H
e dedicated four decades of his life
to us, the California FFA Association.
Here is his story…
Mr. Robert Heuvel graduated from Ripon High School in 1969 and
attended Modesto Junior College until 1972. He then transferred to
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo to major in Agriculture
Business. During his time at Cal Poly, Mr. Heuvel realized that he wanted
to combine his love of agriculture with his desire to teach. In 1974, Mr.
Heuvel completed his student teaching assignment at Madera High School
and earned his Agriculture Education credential.
Mr. Heuvel accepted his first teaching position at Gonzales High School
in the South Coast Region in 1974. He remained at Gonzales High School
for the next six years, turning a small, rural department into a highly successful
agriculture program along the way. Mr. Heuvel coached numerous judging
teams during his time at Gonzales High School. He helped students win a
total of six State Championship titles during those six years – four in Vegetable
Crops and two more in Farm Records. Mr. Heuvel assisted 24 students in
earning their State FFA Degrees, three of which went on to earn the American
FFA Degree.
Mr. Heuvel was honored as the Regional Star State Advisor in the South
Coast Region and went on to win the State Star Advisor award given by the
California FFA Association in 1979. In 1980, Mr. Heuvel was honored
by the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association when he won the
“Outstanding Young Teacher” award.
The next venture that Mr. Heuvel embarked on was joining the agriculture
staff at Kings River Community College (now known as Reedley College)
in the fall of 1980. Mr. Heuvel was instrumental in establishing the first
computer lab within the Agriculture Department. He taught basic computer
skills to community college students during the time when computers were just
becoming mainstream and used within business and industry.
8
California FFANEWS • Fall 2014
After
making
a significant
impact in the
agriculture program
at Kings River Community
College, Mr. Heuvel joined the State
Agriculture Education staff in 1986. At the time, California was divided into
seven FFA regions. ]