Pitman Creek Wholesale Signs on as 5-Star Sponsor of Kentucky FFA Foundation

The ​Kentucky FFA Foundation announced today that Pitman Creek Wholesale has committed ,000 to provide FFA members across Kentucky with opportunities to develop as leaders and make a lasting impact in their communities and beyond.

Pitman Creek’s donation will support the State FFA Convention as well as fund SAE launch grants, which give FFA members seed money to start or expand an entrepreneurial project. It will also fund the production of videos highlighting Kentucky’s State Stars in Production, Agribusiness, and Placement. These awards are given annually to an FFA member who represents the best of the best in each category.

Headquartered in Stanford, Kentucky, Pitman Creek is the nation’s largest distributor of freshwater tackle, supplying retailers in all 50 states and several countries. The business is owned by James S. Coffey, who is also a personal supporter of Kentucky agriculture and the Kentucky FFA Foundation. His family’s farm, Branch View Angus, is a multi-generational Angus cattle seedstock operation that hosts Kentucky’s largest Angus sale each April, as well as a sale in October.

In 2023, Coffey and his wife, LuAnn, established a Forever Blue endowment fund that provides a direct annual gift to FFA chapters in Lincoln and Casey counties.

“We want to give kids the opportunity to get to do things they may not otherwise get to do,” said Coffey when he and LuAnn established their Forever Blue fund. “We want to give them the chance to have broader experiences.”

This new gift from Pitman Creek Wholesale is a continuation of that commitment.

“Pitman Creek is a business that has been very intentionally built in a way that honors its community and rural roots,” said Sheldon McKinney, executive director of the Kentucky FFA Foundation. “We are so pleased to partner with an organization that puts into action so many of the principles that we try to instill in our FFA members. We look forward to passing along his support to our members.”

Learn more about the 2026 Kentucky FFA State Stars

This year’s Kentucky FFA State Stars are Mallie Johnson from the South Laurel FFA Chapter, Cyrus Bivens from the LaRue County FFA Chapter, and Colton Hardy from the Apollo FFA Chapter. To learn more about each Star, watch their feature videos below.