Lincoln County Graduate Nick Carter Creates Endowment to Support Local Agricultural Education and FFA Program
"People want to give. They believe in the mission of FFA, and they believe in the town that brought them up. When you offer an opportunity to give locally, give sustainably, and have it managed in a professional way that will be beneficial for generations, they see their opportunity to do exactly what they’ve been wanting to do.”
- Sheldon McKinney, Kentucky FFA Foundation
A Hustonville High School alum is giving back in a big way to the program he says helped him find success in his career.

Nick Carter graduated from Hustonville High School in 1964. A Lincoln County farm boy, Carter naturally gravitated toward agriculture classes and FFA in high school. He was very involved, and held local and regional offices before serving as the state FFA sentinel. He also participated in many FFA contests like Parliamentary Procedure and Tractor Driving.

After college, Carter worked in various capacities within the coal industry, and at one time ran the nation’s largest mineral landholding company. He credits his farming background and his experiences in FFA for giving him the work ethic, leadership training, and confidence it took to be successful in business.

“All the training I received in FFA about how to communicate, manage meetings, give public speeches, and how to respond to others has been extremely helpful in my career,” said Carter. “Once I was given an opportunity to give back, it really became a passion of mine to help the Kentucky FFA Foundation raise as much money as we can to help as many kids as we can.”

In addition to being an annual donor to Kentucky FFA, Carter gives generously of his time. He serves on the Kentucky FFA Foundation Board of Directors, and regularly volunteers as a judge for FFA contests.

Recently, however, Carter decided to focus some of his generosity locally. He has committed $60,000 to the Kentucky FFA Foundation’s Forever Blue Endowment fund and stipulated that the dividends of that gift benefit the Lincoln County High School agriculture program and FFA chapter. Carter plans to continue to contribute to the Lincoln County endowment, and is working with other individuals and businesses from Lincoln County to grow the fund even more. He would like to see the fund reach $100,000.
Carter (center) spoke to the Lincoln County FFA Chapter during a recent club day.
“This is such a positive opportunity for us, and we are so appreciative of Mr. Carter,” said Harvey Franklin, one of the three agriculture teachers at Lincoln County High School.

“We’ve got a very diverse group of students involved in agriculture here,” he said. “We have a lot of good community support. We have always worked to make our program self-sufficient – through fruit sales, greenhouse sales – that sort of thing, but this is an amazing opportunity for a renewable gift that can pay some really big dividends.”

The agriculture teachers and Mr. Carter have discussed ideas for how the funds can be used to best benefit students. Providing opportunities for even more students to participate in leadership-building activities like conferences, contests, and public speaking events without a financial burden is a priority.
Carter with officers from the Lincoln County FFA Chapter's Junior Officer Team (1st picture) and Senior Officer Team (2nd picture).

Junior officers pictured are: (l-r) Adam Beckett, Gentry Osbourn, Keelee Baker, Maggie Bowman, Kalyn Peek, Anna-Beth Cook, Ellie Baker, and Maddy Funkhouser.

Senior Officers pictured are: (l-r) Savannah Hoseclaw, Trace Bowman, Melissa Pendleton, Abbie Cook, and Emily Harrington. Senior officers not pictured: Holden Stamper and Jacob Schuler.
“Nick Carter should be commended for leading the effort to give back in his hometown,” said Sheldon McKinney, the executive director of the Kentucky FFA Foundation.

The foundation created the Forever Blue Endowment fund to give donors like Carter a framework for making large gifts to benefit FFA, and direct those gifts to the local chapter or chapters of their choice.

“People want to give,” said McKinney. “They believe in the mission of FFA, and they believe in the town that brought them up. When you offer an opportunity to give locally, give sustainably, and have it managed in a professional way that will be beneficial for generations, they see their opportunity to do exactly what they’ve been wanting to do.”

“If you want to make an effective gift that will have a lasting impact on individuals and the community, a gift to assist an FFA member in leadership training, an SAE project, a trip to the state fair, or anything else, is a gift that will never be forgotten,” said Carter. “You will be personally rewarded and the community will benefit from it.”

If you are interested in starting an endowment as part of the Kentucky FFA Foundation's Forever Blue program, contact Sheldon McKinney at [email protected]
We're always happy to hear from you!
Sheldon McKinney
Executive Director [email protected]
606-782-4620
Emily Mitchell
Stewardship Coordinator
270-670-3621
Don't Forget About These Two Easy Ways to Support Kentucky FFA!
Support Kentucky FFA each time you shop on Amazon by using smile.amazon.com, and designating Kentucky FFA as your charitable recipient. Amazon will donate .05% of the purchase price on all eligible items at no additional cost to you.
Go to Kroger.com, and sign in. Go to "My Account," then choose community rewards and select Kentucky FFA as your organization. After that, each time you make a purchase using your Kroger Shopper's Card, Kroger will make a donation to the Kentucky FFA Foundation at no additional cost to you.
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