Tennessee’s FFA program is among the top five largest in the nation and new state leaders are in place at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) to ensure the program remains strong.
“Youth agricultural education is a priority for TDA,” Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “We are proud to be a part of the early agricultural experiences that FFA provides to help Tennessee develop our future ag industry leaders. The FFA leadership team at TDA is in place and already working with students, teachers, and stakeholders to bolster FFA programs.”
FFA is a youth organization that develops personal growth and leadership skills for its members and prepares them for success in a broad range of agricultural career pathways. TDA’s State FFA leaders focus on learning activities outside the classroom including competitions and events. The team also designs and facilitates immersive Supervised Agricultural Experience programs.
The team includes FFA State Director Ryan Inman, Middle Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinators Terra Davis and Summer Major, West Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinator Josh Eason, and East Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinator Stena Meadows.
Ryan Inman directs FFA programming for 220 chapters representing more than 30,000 members statewide. Inman previously served with the Tennessee Department of Education as the Tennessee FFA Executive Secretary where he implemented statewide events such as State Convention and Tennessee State Fair competitions.
Prior to joining state service, Inman was an agricultural teacher and FFA Advisor for 11 years, serving at South Gibson County High School, Dyersburg High School, and Henry County High School. Under his leadership, the FFA chapters experienced exponential growth and his programs achieved numerous national and state honors and recognitions including five National Chapter Award Three Star Ratings and three National Chapter Award Two Star Ratings. In addition to outstanding chapter and team awards, many of Inman’s students were selected as regional and state officers, and even more earned proficiency honors and state degrees.
During his tenure as an educator, Inman was honored with awards from the National Association of Agricultural Educators and the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators, awarded the West Tennessee Outstanding Teacher and twice recognized as Tennessee’s Agricultural Education Outstanding Teacher.
Middle Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinator Terra Davis was an agricultural educator and FFA Advisor at Cumberland County High School for nine years and before that, she served as the 4-H Youth Development Agent with the University of Tennessee Extension in Warren County.
Davis was named the 2020-2021 Outstanding Agricultural Teacher by the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators and awarded the Region V Outstanding Early Career Teacher in 2021 by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. She received the Tennessee Young Farmers and Ranchers Outstanding Young Woman award in 2021 from Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation.
Summer Major is also a Middle Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinator. Major returned to her alma mater Lebanon High School as an agricultural educator and FFA Advisor for 16 years. She was named the 2018 and 2021 Outstanding Agricultural Teacher for Middle Tennessee by the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators. Major is a member of the Tennessee FFA Alumni and Lebanon FFA Alumni as well as a member of the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators, National Association of Agricultural Educators, and served as secretary and treasurer of Tennessee Holstein Association.
Josh Eason is the West Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinator. He worked as an agricultural teacher and FFA Advisor for nearly 16 years at Riverside High School in Decatur County and for six years at Scotts Hill High School in Henderson County. He also coached FFA member teams to compete at state and national levels in leadership development events and career development events. For more than 10 years, Eason served the West Tennessee FFA Region in various capacities.
The East Tennessee FFA Regional Coordinator is Stena Meadows. She comes to TDA from the Tennessee Department of Education where she was a FFA Regional Youth Consultant for seven years. Meadows was previously an agricultural education teacher and FFA Advisor for 15 years, serving in Washington and Greene Counties.
Her achievements include the 2020 Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Mentor award and the 2021 National Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Teacher Mentor award.
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