LA PORTE, Ind. — Kim Minich wasn’t involved in dairy farming until recently, but she’s going to be part of the long tradition of presenting a cold bottle of milk in Victory Lane at this year’s Indianapolis 500.

 

The 36-year-old northwestern Indiana woman will be giving milk to the owner and chief mechanic from the winning team at this year’s race, and in 2018 she’s been chosen to present the customary beverage to the winning driver.

 “It’s quite the honor. I’m looking forward to it,” she said. Making the festivities more special are memories of attending the time trials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with her family while growing up in nearby Anderson.

 Presenting the customary bottle of milk to the winning driver this year will be Joe Kelsay, of Kelsay Farms in Whiteland He is a sixth-generation farmer on property granted to his family in 1837 by President Martin Van Buren.

 Minich had never tried at her hand at dairy farming until 2009, when she and her husband of 12 years, Luke, moved from Indianapolis to get involved in the now fourth-generation operation his family purchased in 1909. Luke was selling grain then, while Minich was and still is a full-time registered nurse.

 

She said she was chosen to take part in the Victory Lane celebration, from being a two-year member of the board for the American Dairy Assoc. of Indiana. “We get to take turns, and this is my year,” she said.

 “We’re pretty excited about it. It should be a lot of fun,” added Luke.

 

This isn’t the first taste of fame for the Miniches, named Outstanding Young Dairy Producers of the Year for 2015 by Indiana Dairy Producers. Triple M Dairy  has about 1,000 mostly Holstein cowsproducing close to 3 million gallons of milk a year for Dean Foods.

 The main location is on 500 South just north of Union Mills, while the remainder of the production happens about 10 miles to the east near Stillwell. Minich said she didn’t know anything about farming until she met Luke at Purdue University. She was studying then to become a nurse, just like her mother and sister. What she likes most about dairy farming is watching the births of about 15 calves a week and helping their five children, ages 11 to 6, with their annual 4-H projects at the LaPorte County Fair.

 

On the business side, she assists with duties of bookkeeping, going after parts and other supplies – and every now and then, the milking machines.

 

Minich also enjoys hosting preschool children from the area during their annual visits to the farm. “It’s kind of neat for them to see where their milk actually comes from,” said Minich, whose full-time occupation is being a nurse and nurse practitioner for Community Health Systems in La Porte.

 The Victory Lane tradition stems from three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer regularly drinking buttermilk, and he happened to drink some in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race.