Jackie (Jack) Dean Staats was born Dec. 15,1951 to Clarence Wilbur (Mike) and Majel Staats and grew up primarily on a farm and ranch located between Laverne and Buffalo. He served as President of the Junior Class and President of the Laverne FFA chapter his junior and senior years. He was involved in all of the sports and enjoyed immensely singing solos in the choir. He had the leading role in a musical and was torn between majoring in vocal music or agriculture. The impact of his ag ed instructor, Fred Shultz, won out in the end and was instrumental in his decision to major in Agricultural Education.
Staats enrolled at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in the fall of 1969. He served as President of the Freshman and Sophomore classes and was a member of the Livestock Judging Team and the Rodeo team at Panhandle. Because at the time Panhandle did not offer an AGED degree, Staats transferred to Oklahoma State University in the fall of 1971. He did his student teaching at Drummond High School, under the direction of Avel Henneke. Upon graduation, Staats interviewed and was selected to begin his Ag teaching career at Freedom High School.
Staats served as an agricultural education instructor and FFA adviser for three years at Freedom (1973-76), one year at Buffalo (1976-77), and then finally with the opportunity to start a two-teacher program with longtime friend, Glen Elliott, spent 30 wonderful years at Alva High School. After eight years of teaching with Elliott, Elliott moved, and the chapter went back to a single department for five years. The program again expanded, and a two-teacher program was introduced and developed with Randy Nation until the end of Staats’s Ag teaching career in June of 2007. However, the most important event of his life was meeting his wife, Delana (Loni) Blackwell and marrying her in 1980. His wife was not only a great partner, but also blessed their family with three children Colby, Chelsea, and Ciera.
At the completion of his Ag teaching career, Staats, interviewed and was hired as the State Supervisor of Agricultural Education and the Oklahoma State FFA Advisor from 2007-2020. Staats was most proud in either helping create or promoting programs such as Blue Coats to White Coats with OSU Medical School, AET recordkeeping system, FFA affiliated membership, national proficiency award participation, and agriscience research participation. Further, he worked to uphold the rights and privileges of Agricultural Education teachers at all levels and to uphold the rules and regulations of the Oklahoma Department of CareerTech. Upon retirement in 2020, Staats finished his career serving as the William Donald Campbell Family Endowed Chair Professor of Agricultural Education at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Honors include Oklahoma and National FFA VIP; Oklahoma Youth Expo and Tulsa State Fair Show Honoree; National Association of Supervisors in Agricultural Education Outstanding State Supervisor, Central Region Vice President, National President; National Association of Agricultural Educators Lifetime Achievement Award; OAETA District Vice-President, State President; OAETA Teacher of the Year; OKACTE Agricultural Education Teacher of the Year; State President of OKACTE; Inspiration Award Oklahoma Panhandle State University; and Outstanding NVATA Teacher of the Year Award.
Staats judged several county, district, and state livestock shows and continually worked with youth. He loved his family very much and was so proud of his children and grandchildren. Staats always said, “Regardless of the situation, always surround yourself with good people, and they will make you better than you ever believed you could be — that being family, friends, or co-workers.”
He was honored to represent Agricultural Education and be inducted into the CareerTech Hall of Fame in 2024.
