Thanks to Cindy Greene for passing along the sad news about the death
of Mr. John Spence. I though that you might like to read the Hall of
Fame tribute to Mr. Spence. It is shown below:

When students in Bulloch County were asked who was known as the
"Father of the FFA," they would answer, "Mr. Johnny Spence." Mr.
Spence had become such a large part of agriculture in Bulloch County
that everyone thought of him this way. Mr. Spence was an icon in
agriculture in Bulloch County. He was a friendly man who cared about
his students and would visit his students during the summer, just to
check up on them.

Mr. Spence's teaching career lasted forty-three years. He first taught
at Cadwell in 1942. After leaving Cadwell, he went to teach at
Brooklet High School for a year. In 1943, he began teaching at Stilson
High School and ended there in 1948. That same year he went back to
Brooklet High School and taught until 1954. Soon after, he went to
teach at Southeast Bulloch High School and left in 1977. After leaving
Southeast Bulloch, he came back in 1980 and taught for three more
years.

Besides being an agriculture teacher, Mr. Spence served in many other
capacities during his career. He served as an Assistant Principal, an
American History teacher and a 7th grade teacher. Mr. Spence also
coached boys and girls basketball teams. Not only did he teach younger
people, but he also helped teach in the Farm Veterans Program and in
Adult/Veteran Agriculture classes.

Mr. Spence was very successful during his career. It was because of
this success that he received many prestigious honors. He received the
Georgia Planter Degree, the Honorary American Farmer Degree, the NVATA
Teacher of Teachers Silver Award, a citation for Distinguished Service
in Agriculture Education, and the NVATA 100% Membership Award. During
1972-1973 he served as GVATA Vice-President and was elected president
of GVATA the next year. In 1977, he received the GVATA 35 years of
service award, and he became a Life Member of the FFA Alumni
Association. Mr. Spence also received two Honorary State Farmer Awards
in 1986. Mr. Spence's students also succeeded under his supervision.
He had two students who received the American Farmer Degree while his
chapter won a National Gold Emblem Award, a State championship in
Livestock Judging and was a Bronze Emblem winner in the National FFA
Livestock Judging competition.



--
Frank B. Flanders, EdD
Agricultural Education
University of Georgia
216 Four Towers Building
Athens, GA   30602-4355
706 542 9043
FAX 706 542 9602
Map to Four Towers: http://aged.ces.uga.edu/four_towers.pdf
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Seventh Generation in Georgia Agriculture