NY FFA GOLDEN OWL AWARD
Nominate an outstanding agricultural educator September 10 through December 15, 2026.
contest rules
New York FFA is proud to partner with Nationwide Insurance and New York Farm Bureau to offer the Golden Owl Award. The Golden Owl Award® allows us to also extend our support to agricultural educators who devote countless hours, and often their own resources, to positively impact the lives of their students.
With the Golden Owl Award, students, fellow teachers and other supporters can nominate their favorite agricultural teacher and summarize what makes him or her the best in their state. Nominees can win the distinction of being their state’s Agricultural Educator of the Year and the following prizes:
$500 and an engraved plaque to each honoree
$3,000 and the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy to each state’s grand prize winner (Agricultural Educator of the Year)
In conjunction with the Golden Owl Award, Nationwide is donating $5,000 to each participating state’s FFA to further support the personal and professional growth of students, teachers and advisors alike.
Following more than 4,900 nominations across 15 states for the 2025–2026 Golden Owl Award, Nationwide and its partners are proud to honor 107 educators as finalists. New York’s finalists were:
Robert Markuske, New York Harbor School
Rachel Rose, Greenville Central School
Lee Levine, Galway Central School
Nichole Cunningham, Sherburne‑Earlville Central School
Katie Lindsey, Mount Markham Central School
Rachael Howard, South Lewis Central School
Cheyenne Nowalk, McGraw Central School
Mary Coolbaugh, Marcus Whitman Central School
Kelly Wilcox, Letchworth Central School
Arissa Hitchcock, Randolph Central School
