Mary Kane, who has served as the Kansas FFA Association executive secretary for more than 30 years, was recently recognized by the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education (NASEA) as the 2023 Outstanding Executive Secretary.

NASEA presents five awards annually, including Outstanding Executive Secretary, Outstanding State Supervisor, Outstanding New Member, Outstanding State Staff and an Innovation Award.

The announcement of Kane being named the NASEA 2023 Outstanding Executive Secretary was made during the 2023 NASAE Conference from Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“It is an honor long overdue and an incredible testament to her dedication to Kansas FFA members and agricultural education professionals not only in Kansas but across the nation,” the Kansas FFA Foundation wrote on its Facebook page, “Job well done.”

Kane is responsible for the majority of Kansas FFA activities, including state officer coordination and training, state FFA contests and award programs, said Guy Shoulders, agriculture education program consultant and state FFA adviser for the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). Kane also plans and coordinates the annual state FFA Convention and facilitates leadership training opportunities for FFA members throughout the state.

Kansas FFA members also were in Indianapolis on Nov. 1-4 for the 96^th annual National FFA Convention and Expo. Several Kansas students were honored during the event, including:

• Noah Wiley, of the Labette County FFA Chapter, who was named the national winner of the Grain Production Proficiency Award. Wiley’s work-based learning is his supervised agricultural experience through FFA. He works at a 2,000-acre farm, where he grows corn and winter wheat. He is tasked with routine maintenance, including changing belts, fluids, bearings and hoses, as well as those requiring high-level skills of rebuilding an entire planter from the ground up. Wiley also operates the planter, grain drill, combine and grain cart. His FFA advisers are Kyle Zwahlen, Keith Geren and Dustin Wiley.
• Maria Cibrian Vazquez, of the Uniontown FFA Chapter, who was named the national champion in the invitational FFA Spanish Creed Public Speaking contest. She competed against 38 students from 20 states performing the FFA Creed and answering questions in Spanish. Vazques will go down in history as the first-ever winner because this was the inaugural year for the event. Her FFA adviser is Scott Sutton.
• Tucker Leck, of the Neodesha FFA Chapter, was selected as a national finalist in the prestigious FFA Prepared Public Speaking contest. He advanced through three rounds of competition delivering his speech, “Feeding the World and Fueling Democracy,” and answering impromptu questions from judges to test his knowledge on the subject. Leck reached the final four and was recognized as a gold emblem winner. He also was a national finalist in the FFA Creed Speaking contest. His FFA adviser is Emma Lehmann.

Watch for a complete list of national winners at a later date.