Exhibitors during the Alva Local Show, an adult showmanship competition.
Most FFA members agree some of the people who make the biggest impact on their lives are their agriculture teachers.
Whether a member is in a one-teacher or four-teacher program, agriculture teachers show us life skills, are part of our best memories and give us a love for agriculture. Randy Nation, a former Alva FFA agriculture teacher, was one of these people.
Meet Randy Nation
Nation taught at Alva High School from 1992 until his death in 2023. He is described as a humble man who always put others before himself.
“Nation impacted me specifically in his ability to be the quietest in the room but still gravitate the most attention,” says Avery McMurphy, the Alva FFA vice president.
Other FFA members reflect on times when he would go out of his way to check on their projects, how they did at shows and if their animals were getting proper care. Without his impact on FFA members, they would not have the skills and leadership capabilities they now have.
“He got me passionate about livestock judging, and that has opened so many doors for me,” says Alva FFA member Brady Lott.
Nation was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago, yet he continued doing what he loved most: teaching agriculture. His favorite activities were swine showing and livestock judging. Only days before his passing, he requested to attend the Oklahoma Youth Expo one last time.
Randy Nation
The Randy Nation Memorial Scholarship
After his passing, Alva FFA set up the Randy Nation Memorial Scholarship to award to an outstanding FFA member. The chapter put on an adult showmanship contest at the Alva Local Show in February to fund this scholarship. People could enter other adults for $15 (and pay to get out for $35), or it was $50 to enter permanently. FFA members let adults in the class use their pigs and more to show.
Overall, the showmanship contest had a good turnout, and substantial money was made to fund the scholarship. In May, the Randy Nation Memorial Scholarship was presented to Cristen Bosch, the 2023-24 Alva FFA president.
Nation impacted his students, peers and teaching partners in every aspect of FFA and life. Holding the adult showmanship competition served as a way to raise money for the Randy Nation Memorial Scholarship and remember Nation’s love for swine, FFA and his students.
