By Matt Hoover
USD 475 Director of Communications
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. - The National FFA Organization announced this week that Junction City High School USD 475 FFA Chapter and agriculture teachers Laura Miller and Ashley Vahsholtz have been named National FFA Teacher Ambassadors for the 2026-27 school year.
Miller and Vahsholtz were named to the prestigious list along with 86 other teacher ambassadors, nationally, representing 37 states. The state of Kansas alone only had five total ambassadors named with Miller and Vahsholtz being two of the five. Finally, Miller is one of only 12 teachers, nation-wide, to be named as a mentor. In Kansas, Miller joins Royal Valley’s Kim Clark as the only other mentor.
National Teacher Ambassadors support more than 13,000 FFA advisors in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands during their year of service, which begins in June. This year’s cohort includes more than 20 additional ambassadors from the previous year, adding even more opportunities to train agriculture teachers through educational workshops and mentorship programs. Ambassadors are also relied on for their advice on FFA educational resources. Twelve of them have been named Teacher Ambassador Mentors due to their previous experience in this role.