Charles City’s Lundberg honored as finalist for ag educator of the year

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

After more than 36 years of teaching in Charles City, not many things surprise Jim Lundberg.

But he was surprised on Friday.

“I have no idea how you guys pulled this off,” Lundberg said. “I had no idea something was going on until all you guys walked in.”

Lundberg, an agricultural teacher at Charles City High School, has honored Friday afternoon as a finalist for the 2019-2020 Ag Educator of the Year honor, through the Nationwide Insurance Golden Owl Award.

Local Nationwide Insurance agent Pete Kloberdanz presented the award to Lundberg. As a finalist, Lundberg was handed a $500 cash prize and plaque in front of fellow teachers, administrators and FFA students.

He is now a finalist for Iowa’s Ag Educator of the Year, to be announced at the Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference in April. The winner will receive a Golden Owl Award trophy and $3,000 to help fund future educational efforts.

“For 37 years, I’ve been coming into work every day really not knowing what I’m doing, just making it up as I go along” Lundberg joked. “I really do make it up every day, but whatever it is I do, I appreciate you guys recognizing it.”

Also on hand for the presentation was Ron Zelle of the Iowa FFA Foundation, who is a retired ag teacher, hired at Nashua-Plainfield the same year Lundberg was hired at Charles City.

“This is an annual award program, and this is one that is for one of the most outstanding ag teachers in the state of Iowa,” Zelle said.

Others at the event included Matt Eddy, a consultant for the Iowa Department of Education, FFA representative Josh Remington  and Nationwide representative Steve Ferreira, who read aloud from recommendations he had received from teachers, parents and students written on Lundberg’s behalf.

“Jim has been teaching high school agriculture for over 36 years, and in that time he’s impacted the lives of thousands of students,” Ferreira said. “He works tirelessly to help students, whether it’s in the classroom or through the FFA.”

Ferreira said that Lundberg’s impact is not just limited to school, and described him as a “community leader” who many look to for guidance.

“He has been a role model, with his own volunteerism, and has helped many students achieve their American Degree in our system,” Ferreira said a parent had written. “He shares his time and talent every year and is instrumental at our county and state fairs.”

Nationwide Insurance established the Golden Owl Award in 2018 to honor contributions of Iowa and Ohio agriculture teachers and the importance of agricultural education for future industry leaders. The 2019-2020 Golden Owl Award was expanded to include California, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania. ­Nationwide is also investing $5,000 in each participating state’s FFA organization to further support aspiring agriculture professionals.

“This annual award recognizes outstanding Iowa ag educators for their tremendous contributions in preparing the next generation of young people for successful careers in ag,” Kloberdanz said.

Lundberg’s nomination was picked out of more than 1,000. Nationwide will honor 32 teachers across the five states throughout January and March. This spring, one finalist from each state will be chosen as a grand-prize winner based on additional review by a selection committee.

The award was presented to Lundberg in the industrial tech classrooms at CCHS. Lundberg was sitting in as an advisor to a student FFA meeting, and wasn’t aware he was going to be receiving an award.

“I love my job, I love the people I work with and I love this school district,” Lundberg said. “It’s worked out very well. Thank you to everyone who had a part in this.”

CCHS Principal Bryan Jurrens said that the recognition is well-deserved for Lundberg, and that he was honored to work with such an outstanding educator.