Hunter Thomas Morton, agriculture teacher at the South Carolina Governor's School for Agriculture, was one of 33 agricultural educators nationwide who received the 2022 National Association of Agricultural Educators "Teachers Turn the Key" (TTTK) Scholarship Award, presented during the 2022 NAAE Convention, held November 29 through December 3 in Las Vegas.

The "Teachers Turn the Key" scholarship brings together agricultural educators with three to five years of experience and immerses them in five days of professional development that addresses issues specific to the early years of teaching agriculture. Participants also have the opportunity to become involved in NAAE leadership and network with other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK awardees come away from the experience with a long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will help them have successful careers as agricultural educators.

“We are extremely proud of Mr. Morton,” said Tim Keown, president of the Governor’s School for Agriculture. “His accomplishments in and out of the classroom are second to none. Being named the ‘Teacher Turn the Key’ winner for South Carolina puts him at the top of the state’s young agricultural educators. Mr. Morton has a bright future in his educational career, and this award is just the beginning.”

In addition to attending professional development, each of the TTTK scholarship recipients was also recognized at a general session during the NAAE convention.

"Mr. Morton is a well-deserving teacher," said principal Gregory Thompson. "He's worked extremely hard here, and he has exposed our kids to a lot of different opportunities in the world of agriculture. He's been very innovative, and he has the respect of his peers. He has done a lot of co-curricular teaching, where he has been in our core classes and made a lot of correlations to his ag classes. He has truly embraced our mission for the school."

NAAE is the professional organization for agricultural educators with more than 8,000 members nationwide. The organization advocates for agricultural education, provides advancement through professional development for agricultural educators, and works to recruit and retain agricultural educators in the profession. NAAE offers a variety of programs and services to support this three-pronged mission.

The mission of NAAE is “professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service.” NAAE is headquartered in Lexington, Ky.