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National Junior Holstein Convention

On Thursday, June 24, fourteen Illinois Junior Holstein Members and five adults departed for Bloomington, Minnesota for the 2010 National Holstein Convention. We had spent 10 weeks studying every Sunday afternoon with our coaches so were excited for the big event.

On our way to the convention, we went on 3 farm tours. First we went to Scientific Holsteins which was located in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. There we saw members of the famous Debutante family. Next we toured Mayerlane Holsteins in Bloomer, Wisconsin. We saw some great cows here including members of the Duham Mae and Star Lily family. Don shared his knowledge about the embryo business with us as well. Our third stop was at Nova Holsteins in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Here we enjoyed seeing beautiful cows in a pack barn and learned of the extensive embryo work this farm is doing. The tours were great. We saw some exciting cow families and met some terrific cow people. We packed back into our vehicles and headed to Bloomington, Minnesota for the convention. After checking in we went out to dinner and celebrated coach Glenn Meier's birthday.

The second day of convention was filled with competition in the jeopardy and speech contests. Our senior division contestants for the jeopardy contest were Josh Huelsman and Matt Drendel, our intermediate division contestant was Sarah Sheehan, and our junior division contestants were Kate Carlson and Emily Irwin. The highlight of our jeopardy participation came when Emily took first place in the junior competition. The speech contestant competing in the junior division was Kate Carlson,with her speech titled “BVD”. We also had two intermediate contestants. Sarah Sheehan's speech was “Public Relations” and Morgan Bollech's was “Production Management”. We were really proud of the speeches our contestants made. Later in the week we were thrilled to find out that Kate placed first in the junior division, Morgan placed third in the intermediate division, and Sarah placed first in the intermediate division.

Another highlight for the day was the announcing of the YDJM finalists. We were excited to have Justin Crull from Poplar Grove, Illinois to be named a winner. He and his mom Sue Crull and Jr. Advisor Melissa Irwin enjoyed the DJM luncheon. Justin completed an application and turned in a YDJM book. It took him many hours to work on it and we were very proud that he was selected as a national winner.

The next day was Host Day. We went to Glenmark Genetics and the Bonnie Mohr studio, Flower-Brook Holsteins, Raylore Farm, and Floralawn Holsteins. All the farms were beautiful with barns of impressive cattle. For many of our group the Bonnie Mohr studio was a huge hit. We even got to tour her house and see where she paints. Later that evening we enjoyed a trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. There we enjoyed a delicious meal and could walk around the grounds and view the various plants. There was a lot to see. The scenery was breathtaking.

The following day was dairy bowl day. The seniors won two matches and lost two matches. The members of the senior team were Angie Boesche, Aaron Mitchell, Elizabeth Myelle, and Colleen Ziller. We were thrilled when the team received the Sportsmanship award. That must have been a reward for sharing the Mountain Dew with other teams. The junior team also had a good day, placing third. The members of the junior team were Ryan Sheehan, Morgan Bollech, Jordon Ollerich, and Daniel Obert. Following the dairy bowl contest, we went to the National Convention Sale. There was a big crowd of people there and the cattle sold really well.

The next day started early with the finals of the dairy bowl contest. It was a good competition in both the Jr. and Sr. contests. We also elected new JAC (Junior Advisory Committee) members. Production Awards were handed out and IJHA member Emily Irwin received the Progressive Breeder Award for her cow R-Vision Talent Prescious. Next was the awards banquet. Justin Crull received a pin and plaque for being a YDJM. Emily Irwin received her jeopardy award. Next, Kate Carlson received her award for first place junior speech. Then Sarah Sheehan and Morgan Bollech got their awards for being first and third respectively in the Intermediate Speech Contest. The Junior Dairy Bowl teams received their third place ribbons and the Senior team received ribbons for the Sportsmanship Award. The Scrapbook winners were announced and IJHA members received fifth place in the digital scrapbook contest. This was the first time we had competed in this contest. Our reporter Dakota Grayling did a great job putting it together and it showcased activities of our association over the past year. The banner awards were also presented and Illinois received first place on its banner. The folding display awards were also given out and Brianna Sheehan's folding display was second place in the junior division.

Following the banquet we took some group pictures and then headed to the Mall of America for a relaxing evening. It was really a neat place to visit and lots of great places to eat and shop.

Attending convention is always nerve racking and fun all at the same time. We would like to thank Midwest Dairyman's Company from Rockford, Illinois for sponsoring our team shirts. We would also like to thank Becky and Glenn Meier for all the time they spend coaching us to get ready for the contests and Brian Olbrich and Melissa Irwin for being our chaperons. Finally, we want to thank those of you who donate your time or money to the IJHA so that we could go to convention. With all our success at this convention we are really excited for the future. For now we are still celebrating our accomplishments-Congrats to all of the juniors on their successful showing in Minnesota.

Snapshots from the Trip

Speech Contestants

Congratulations to the Illinois speech contestants! Morgan Bollech, right, placed 3rd in the Intermediate division; Kate Carlson, middle, placed 1st in the Junior division; and, Sarah Sheehan, placed 1st in the Intermediate division! Good job girls!

Scientific Holsteins - Tour Day

The Illinois Group