Barren County FFA

The Shirley family has a long history with WKU. Their legacy began with Steve Carroll Shirley, who is a native of Fountain Run, Kentucky. He came to the Hill to study in the pre-pharmacy program before earning his pharmacy degree from UK. Steve has since become a prolific businessman, owning or partnering in a variety of private businesses including R&S Northeast, Mammoth Medical, AvKare, Inc., APACE Packaging, KLAS Properties, SAK Properties, LLC, and Double S Simmentals. Steve is married to Leisa A. Shirley. Leisa helps run the family farm located in Fountain Run. Steve and Leisa have two children, Kyle Shirley and Karol Ann Hoffman.

Karol Ann continued the WKU legacy and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. She previously worked as a Registered Nurse at Greenville Hospital and now works with vendor relations through AvKare, Inc. Her husband, Adam Neal Hoffman, is also a graduate of WKU, having earned a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in 2007. Adam is the current president of KLAS Properties, Inc., an investment company located in Kentucky. Adam and Karol Ann have two sons, Reid and Grant Hoffman.

To further give back to the university, Steve, Leisa, Karol Ann, and Neal established the Barren County Family FFA Scholarship Fund. The fund serves to assist WKU students who were active FFA members in Barren County, like Karol Ann had been in her high school days. Through this fund, the Shirley and Hoffman families’ legacy at WKU continues in perpetuity.