NAAE, like any other organization, is composed of its members – a diverse base of individuals that come together and unite in a common cause.  Members are true professionals that believe in themselves and their profession enough to work for it beyond their own domain, unite with others for mutual benefit, and seek improvement for the entire profession.  Members are professionals like you who share in a simple philosophy of "service over self."   If we did not share in this core basic belief, we would not be involved in agricultural education.

Each of us hold unique positions in agricultural education and in our students’ formal public education.  As such, we take all people who enter our programs as they are and we attempt to ensure that each exits as an educated person and a prepared citizen.  We know that our students are asked to survive in a world that is increasingly complex, where change is the rule rather than the exception.  Change does not always come easily.  We, as instructors, are faced with the challenges of change on a daily basis – change that effects us as we continue to improve the lives of the students and communities that we serve.

Change and challenges face all organizations. Those of us in agricultural education have always taken pride in directing our own destiny in preparing for the future.  The NAAE is the organization of agricultural educators dedicated to working for the professional development of our membership and the diverse populations we serve in challenging times.

As an officer of NAAE I have been asked: "What does this organization do for me?"  Each NAAE board member can always answer with all of the tangible responses, but these are only the tangibles.  It is the intangible benefits that NAAE membership brings that are of the highest true value.  Intangible benefits include: an immeasurable wealth of information that adds to our well being as a professional; and a chance to network with, meet with, and to gather with other professionals, like ourselves, who look to the future of agricultural education with optimism.

The NAAE board of directors is optimistic about the future of agricultural education and our professional organization.   We continue to believe that our organization must remain financially stable, focused on our mission, and prepared for the future; that NAAE must actively recruit, retain and reward quality individuals to teach agriculture and participate in our professional organization at all levels; that no person or group should be left behind; that we must establish a proactive legislative agenda, an agenda that will allow NAAE and state associations to make a positive impact on all levels of legislative involvement; and that NAAE must continue to provide diverse opportunities for personal development and professional growth, while ensuring ongoing membership services to each member.

How can NAAE continue to be a viable force in agriculture education if it doesn’t represent all agricultural education professionals at all levels?  At NAAE, we simply believe in the value of each member of our professional organization and the power to get things done that we can only do together.  "The value of one, the power of all!"  We are truly a family of professional educators working together within the agriculture industry to improve agriculture and ag education.  Join with us today as we together chart the course of "Our Profession . . . Our Future."