A Person You Should Know
This week's Person You Should Know is Phil Allen from Noble County. He is the agriculture teacher at Churubusco Jr.-Sr. High School.
Family: I'm married to my wife Kim. We have three children, a daughter, Darby, who is a junior studying animal science at Purdue. A son, Tate, who is a freshman at Purdue studying forestry and wildlife management, and our youngest, Tanner, is a junior at Churubusco High School.
My job: I am the agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor a Churubusco Jr.-Sr. High School. I've been teaching for 25 years, and this is my ninth year at Churubusco.
My mentor: My mentor would be my agriculture teacher from high school, Mr. Gary Sheller. I graduated from Cloverdale High School where I was very active in the agriculture classes and the FFA program. I participated in a variety of team and individual events and was a chapter and district officer. I absolutely enjoyed working with Mr. Sheller. He was highly motivated, fun and always pushed us to go farther and be better than we thought possible. It's because of him I'm doing what I do today.
What is something you enjoy most about being an agriculture teacher: I enjoy working with the students. I feed off their enthusiasm. When they get excited about a topic, or a judging contest, I do too. I've been blessed to have a great bunch of kids to work with in recent years. They have achieved more than they thought possible, and they have brought numerous individual and team awards back to Churubusco, including several state and national championships.
Life Motto/Quote: I enjoy quotes, and put a new one on my classroom board weekly. I really liked one I had on the board recently. It read: "Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning... Anyone can start over and make a new ending."—Chico Xavier
Hobbies: I've always been an outdoorsy kind of guy. I enjoy all aspects of camping and have had the opportunity to take many exciting trips. Also, hunting, fishing, hiking, etc. I also enjoy an occasional half marathon, or 5k race.
To nominate someone for this column, call or email Jerry Goshert (jerry@farmers-exchange.net), or courtney@farmers-exchange.net), associate editor. The telephone number for both editors is 574/831-2138.