Celebrating FFA Week

February 20-27 marks National Future Farmers of America Week. I have such pride in former students who are involved in ag education in Oklahoma. This blog post honors them as well as other friends who are serving in this field to keep an emphasis on a challenging lifestyle but one of the best that a family can embrace.

More Than an Ag Teacher

                At the Ralston Biennial High School Alumni Banquet in early September of 2015, I sat next to Mr. and Mrs. Gene Mohon during the meal. Mr. Mohon (I cannot bring myself to call him “Gene.”) served as the ag educator and FFA advisor at the Ralston High School.

                Many RHS alums could attest to the influence that Mr. Mohon had on their adolescent development.  Yet it seems upon reaching our 50s and 60s, we realize even more the significance of his positive impact during those years of our lives.

                I never enrolled in any of the courses he taught. Neither was I a member of Future Farmers of America chapter in our small high school. During the alumni dinner, I told Mr. Mohon, since beginning to care for my parents’ small cattle herd, how frequently  I have wished I had taken some of his classes. Maybe I wouldn't feel like such a greenhand!

                As the title of this blog post indicates, Mr. Mohon was more than an ag teacher. His family and my family were members of the Ralston Baptist Church. He held the position of church treasurer while he lived in Ralston. As an adult, I understand more fully the demands of that job in the church – bills to pay on time, a budget to balance, and a monthly accounting to the other members.

                At that time in our church, each Sunday evening, we had a Bible study time called “Training Union.” Not only did Mr. Mohon teach a full slate of ag-related courses at the high school, help some local farmers on the weekends, and manage the church’s money,  but each Sunday evening, he faithfully taught a Bible lesson for high school-aged students.

Mr. Mohon’s commitment to his job of molding young lives in the school system reinforced a strong work ethic and integrity that permeated our community. His dedication to teach godly principles in the church training class undergirded the spiritual beliefs our parents were instilling in us. I don’t think any of us comprehended the power of men and women of character who built into our lives qualities that would affect our choices for almost a half century.

Even though many decades separate us from the 1970s at Ralston, Oklahoma, good people living lives of quiet, but influential behavior are needed as much as ever. No matter our age, may we aspire to a life that possesses a vibrant faith in God who desires to successfully direct lives of individuals. Then we will exemplify a lifestyle of honestly dealing with others every day in the way we would want to be treated. This is what  Mr. Mohon was trying to teach and did quite effectively.

FFA Members of the classes of 1974 and 1975 in attendance at the RHS Alumni Banquet
L to R: Jody Denney, Bill Harry, Mike Mitchell, Mr. Gene Mohon, Branden Whannel, Rick Rice,
Mike Hightower, Vickie Renfro Denney, and Lora Kitchen Taylor.