Randy Lightfoot
Randy Lightfoot’s service as an advisor of an FFA Chapter and instructor of agriculture in a nation’s high school involves a variety of duties and opportunities; superior knowledge of farming-related and food industry subjects is a necessity. Equally important is the ability to lead students in learning and in performing various tasks.
Among these is participation in leadership activities and in contests related to the curriculum offered in the classes. FFA provides many opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities on the district, state and national levels. Among these opportunities are the Milk Quality and Products Career Development Event (CDE) in which Randy Lightfoot’s students have excelled. Members of the CDE team are commonly from the freshman high school class.
Lightfoot’s winning team in the April 2013 State Dairy Foods Contest, placed fourth in the National CDE in October 2013. Lightfoot’s daughter Miranda was a member of that team. He also coaches students in other professional development events, including Dairy Cattle judging teams, and he has donated his time faithfully as scorekeeper for the school’s basketball team.
Renee Sagaser, Superintendent of the Fair Play R-2 Schools, wrote the following: “Mr. Lightfoot has been the vocational agriculture instructor in our district for the last twenty-two years. He not only serves as a standard of what a vocational agriculture instructor should be, he exemplifies what an outstanding teacher should be. Mr. Lightfoot has served as a teacher leader for our professional development team for the last eight years. He is always willing to serve in any way the district needs his leadership and we know we can always count on him.
Lightfoot not only holds his students to a high standard; he holds himself to an even higher standard. This has resulted in our district receiving first place Dairy Foods team at the state level for the past ten years. Our teams have gone on to represent our state at the national level and have placed third once, second five times and have been the National Dairy Foods Team three times.
We believe because of his leadership, our students are challenged to perform their best in academics, competitions, community contributions, leadership and personal growth. You could not find a better teacher or a finer man than Randy Lightfoot. His countless hours have made a difference in many students’ lives. We cannot think of anyone who would be better to receive your honor of the Meritorious Service Award in the Dairy Hall of Honors than Randy Lightfoot.”
Phyllis Garrison, Counselor at Fair Play, wrote: “Mr. Lightfoot’s dedication and contribution to the dairy industry cannot be measured by the plaques and certificates on his wall. It is measured by the legacy of outstanding youth who are the product of his noble efforts.”
Cassy Farmer, a former student of Mr. Lightfoot and Principal at Dadeville R-2 School District wrote: “My life was forever changed as a freshman in 1992. An extraordinary Ag teacher took the time to invest in me. As freshmen, he taught my team about Dairy Foods, something we knew nothing about! We won districts that year and were the first team at Fair Play to go to state in this contest. …Mr. Lightfoot spent the next years of my high school career pushing me to be the best I could be. He taught me confidence to explore my ability to lead others, to be a part of a team and to work hard all of the time. Mr. Lightfoot encourages, motivates and helps his students to set and accomplish goals that are far beyond what he/she might think possible.”
It is with pleasure that the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors Foundation presents the 2013 Meritorious Service Award to Mr. Randy Lightfoot, Vocational Agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor of Fair Play R-2 High School, Fair Play, Missouri. Randy’s wife is Rachael and they have one daughter, Miranda.