CVATA Attracts 70+ Colorado Ag Educators

The Lamar Community College campus was abuzz on June 29 through July 1 as teachers from all over the state convened for the 2015 Colorado Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (CVATA) Summer Conference.  Over 70 agriculture educators attended the annual professional development conference, organized by the District 7 and 8 advisors as well as the CVATA leadership team.

The conference provided a wide variety of opportunities for professional development through hands-on activities, trainings, and roundtable workshops.  Individual teachers shared their expertise in classroom workshops covering topics like Fire Ecology, the Essential Features of an Inquiry Based Classroom, and even Trailer Variance Training and Certification Workshop including both instruction and a certification test.

In addition to professional development, conference attendees had the opportunity to tour Lamar and the surrounding area to explore career opportunities in the area related to the agriculture industry.  Tours included a variety of local businesses such as the wind farm, Colorado Beef, Dragon Enterprise, Cargill Beef, and CF Maier Composites.

Lance Jagers, agriculture teacher at McClave High School, was one of the individuals instrumental in bringing the conference to southeast Colorado.

“It is important that we have our professional development, but also that we are able to see all areas of the state and what each has to offer,” said Jagers.  “It’s great that these educators were able to visit southeast Colorado and see what all we have going on.  That’s the fun part about all this.”

The teachers also had a chance to kick back and have some fun.  On Tuesday night they attended the Colorado Young Farmers Pork Chop Dinner hosted by Lawrence and Tressa Brase at their home and co-sponsored by Riverside Farms.  Then, on Wednesday, the Lamar Elks Lodge hosted a Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry sponsored by DJ’s Fundraising.

The event organizers would like to express their gratitude to all area individuals and organizations that helped make the CVATA Summer Conference a success.

“We really appreciate LCC and their willingness to open their doors to us.  The facility made a great central location and having access to the Horse Barns and classrooms really worked well for the conference,” Jagers commented.  “And thank you to Cheryl Sanchez, Tori States, and Del Chase – they did a lot to help.  We are super thankful.”

About CVATA
The Colorado Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (CVATA) is a professional organization for agriculture science teachers and supporters of agriculture education. CVATA informs agriculture teachers about the latest agricultural education practices, encourages higher standards of teaching agriculture and provides agriculture education a unified voice in the state legislature.