Board Elections
Re-elected to their second three-year term on the Holstein Association USA Board of Directors were Ron Fuhrmann, from Indiana, for Region 3, and Kate Geppert, Missouri, for Region 7.

Elected to their first three-year term on the board are Jim Burdette, Pennsylvania, for Region 2, and Boyd Schaufelberger, Illinois, for the At-Large position.

Retiring from the Board of Directors this year are John Bierbaum, of  Minnesota, and Jay Houser, of Pennsylvania.

Junior Results
In a West versus Midwest match-up, California defeated Wisconsin in the Junior Dairy Bowl finals.  The winning team, coached by Kirsten Areias, was:

• Justin Bopp
• Rocco Cunningham
• Tony Lopes
• Amanda Morretti

In the Senior Dairy Bowl competition, Pennsylvania bested Iowa.  Their team, coached by Dr. Bob Cloninger was:

• Elizabeth Cloninger
• Dustin Gates
• Nathan Ulmer
• Dereck Wasson

Dairy Bowl sportsmanship awards went to the Iowa Junior team and the Washington Senior team. 

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

• Area II – Jason Miley, Ohio
• Area IV – Kate Probert, Missouri

The Junior Division Speech contest had 18 contestants.  Winners were:

• 1st:  Crystal Siemers-Peterman, Wisconsin
• 2nd:  Lucia Cerasoli, Pennsylvania
• 3rd:  Collin Stoltzfus, Pennsylvania

The Intermediate Division Speech contest had 18 contestants as well.  Winners were:

• 1st:  Nancy Jackson, Missouri
• 2nd:  Jessica Budge, Oregon
• 3rd:  Kelly Lee, Wisconsin

In the Senior Division Speech contest, which had 12 contestants, the winners were:

• 1st:  Heidi Scapanski, Minnesota
• 2nd:  Malorie Rhoderick, Maryland
• 3rd:  Abigail Andrew, New York

In only its second year, the Folding Display contest had 20 entries in three divisions.  Winners included:

• 1st Junior:  Megan Rauen, Iowa
• 1st Intermediate:  Corbin Wood, Pennsylvania
• 1st Senior:  Keri Bickle, Ohio

The state banner competition had 17 entries this year. Winners were:

• 1st :Iowa
• 2nd: Washington
• 3rd: Missouri

States have the chance to showcase their state's activities in the annual scrapbook competition. This year's contest had 10 quality entries:

• 1st: Pennsylvania
• 2nd: New York
• 3rd: Iowa

A new contest was added this year – the digital scrapbook competition. The first contest had four entries. California submitted the winning digital scrapbook.

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

• Andy Birch, Vermont
• Julia Hudyncia, New York
• Heather Petersheim, Wisconsin
• Lucas Sjostrum, Minnesota
• Michael Stewart, Iowa
• David Wilson, Pennsylvania

Mark and Angie Ulness, Ragnar Holsteins, of Valders, Wisconsin were honored as the 2008 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders.

Richard “Dick” Coyne, of Avon, New York received the 2008 Distinguished Leadership Award.

Max “Kip” Herzog, Sleepy Hollow Dairy, of Petaluma, California was recognized as the 2008 Elite Breeder Award recipient.

Thanks to the Wisconsin 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.

The 2008 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 2007 financial highlights, which showed positive growth once again.

• State of the Association address

A summary of proposals to amend the bylaws was presented by the Constitution, Bylaws and Resolutions Committee Chair and Holstein Association board member John Kalmey.

• Bylaw proposal #1, by President Doug Maddox on behalf of the board of directors, would allow more members the opportunity to serve as delegates by counting years delegates are elected, whether or not they served, toward their three consecutive years of eligibility and increasing from one to two years the time period before they are again eligible to be elected. It also increases the time period to withdraw from nomination.
• Bylaw proposal #2, not supported by the board, attempts to restrict A.I. organizations from changing the common names of their sires.

Candidates for the four Director positions addressed the delegates.  Elections will be held on Thursday.  Candidates are:

• Region 2 – Jim Burdette, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
• Region 3 – Thomas F. Atherton, Gaines, Michigan and Ron Fuhrmann, Hoagland, Indiana
• Region 7 – Kate Geppert, Columbia, Missouri and Doug Unruh, Walton, Kansas
• At-Large – Harlan Bohn, Twin Brooks, South Dakota; Gale Hoese, Glencoe, Minnesota; and Boyd Schaufelberger, Greenville, Illinois

The eleven Herd of Excellence award winners were honored:

• Tim Baker, Star Summit Holsteins, Byron Center, Michigan
• Joe & Chris Brantmeier, Hilrose Holsteins, Sherwood, Wisconsin
• Ron & Wayne DeBuhr, Sunny-Valley Holsteins, Belmont, Wisconsin
• John & Evie Hamilton, Hill-Ton Holsteins, Cuba City, Wisconsin
• Allen Johnson, Jafral Holsteins, Hamptonville, North Carolina
• Steve & Amanda Killian, Dirt-Road Holsteins, Blair, Wisconsin
• Randy & Jana Kortus, Mainstream Holsteins, Lynden, Washington
• Bruce & Brenda Long, B-Long Holsteins, New London, Wisconsin
• Paul, Tom, & Tim Schmitt, Morningview Holsteins, Durango, Iowa
• Jake, Sally, & Adam Tanis, Ideal Holsteins, Centre Hall, Pennsylvania
• Tim & Sandy VerHage, VerHage Holstein Farm, Allegan, Michigan

Twelve of the 109 new 40-Year Members were on hand to receive their certificates and their medallions.

The first Star of the Breed award winner was also honored. 
For many, the highlight of the Convention so far was “The Future of the Dairy Industry from a Young Holstein Breeder’s Perspective” panel discussion.  The crowd had the opportunity to hear the perspective of five progressive young dairymen from around the country. While they have different backgrounds and styles of operations, the message was clear – their future, and the future of others with Registered Holsteins, is bright.  Panelists included:

• Mark Crave, Waterloo, Wisconsin
• Randy K. Gross, Elkton, South Dakota
• Stephen Maddox, Riverdale, California
• Kylie Quesnel, Whiting, Vermont
• Mark Ulness, Valders, Wisconsin

For the second year in a row, the Iowa Junior Holstein Association earned a pizza party with the Association President and Vice President for winning the Mission Membership contest, increasing their junior membership by 12 percent.

Eighteen teams competed in both the Junior and Senior divisions of the Dairy Bowl competition. The finals will be held on Thursday morning with California and Wisconsin vying for the Junior title, and Pennsylvania and Illinois competing to be named champions of the Senior division.

On the host day tours, convention attendees had the opportunity to visit several of Wisconsin’s finest Holstein operations. All farms featured good Holstein cows and great people. Stops included:

• Frozene Farms – Tom & Rick Frozene Families
• Maple Lawn Farm – Tom & Teri Lyon Family
• Rosedale – Mark Reuth & Nicki Reape
• So-Fine Bovines – Jim & Sue Kruger and Jeff & Lisa Buchholz Families
• Walk-Era Farms Inc. – The Walker Family

A field of 52 golfers competed in a fun, scramble format golf tournament at the Baraboo Country Club.  The winning team included:

• Hank van Exel, California
• Gary Griffin, North Carolina
• Ken Elliot, Wisconsin
• Keith Stump, Arizona