By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Saturday, Jan. 17, cattlemen and women from across the state of Ohio joined at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Café to honor award winners and reflect on yearly accomplishments.
Mike Carper, beef producer from Delaware County and the Ohio Cattlemen Association’s president led the evening’s agenda serving as the emcee during the annual awards banquet.
Following a hearty beef dinner, the awards program began as the outgoing 2008 Ohio Beef Queen Emily Brinkman of Henry County, Ohio, named the 2009 Beef Queen and her court. With the new sash in hand, Brinkman crowned Michelle Downerd, of Delaware County as the new queen.
Brinkman also reflected on her journey as the 2008 Queen, adding that “I just surpassed my 6,000 mile mark traveling all across the state meeting new cattle producers and promoting Ohio’s beef industry. It’s been such a great learning experience.”
The evening continued with the awards presentation of the outstanding county affiliates.
“OCA continues to have an outstanding group of county affilates that continue to be so active, positively impacting the industry everyday,” said Carper. “Our counties do a great job recruiting new members and we hope to keep up that momentum.”
This year’s third place winner was the Stark County affiliate, with Fairfield County in second and Highland County claiming first place. The Highland County beef producers were recognized for boasting a growing membership of 125 members, implementing a new county website and purchasing additional beef promotional signs.
In addition to numerous scholarship presentations by the Ohio Cattlewomen’s Association and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association Foundation, the banquet welcomed featured speaker Gary Voogt, president-elect for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBAA) and Angus producer from Grand Rapids, Mich.
“It’s pretty special to have one of our own Midwest producers leading the industry as the soon-to-be president of NCBA,” said Carper.
With his forthcoming responsibilities as NCBA president in less than two weeks, Voogt said “I’m not worried about anything. We have a great year ahead of us thanks to the unbelievable strength of the people in the farm industry.”
And for the anxious producers haboring worried emotions about the state of the agriculture economy, Voogt said to just read the last verse of Psalm 31. The verse reads “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”
The Industry Service Award was presented to State Rep. Steve Reinhard (R-Bucyrus, Ohio) for his outstanding work in promoting the beef industry through state policy efforts.
Additionally, John Grimes of Maplecrest Angus Farm in Hillsboro, Ohio was named the 2008 Seedstock Producer of the Year, an award sponsored and presented by Farm World. A brief video presentation introduced the Grimes family and detailed the many successes of the their purebred Angus farm.
Also, as a special award, Dave Noll of Somerset, Ohio was named the Outstanding Commercial Cattleman of the Year. Dave Felumlee, owner and operator of Claylick Run Angus Farm of Licking County was named the Young Cattlemen of the Year and the late great beef geneticist Roy Wallace was awarded the prestigious Industry Excellence Award.
Wallace’s career in the beef industry spanned over 40 years, said general manager of Select Sires, Inc. David Thorbahn during a brief video tribute. Wallace worked tirelessly in many levels of the Select Sires family, including serving as the beef genetic specialist, where he focused on improving estrus synchronization.
“He saw the tools 15 years ago that are now a critical staple of the estrus synchronization technology,” said Thorbahn, who worked with Wallace during his final years at Select Sires. “He had a love and a passion for the industry, the Ohio State University and for beef improvement.”
For more information or for a complete list of award winners, visit the OCA website at www.ohiocattle.org |
