Berrien County Teacher Honored By Farm Bureau

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A Berrien County teacher has been named as the Michigan Farm Bureau’s 2020 Educator of the Year. Steve Rigoni retired from Countryside Academy at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. He was nominated for the statewide honor by the Berrien County Farm Bureau, which says his lineup of courses included botany, zoology, agriculture, food science, natural resources, and wildlife management. Rigoni designed Countrysuide Academy’s educational barn, structuring the pens, water systems, lighting, temperature controls and storage to handle many livestock species throughout the school year, and he also led students through propagating flower and vegetable plants from seed, which the students later took home. Berrien County Farm Bureau President Ed Kretchman says Rigoni “has been a teacher, mentor, adviser and role model for his students.” He received the Michigan Farm Bureau’s Educator of the Year Award during its virtual recognition event on Monday.