Robin Wheelus chosen as Educator of the Year by Texas Parks & Wildlife

Devine Ag teacher Robin Wheelus was honored at the annual FFA Banquet as the recipient of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Professional Educator of the Year award.

Devine High School Ag Teacher Robin Wheelus was awarded the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Professional Educator of the Year Award (2017) at this year’s annual FFA Banquet last Friday, May 5, 2017.
“This honor was totally unexpected,” said Mr. Wheelus. “There are several thousand professional educators in the state that do a great job educating our Texas youth & adults in the various Outdoor Education Programs through Texas Parks & Wildlife. My main purpose as an educator of all of these programs is to teach the students to become ethical stewards of conservation & management of our wildlife & natural resources. That might sound like a line out of a textbook, but it is the truth.”
“I grew up hunting, trapping, and fishing and still do today. Some of my most memorable life experiences have been hunting, trapping, and fishing with family, friends, or by myself. It’s a great way to fellowship”.
If we don’t take the time to educate our youth to be safe, knowledgeable outdoor sporting people, we could see a major loss of our Texas wildlife species & resources as well as rights to hunt, trap, and fish. I’m just proud to be able to serve in whatever capacity I can in this so important of a task.”
Wheelus has been a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Instructor for 17 years and is currently a Master Instructor in Hunter Education.
The courses he implements in his school day into his Wildlife, Fisheries, & Ecology high school classrooms are: Hunter Education Certification course, Boater Education Certification course, Bowhunter Education Certification course, NASP Archery course, Master Angler course, and Trapper Education course. The certification courses are lifetime, so what a great deal for the students!
“We have students that are competitive through our FFA Chapter in Shooting Sports (Sporting Clays & Trap) & NASP Archery at the State & National levels,” he said. “We also have students that get involved in trapping and have received scholarships through the Texas Trappers & Fur Hunters Association. These are direct examples of the student’s applying what they have learned in the courses & classroom.”
Besides being an Ag Science Teacher & Dual Credit Adjunct Professor in Welding at Devine High School, Wheelus also serves in the Texas Trappers & Fur Hunters Association as: District 5 Director (southern 45 Counties of the State), Chairman of the Scholarship Committee, Bylaws Committee, and active at the State and National levels.