As part of the annual National Teach Ag Day celebration, the National Teach Ag Campaign recognizes individuals who play an important role in agricultural education as Teach Ag Champions. These individuals encourage others to pursue a career in teaching agriculture and celebrate the important role agriculture teachers play in the lives of their students – all in an effort to address the national demand for agriculture teachers. The 2018 Teach Ag Champions were also chosen based upon their passion and dedication to transforming agricultural education into a more inclusive and diverse profession while cultivating the next generation of agriculture teachers. This year, Dr. Travis Park, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education at North Carolina State University, was named one of the four 2018 National Teach Ag Champions.

Dr. Travis Park was selected as a Teach Ag Champion for being a confidante and mentor to preservice teachers, current teachers, and agriculture students across the state of North Carolina. He serves on the National Teach Ag Advisory Board as a member and subcommittee chair.

Dr. Park coordinates countless Teach Ag activities for teachers and students across the state to promote the agricultural education profession. He also developed the Teach Ag Family Tree and serves as the North Carolina STAR state contact. Dr. Park was recognized for his outstanding accomplishments during the National Teach Ag Day live celebration on Thursday, September 20th, at the Corteva Agriscience Agriculture Division of DowDuPont headquarters, in Johnston, Iowa.

The National Teach Ag Campaign is a project of the National Council for Agricultural Education, led by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. Funding for the National Teach Ag Campaign is provided by the CHS Foundation, Corteva Agriscience™ Agriculture Division of DowDuPont™, BASF, Herman & Bobbie Wilson, and Growth Energy, as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of the need to recruit and retain high quality and diverse agriculture teachers, encourage others to consider a career teaching agriculture, and celebrate the positive contributions that agriculture teachers make in our schools and communities.

For more information about the National Teach Ag Campaign, visit www.naae.org/teachag.