More than 15 retired agriculture teachers from across the Palmetto State gathered here on the campus of the Governor’s School for an emotional reunion on Thursday, August 11 – their first such get-together since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

United in their love of farming and teaching, these veterans of the fields and classrooms of South Carolina’s high school ag programs shared memories, laughed and teased each other, and marveled at the progress made here at John de la Howe in the past two years. Among those gathered for the reunion was Hugh Bland of Edgefield, a retired ag teacher at Strom Thurmond High School and Piedmont Technical College who serves as chairman of the Governor’s School Board of Trustees.

"It just makes me proud that they can see where we are and where we’re going with this. It’s an exciting time," Mr. Bland said. "I think everybody likes what they’ve seen and are surprised at some of the things they’ve seen. For those of us who started this thing, who took this program over, it’s surprising how fast everything has come into shape here."

Mr. Bland was joined by Timothy Keown, president of the Governor’s School for Agriculture, in welcoming the reunion to the campus. For Mr. Keown, the event offered an emotional reunion with one of his personal mentors, retired ag teacher Jay Copeland.

"These teachers that you see right here almost raised me in agricultural education," Mr. Keown said. "I’m super excited to see this group here. I bet if we did the math there’s probably over 1,000 years of dedication to South Carolina public education, FFA and agricultural education in this room. Everything we have designed here – curriculum-wise, residential-wise, SAE-wise – is built on the foundation of what these teachers have done before me and us."

After a brief presentation on the history of this 225-year-old campus, Mr. Keown climbed behind the wheel of one of the school’s buses and gave a personal tour of the 1,310-acre farm. After the tour, the retirees settled in for lunch in the school cafeteria.

There, the entire student body and our current staff of ag teachers at John de la Howe greeted the educators and later joined in an impromptu birthday celebration for Mr. Copeland, complete with cake.

Among the guests in attendance was Troy Helms, State Director of South Carolina Agricultural Education at the Clemson University Cooperative Extension. He offered the retirees a status report on the current condition of agriculture education in the Palmetto State and stressed the need to continue recruiting and growing new crops of dedicated young ag teachers to serve in classrooms and greenhouses across the state.

Looking around the room at the veteran teachers sharing fellowship, Mr. Helms noted that "the amount of experience that we have with these teachers is just overwhelming," and the quest for additional qualified ag teachers to fill their shoes remains an ongoing challenge.

Teaching agriculture in South Carolina high schools and colleges is a vital part of the future quality of life in this state and across America, he said.

"They’ve been boots on the ground for many years in their local communities and local high schools, and their branches are still spreading across the state through teachers they have produced in their classrooms that are now producing future teachers as well," Mr. Helms said. "To have a strong ag program, you’ve got to have the support of the community, but you’ve got to be there also to support those that are in the community – whether it’s through adult education, through your classroom or just seeing them out in the community sharing those experiences with their community members."

Maybe, just maybe, the next generation of great ag teachers for the Palmetto State is being trained up for the challenge right here right now on the campus of the Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe. Only time will tell.