By Allison Peck
Two Lincoln County agricultural education teachers are among 20 early-career educators receiving financial support through the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation.
Emily Kammerer and Trevor Mann are among this year’s recipients of the Dr. Allen G. and Kay L. Blezek Teacher Retention Award, which provides a combined $23,500 to agricultural education teachers across Nebraska.
The award is designed to support teachers during their first five years in the profession as they establish their careers in agricultural education and build FFA programs in their communities.
According to the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, the awards can be used for continued education, outstanding student loans and other needs as teachers establish themselves in the profession. Award amounts increase as recipients progress through their first five years of teaching.
“Early-career teachers are doing much more than teaching classes. They’re building FFA programs, developing relationships with families and communities, and helping students see a future for themselves in agriculture,” said Megahn Schafer, executive director of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation.
“We want talented educators to see a future for themselves here, too,” Schafer said. “This award helps ease some of the financial pressure that can come with those first years in the profession while recognizing the impact they’re already making.”
Kammerer and Mann are two of the 20 teachers receiving awards in 2026. Other recipients represent counties across Nebraska, including Banner, Platte, Hall, Washington, Custer, Jefferson, Nuckolls, Otoe, York, Cuming, Lancaster, Colfax, Valley, Blaine and Chase counties.
The teacher retention award is a longtime Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation program. It was renamed in recognition of an estate gift from Dr. Allen Blezek, who spent his career advancing agricultural education in Nebraska.
Blezek worked as an agricultural education teacher, served as the first director of the Nebraska LEAD program and was a founding member of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation board of directors.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation says the award program is intended to help retain agricultural educators while supporting the teachers who work with Nebraska students through classroom instruction and FFA programs.
The foundation's mission is to engage youth, educators and the general public in understanding the importance of agriculture to Nebraskans.