the cattle show ring. In 2001, our FFA chapter was recognized by National FFA as the Outstanding Middle School Chapter in the nation. With great kids, supportive parents, and a teacher who believed in the kids, the program achieved more than many thought was possible from a program that had four ag teachers in four years prior to my hiring at the school. Not only did my time at Worth County Middle School bring me a sense of great accomplishment, it also brought me my best friend, my closest confidant and my biggest fan, my wife Kelly Young Rayfield! We were married in the fall of 2001. Little did she or I know of the adventures we had ahead of us. She has been by my side through thick and thin. We have moved from Georgia to Lubbock, TX, Lubbock to Raleigh, NC, Raleigh to College Station, TX and College Station back to Lubbock. It has been a heck of a ride and I thank God every day that she has been with me every step of the way. In 2002, I had the opportunity to move up to the high school ranks and teach at Lee County High School in Leesburg,
GA from 2002-2004. It was chance to build a program from ground up and while those two years didn’t garner the awards and accolades that my previous experiences did, I became a much stronger classroom teacher and program manager which were skills that served me well for the next phase of my career. In 2004, I was offered an assistantship to pursue my doctoral degree at Texas Tech University. Dr. Steve Fraze was my major professor and was also the superintendent of the National FFA Livestock Judging Contest. My dissertation research was on factors leading to success at the National FFA Livestock Judging Contest. Dr. Fraze was also responsible for getting me to join the National FFA Livestock Judging committee where I served as associate superintendent for eight years and as superintendent for three years. 2004 was a year of great change in the Rayfield household. I started my doctoral program, Kelly and I moved half way across the country, and our oldest daughter Karley was born. Being a poor graduate student, one of the only ways to make extra income was
to judge shows. I judged every county show and jackpot that I could to make ends meet. I started getting calls to judge more prestigious shows like the Fall Classic, the scramble heifer show at Houston and the Belt Buckle Bonanza. The time we spent in Lubbock while was working on my doctorate was pivotal in my judging career. After completing my doctorate in 2006, my first faculty role was at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. I worked with many amazing people at NC State and began shaping my career as a teacher educator. After three years in Raleigh, Texas A&M had an opening and Kelly and I really wanted to get back to Texas, especially if the girls were going to show livestock. Kendall, our youngest daughter was born right after we moved to College Station. We spent seven years in College Station and I had the opportunity to work with many great people. Dr. Chris Skaggs continues to be one of my best friends and mentors in the business. I had many amazing students like Clay Zwilling, Brant Poe, Jake Franke, and Joseph Rathmann to name a few. Texas A&M made me a much better faculty member and
I’m thankful for the experience I had there. In 2016, Dr. Steve Fraze
who was my major professor at Texas Tech was now the
department chair of the agricultural education and communications department. He informed me that he had an opening in agricultural education and that I should apply. The rest is history, we moved back to Lubbock in 2016 and I became the program coordinator for agricultural education. Lubbock is an awesome community and a great place to raise a family. Moving to Lubbock provided us the opportunity to expand our cattle showing enterprise which is how we as a family invest most daughter showed her first steer in 2013. We fed only one animal that year and had many obstacles to overcome. Karley showed “Leroy” extensively throughout the summer and fall. We took him to Ft. Worth only to make the lap her first time at Ft. Worth. It was a blessing in disguise, Leroy was reserve champion Polled Hereford steer at Houston. I can’t remember being more excited at any time in my of our spare time. Karley, our oldest
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