The FFA Distinguished Service Award honors individuals who have made a lasting impact on their university, community or professional field. Recipients are recognized for their leadership, dedication and meaningful contributions, with specific awards presented across various colleges and departments, including the College of Health and Human Sciences and the College of Agriculture.
This year, two outstanding individuals, Tony Carrell of Extension and Gary Steinhardt, professor of agronomy, were honored with this prestigious award in recognition of their decades of service and dedication to agricultural education and youth development through Purdue Extension and Indiana FFA.
Tony Carrell’s career began in the classroom, teaching agricultural education at Southmont and Mooresville high schools. His leadership more than doubled membership in the Mooresville FFA chapter and earned him a term as president of the Indiana Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association.
Following his classroom success, Carrell transitioned to Purdue Extension, serving as a 4-H youth Extension educator in Boone County before stepping into his current role as Indiana 4-H youth development Extension specialist in 2012. His passion for youth programs has made him a driving force behind countless Indiana 4-H and FFA career development events. Carrell is known for his strong collaboration with Indiana FFA state staff and agricultural educators statewide, working tirelessly to support high-quality programming that benefits thousands of young people each year.
Gary Steinhardt began his tenure at Purdue University in 1976 and has spent nearly five decades advancing agronomy education and supporting Indiana FFA. As the longtime coordinator of the Soils Evaluation Career Development Event, he has led the organization of all 12 area contests and the state-level event multiple times. His efforts have also extended to planning and officiating soils judging invitationals at both Purdue and Vincennes universities.
A respected author and educator, Dr. Steinhardt has written multiple editions of Indiana’s soils evaluation manuals, widely used by FFA members throughout the state. His retirement in May 2025 marked the conclusion of a remarkable 50-year career dedicated to teaching, mentoring and enhancing agricultural education in Indiana.
Both honorees exemplify the mission and impact of the Distinguished Service Award through their steadfast commitment to educating and empowering Indiana’s agricultural youth. Their leadership and service have left a profound legacy on Extension, FFA and the broader academic community.
Thank you to those who have had to report incidents. Your timely response is sincerely appreciated. The goal, in reporting incidents, is once everyone is safe and medical attention (if needed) has been provided and within 24 hours.
A reminder that it is simplest to report an incident directly in POMP-X. (You can do this from your phone.) If you need to utilize a paper form, please use the latest version of the Risk Management Incident Report Form (RM27) found on the Youth Protection page on the Extension Hub.
There will be a brief Youth Protection Update Training webinar coming out in August for field staff Extension. It will have information on how to copy an event for the annual County 4-H Program Registration, due September 1!