2009 Holstein Convention Highlights

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Board Elections

Larry Tande, Minnesota, was elected as the new Holstein Association USA President.

Elected to the office of Vice President was Chuck Worden, New York.

Re-elected to their second three-year term on the Holstein Association USA Board of Directors were Robert Nigh, Wisconsin, for Region 5 and Hank van Exel, California, for Region 9.

Elected to their first three-year term on the board are Bill Wright, Utah, for Region 8, and Jonathan Lamb, New York, for the At-Large position.

Retiring from the board of directors this year are President Doug Maddox, California, Glen Brown, Utah, and Tom Thorbahn, Ohio.

Junior Results

The six Distinguished Junior Member (DJM) finalists were named:

Robyn Bechtel, Pennsylvania
Danielle Brown, Wisconsin
Katie Donnan, New York
Matt Mitchell, Tennessee
Curtis Rhoderick, Maryland
Jenna Smith, Pennsylvania

Washington defeated New York in the Junior Dairy Bowl finals.

In the Senior Dairy Bowl competition, Iowa bested the team from California to claim the title.

Dairy Bowl sportsmanship awards went to the Delaware Junior team and the New York Senior team.

Three new youth area representatives were elected to the Junior Advisory Committee:

Area I - Parker Welch, Maryland
Area III - Elizabeth Olson, Minnesota
Area IV (one-year term) - Rocco Cunningham, California

The Junior Division Speech contest had 17 contestants. Winners were:

* 1st: Charlie Hamilton, Wisconsin
* 2nd: Collin Stoltzfus, Pennsylvania
* 3rd: Tony Lopes, California

The Intermediate Division Speech contest had 13 contestants as well. Winners were:

* 1st: Joseph Martinelli, New Jersey
* 2nd: Taylor Pires, California
* 3rd: Katherine Nye, Utah

In the Senior Division Speech contest, which had eight contestants, the winners were:

* 1st: Elizabeth Olson, Minnesota
* 2nd: Katie Hanehan, New York
* 3rd: Rosemary Liskey, Virginia

The Folding Display contest had 28 entries in three divisions. Winners included:

* 1st Junior: Cole Davis, North Carolina
* 1st Intermediate: Jessica Hammerand, Iowa
* 1st Senior: Kayla Demmer, Iowa

The state banner competition had 10 entries this year. Winners were:

* 1st : Illinois
* 2nd: California
* 3rd: Pennsylvania

States have the chance to showcase their state's activities in the annual scrapbook competition. This year's contest had eight quality entries:

* 1st: North Carolina
* 2nd: Iowa
* 3rd: Virginia

The Digital Scrapbook contest had seven entries. Iowa submitted the winning digital scrapbook.

Gold Nugget Gala Banquet

Jan and Jeff King, Kings-Ransom Farm, LLC, of Schuylerville, N.Y. were honored as the 2009 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders.

Dennis Wolff of Millville, Pa. received the 2009 Distinguished Leadership Award.

Robert Schauf, Indianhead Holsteins, of Barron, Wis. was recognized as the 2009 Elite Breeder Award recipient.

Thanks to the California Holstein Association for hosting an outstanding, fun-filled, productive National Holstein Convention and Annual Meeting.

Look for more Convention coverage in upcoming press releases and the Holstein Pulse.

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This morning started off with an Early Bird session, which featured a panel discussion on Genomics. Attendees heard insight from knowledgeable panelists and had the opportunity to ask questions.

Panelists included:

Angie Coburn,
Dairy Procurement Manager for Genex Cooperative

Greg Coyne,
Coyne Farms, Avon, N.Y.

Dr. Marj Faust,
Director of External Research for ABS Global

Bob LaSalle,
Slo-Train Holsteins, Firebaugh, Calif.

Pat Maddox,
RuAnn & Maddox Dairies, Riverdale, Calif.

Bill Peck,
Welcome Stock Farm, Schuylerville, N.Y.

The 2009 Holstein Association USA, Inc. Annual Meeting kicked-off today with reports from President Doug Maddox and Chief Executive Officer John M. Meyer. Chief Financial Officer Barbara Casna presented the 2008 financial report.

Constitution, Bylaws and Resolutions Committee Chair and Holstein Association USA board member Leroy Eggink presented the following proposal to amend the bylaws:

* Bylaw proposal #1, by President Doug Maddox on behalf of the board of directors, would authorize the board of directors to set policies to allow reuse of old, unused prefixes, and to permanently retire certain well-known prefixes from the past.

The offices of President and Vice President are up for election this year.
Elections will be held on Tuesday.

Candidates are:
	President	Larry Tande, Medford, Minn.
	Vice President	John Bierbuam, Burnsville, Minn. Tom Thorbahn, Vickery, Ohio Chuck Worden, Cassville, N.Y.

Candidates for the four Director positions addressed the delegates.

Candidates are:
	Region 5	Robert Nigh, Viroqua, Wis
	Region 8	Bill Stoltzfus, Buhl, Idaho and Bill Wright, McCornick, Utah
	Region 9	Hank van Exel, Lodi, Calif.
	At-Large	Dennis A. Areias, Los Banos, Calif. Thomas F. Atherton, Gaines, Mich. Jonathan Lamb, Oakfield, N.Y.

The eleven Herd of Excellence award winners were honored:

	Tim Baker Star Summit Holsteins, Byron Center, Mich.
	Joe Brantmeier Hilrose Holsteins, Sherwood, Wis.
	Jeff & Kate Hendrickson Jeffrey-Way Holsteins, Belleville, Wis.
	Jay Houser, James Houser, Barbara Kerstetter & Karen Auman Penn-Dell Farms, Spring Mills, P.a
	Allen Johnson Jafral Holsteins, Hamptonville, N.C.
	Jan Jurbala Spotlite-J Holsteins, Orangeville, Pa.
	Bruce & Brenda Long B-Long Holsteins, New London, Wis.
	Paul, Tom, & Tim Schmitt Morningview Holsteins, Durango, Iowa
	Jake & Sally Tanis Ideal Holsteins, Centre Hall, Pa.
	Benjamin & Carolyn Turner Maplelane-Manor Farm, Apulia Station, N.Y.
	Clint & Heidi Zank Ridge-Place Holsteins, Neillsville, Wis.

Seven of the 107 new 40-Year Members were on hand to receive their certificates and their medallions.

Stuewes FB Giddy, owned by Andrew Stuewe, Flower-Brook Registered Holsteins, Hamburg, Minn. was honored as the 2008 Star of the Breed.

A topic that has been on the front burner recently is Holstein Association USA's proposed Dairy Price Stabilization Program. Dr. Robert Cropp, Emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin - Madison's department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, who has been serving as an advisor in the development of this program, addressed the audience at the Annual Meeting and discussed the proposed plan.

32 teams competed in both the Junior and Senior divisions of the Dairy Bowl competition. The finals will be held on Tuesday morning, with New York and Washington vying for the Junior title, and California and Iowa competing to be named champions of the Senior division.

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On the host day tours, convention attendees had several opportunities to learn more about agriculture in the state. Tour stops included an Ag History Center, Exels Holsteins - the Hank van Exel family, and wineries. Others enjoyed the California sunshine and had some fun at the Raging Waters Water Park.

The evening concluded with the California National Convention Sale, held at the Dixon May Fairgrounds. A large crowd enjoyed the beautiful evening and great line up of sale cattle.

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The 2009 National Holstein Convention is off to an excellent start! The weather couldn't be better and the hospitality is second to none. The Dairy Jeopardy contest ran throughout the day on Saturday. In three divisions, there were 66 participants. Here are the results:

Junior Division
1st Place: Tony Lopes, CA
2nd Place: Elisabeth Reguci, CA
3rd Place: Elise Reguci, CA

Intermediate Division
1st Place: Kyle Natzke, WI
2nd Place: Kyle Demmer, IA
3rd Place: Matt Henkes, IA

Senior Division
1st Place: Emily Lyons, IL
2nd Place: Elizabeth Cloninger, PA
3rd Place: Alissa Arata, CA

At the Distinguished Junior Member (DJM) Luncheon, twelve DJM semi-finalists were honored. After a round of interviews, six finalists will be announced at the Junior Awards Luncheon on Tuesday afternoon.

Jessica Achen, Sauk Centre, Minn.
Robyn Bechtel, Martinsburg, Pa.
Danielle Brown, Dodgeville, Wis.
Kayla Demmer, Peosta, Iowa
Katie Donnan, Galway, N.Y.
Ty Hildebrandt, Hustisford, Wis.
Emily Lyons, Rockford, Ill.
Matt Mitchell, LaFollette, Tenn.
Kristin Natzke, Fond du Lac, Wis.
Curtis Rhoderick, Mount Airy, Md.
Jenna Smith, Martinsburg, Pa.
Parker Welch, Chestertown, Md.

The eight Young Distinguished Junior Member (YDJM) finalists were also honored at the luncheon:

Rachel Achen, Sauk Centre, Minn.
Rocco Cunningham, Penngrove, Calif.
Carissa Doody, Union Bridge, Md.
Tatum Gillis, Schuylerville, N.Y.
Isaac Haagen, Howard, Pa.
Nicole Holdridge, Bloomville, N.Y.
Hayley Potts, Purcellville, Va.
Derek Wasson, Centre Hall, Pa.

Saturday evening concluded with a Wine & Cheese Social for the adults, while the Juniors enjoyed ice cream while reconnecting with all of their Holstein friends.