The Keynote Presenter

Why is the state degree FFA pin missing the eagle on top of it? The answer to that question and many other unusual questions about the FFA was covered in a presentation to the AEE 303 class earlier this week at North Carolina State University. This class prepares future agriculture teachers to be FFA advisors. I enjoyed interacting with them and sharing some of my FFA memorabilia. So what is the answer to my question? Between 1928 and 1938 the only FFA degree pin that featured the complete FFA emblem with the eagle on top was the American Farmer degree because it was a national degree. The other degree pins were local or state and did not feature the eagle. So if you find a FFA pin without an eagle, it is a pre-1938 pin.

I enjoyed sharing my views about the importance of life-work balance with the senior agricultural education students at the University of Tennessee-Martin in November. Research shows the average agriculture teacher works 55-57 hours a week. Teacher educators in agriculture do a great job of preparing prospective agriculture teachers to do their job, but we often don’t teach them about the importance of maintaining balance in their lives. As a result, many teachers burn out and leave the profession after a few years. It was great that Dr. Will Bird at UT-Martin realizes this and invited me to speak with his class via zoom about this important topic.

The Smith-Hughes Act: Its Importance for Today. That was the title of the Zoom presentation to the Greenwood (PA) High School agriscience students. Millerstown, PA. Sept. 22. It was nice to reconnect with high school students. They asked some good questions. One was have I ever regretting being an agricultural educator. My answer was never. Another question is what was my most coveted award. My answer was being selected as the outstanding graduate teaching assistant at Ohio State – and that was because it was a student-run and managed award program. There we no adults involved.

This summer I have made live presentations with an audience and I have spoken to several groups via ZOOM. On August 7 I spoke at the Chautauqua Assembly via a prerecorded presentation which was a first. The Chautauqua Assembly is the virtual platform for delivering content from the New York Chautauqua this summer. I recorded the presentation “The History of Toilet Paper and SUCH!” (the Chautauqua folks renamed it “The History of Toilette Paper” – I guess that sounds more high brow) back in early June in Georgia. One segment of the presentation was recorded in an outhouse near Duluth, Georgia. The main presentation was recorded in a large meeting room at the FFA Center in Covington, Georgia. It is somewhat challenging speaking to an empty room with only the cameraman (Legend of Micah) in attendance. But what I missed the most was interacting with people after the presentation. If you want to see what the Chautauquan Daily said prior to the presentation or want to view the outhouse segment just go to this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PSkX3aWpQmPRr5IEdFuXW6wkEOaNzt5z/view?usp=sharing

It was a joy to make a presentation to a live audience for a change. And it was fun educating those at the Fountain Park Chautauqua in Indiana about the history of toilet paper and all the other items used for wiping purposes down through history. In the July 20 presentation, I showed an image of a toilet paper holder (see below) that was patented by Seth Wheeler of Albany, NY in 1884.

After the presentation, a gentleman approached me and asked if I would come to his cottage. He wanted to show me something. His cabin was probably 100 years old. When I got there he showed me his toilet paper holder (see below). It was made by Seth Wheeler’s company.

It was a pleasure speaking to a group of graduate students at the University of Missouri recently about the history of land grant colleges. I wish I could have made the presentation live instead of over ZOOM but it worked out. The establishment of land grant colleges in 1862 was one of the best things that has happened to higher education in America.

While I enjoy making presentations in person, using ZOOM technology is not that bad. I have recently spoken to two groups using ZOOM. In mid-April, I spoke to a cadre of younger professionals in career and technical education who are in a leadership program sponsored by the ECMC Foundation CTE Research Fellows Program. I spoke about Career and Technical Education in a Changing World: A History.

Last week I spoke to the Rotary Club of West Raleigh via ZOOM. There were about 50 people who were online. The title of my presentation was “Some Thoughts About the Toilet Paper Shortage.” I think the audience was surprised to learn the current COVID-19 toilet paper shortage is actually the 3rd toilet paper shortage in America since the 1970s. The audience asked some very good questions.

My last posting was about some of the diverse audiences I have addressed. This posting is about no audiences. Because of the pandemic created by the COVID-19 virus, six presentations that were to have occurred in March and April were canceled. They will be rescheduled at a later date or as virtual presentations. I was supposed to speak in San Francisco on April 15 but that will now be a ZOOM presentation. I have used ZOOM before to speak to classes at various universities, so it should not be a problem.

The one benefit of the pandemic is there is a lot of new material for a presentation I am scheduled to make at the New York Chautauqua and the Fountain Park (IN) Chautauqua this summer. The presentation title is “The History of Toilet Paper and SUCH!” We had agreed to this topic last summer. It is now a very timely topic. The photo below is just one example of the new material that will be added to this presentation. And yes, corn cobs have been used as toilet paper in the past.

One of the interesting things about being a speaker is the diversity of the audiences to which I speak and the diversity of the locations where I speak. Today I spoke to a group of 4-H agents who work in the Northeast section of North Carolina. This group is relatively young. The topic was about balancing work and family and we met in the Farmers Market Building in Rocky Mount, NC. That facility doesn’t get much use at this time of the year.

Last week I spoke in the Memory-Care Unit of the Rosewood Health Care facility which is a part of The Cyprus Retirement Community. We met in the Activity Center and most of the audience sat in wheelchairs or on walkers. The Rosewood schedules a variety of activities designed to enhance and maintain cognitive processes. I spoke about Rosenwald Schools and was pleased with the amount of interaction I had with this audience.

These two groups were very different.

I don’t know if there is a real Margaritaville but I spent the weekend at the Margaritaville Lake Resort in Missouri on the Lake of the Ozarks. The occasion was the state meeting of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Ranchers Conference. There were over 500 people in attendance. It was a real treat to interact with the future of American agriculture. My keynote address was “Live Like You Were Dying: Balancing Work and Family.”