-331-4182

7/23/2018