May 2014 - Washington State Dairy Women.org
Transcription
May 2014 - Washington State Dairy Women.org
Washington State Dairy Women MOOOOSPAPER Phone: 360-269-8855 Email: [email protected] May 2014 State President’s Report - Lynnae Greetings! Spring is in full swing – and everyone seems to be putting up grass or planting corn. We all love this time of year. I have enjoyed getting out to some of our spring youth fairs and seeing our youth getting their animals ready for another year. There is so much energy and enthusiasm during the spring show season. When I attended the Lewis County Spring Youth Fair, I had a visit with former Lewis County Dairy Ambassador, Jennifer Swenson. Jennifer was selected to be a member of this year’s National 4H Dairy Conference Planning Committee. She and the rest of her committee are busy working on the 60th annual conference for US and Canadian dairy youth to convene in Madison this fall in conjunction with World Dairy Expo. Congrats to Jennifer – we are proud of you! In addition to youth fairs have come spring judging clinics. We are so fortunate that our youth have the opportunities to enjoy and learn from these kinds of activities, a special life experience that so few will ever have. Thanks to all of the dairy farmers and volunteers who put these practices together for our young people. Are you telling your Dairy Story? Is the public learning about what we do from ‘us’? Kudos to Krista Stauffer, who has a website and Facebook page called the Farmers Wifee – I encourage you to like her Facebook page and check out her website http://thefarmerswifee.com/ab out/ she is doing a great job of sharing about life on a Washington dairy farm and ‘Agvocating’. As you know, our dear friend, Lynne Schmoe has retired from the Washington Dairy Products Commission. All Dairy Women are invited to attend a farewell reception for Lynne, as well as former Commission President, Robert Smit to thank them for their years of service to our state’s dairy industry. This event is being hosted by Jim & Delores Werkhoven, June 19th 59 pm, the address is: 17920 183rd Ave SE, Monroe, Wa 98272. We wish Lynne the very best in her retirement and bid a warm welcome to Erin Vincent, the new Senior Industry Relations and Communications Manager for the Washington Dairy Products Commission. We look forward to working with you Erin. Happy Spring to all of you, I hope to see many of you at our State Dairy Ambassador Coronation next month! Lynnae Rodeffer President WSDW State Advisor’s Report Spring has been very busy. Erin has been in every corner of the state! Teacher of the Week, farm fairs, school visits, and Fuel Up To Play 60 bring us into the schools. Whether it is a 30 minute presentation on Milk’s Journey, Sustainability and Dairy’s Economic impact on the State of Washington, or just a conversation with students about why we need “three every day”, we leave every classroom knowing that Erin has taught them something new about the dairy industry and milk. Students want to know the real story. They want to know why calcium is good for their bones. They want to know that farmers take great care of their animals. They want to know that farmers use sustainable practices. They want to know why soy “beverage” is NOT a dairy product. No matter what age or part of the state they live in, kids WANT TO KNOW THE REAL STORY. That is why it is so important for our Dairy Ambassadors, Dairy Women and Dairy Farmers to tell their story, share experiences, and answer their questions. Erin, Olivia, and Annie have been working hard at this and have done a wonderful job! You can be very proud of them! The 2014 Washington State Dairy Ambassador Coronation is coming up in just a few weeks. This year’s coronation is set for June 20th at the Holiday Inn, downtown Everett. Please join us in thanking our Washington State Dairy Ambassador, Erin Peek, and State Alternates, Annie Birklid and Olivia Zurcher, for their dedication in telling the Real Story, the story of milk! Tammi Schoenbachler State Ambassador Advisor State Ambassador’s Report- Erin from the Dairy Farmers of WA to help fund their Fuel Up to Play 60 Program while taking a few minutes to talk with all the students about Dairy Farming and reminding them all to get their 3 servings of Dairy every single day! We have even had an assembly with Max Unger from the Seattle Seahawks! Hello everyone! With less than one month until state contest I can’t believe how fast the last year has flown by. My schedule has been packed with various events all across the state and I have enjoyed every busy minute of it! I have participated in many Fuel Up to Play 60 Assemblies spread throughout the Federal Way, Seattle, Adna, and Spokane School Districts. I have had the opportunity to present the school with the grant check Many County Coronations have come and gone over the last few months and I love seeing the new group of young ladies entering the program excited to start their year of service. The nervous and excited energy coming off of the young ladies is always so infectious and makes the evening even more fun and memorable. I am excited for them to fall in love with this program and to start representing their region’s dairy farmers. This year I was able to attend the Washington State FFA Convention held at WSU in Pullman. Tammi and I helped run the Dairy Foods contest and I had the opportunity to speak at the first general session! I was extremely involved in the FFA all four years that I was in high school and I wouldn’t be serving as the Washington State Dairy Ambassador if weren’t for all the opportunities that the FFA presented me with so being able to speak at this year’s convention meant so much to me and has definitely been one of the most memorable events of my year so far! Another WIAA sport season has come and gone with many championship games for ambassadors to attend. I was able to attend State 3A/4A Baseball this year and appreciated all the help from my fellow ambassadors to have representation at every event that we could possibly attend. I have also been busy in recent weeks with school presentations! Though intimidating at times high school presentations have become something I really enjoy doing. When engaged the students have many questions and we are able to have a great classroom discussion at the end of my presentation about the dairy industry. These experiences have only helped to ensure that teaching high school agriculture is something that I want to do in my lifetime! Elementary presentations are fun as well and the kids always manage to say something that surprises me! But I get to teach them about the importance of dairy in their diets and where milk comes from and they always seem to be excited about dairy products by then end of the presentation! One of my favorite things about my year so far has been all of the people that I have been able to meet and build relationships with! From consumers to dairy farmers to dairy women to dairy ambassadors I have met some incredible people who serve as great role models in my life showing me that I can accomplish anything if I have the passion too to do it. I am so honored to say that I have, and currently am, representing the Dairy Farmers of Washington. Thank you to all the Dairy Women for supporting and helping me throughout my year of service and for helping to provide me with this opportunity! It is something that I am sure you hear all the time but “Once a dairy ambassador always a dairy ambassador” and I really will be a lifelong ambassador for milk! Erin Peek Washington State Dairy Ambassador Alternate State Ambassador’s Report- Olivia different events. Those athletes are truly talented! I also have been very busy at the University of Idaho. Classes are coming to an end and school is as busy as ever! I will be attending the Salmon Summit in Kennewick next week where I will be presenting my school speech to visiting 5th graders. It will be Wow, summer is upon us and my year as an Alternate State Dairy Ambassador is coming to a close. These past few months I have been going to multiple WIAA events such as Basketball and Dance and Drill at the Yakima Sundome. It was very fun to be able to watch all of the great to talk to all of these students about the dairy industry. Later on this May, I will be attending multiple Spring WIAA events in Eastern Washington. It will be bittersweet, as these WIAA events will be my last as a Dairy Ambassador. I will also be delivering baby baskets for the first baby born in June in Othello and Moses Lake. I am excited about the rest my term and I know that contest will be a lot of fun and many memories will be made. I hope all of you are enjoying the wonderful spring weather! Olivia Zurcher Washington State Dairy Ambassador Alternate Alternate State Ambassador’s Report- Annie memorable events. Some of my favorite events were WIAA events. My all-time favorite event was WIAA boys swimming where I was able to watch my friend Bennon Vanhoof place in the top eight in the state and hand him his medal. Some other WIAA events I went to were Bowling, Soccer, and Girls Swimming and Diving. It has been ten months since I have been crowned one of your Washington State Alternate Dairy Ambassadors. Although ten months seems like a long time, it has been the quickest ten months of my life. And to think I will be giving up my crown in two months. I have been to so many fun and We passed out 30,000 meatballs at the WSU Football game sponsored by the Beef Commission “Go Cougs” and Dairy Days at the Legislature where Erin did a wonderful job promoting the Dairy Industry…and I must say “Erin you looked very comfortable in those big chairs…Maybe Secretary of State Erin Peek or Governor Erin Peek….what do you think?” I went to healthy kids’ day at the YMCA in Bothell where I got to talk to many kids and played the milk toss game with them. I would like to thank the Washington State Dairy Women and the Dairy Farmers of Washington for sponsoring this program. This is truly a life changing program, I have made lifelong friends and I am so happy that I got to be a part of it. Annie Birklid Washington State Alternate Dairy Ambassador County Reports Grays Harbor The Grays Harbor Dairy Women do not have a new ambassador for 2014; we will hope for someone again next year. Our 2013 ambassador Colby Trusty finished up her year with a kindergarten presentation to 3 classes at the Elma grade school on April 24th and a fun farm tour at the Goeres Farm on April 25th. This was her first event last year and she once again worked with the Elma FFA to organize and put on this fun event for all that attended. The buses brought over 100 kindergarten students, parents and teachers… and the rain held off for the day. We would like to thank Colby for her year as our County dairy ambassador. Colby has completed her term as county ambassador and elected to not attend the state contest. Respectfully submitted, Gloria Edwards GHDW President Lewis County Dairy 4-H exhibitors. Our girls Lydia Johnson, our new Lewis County Dairy Ambassador and Marissa Gilmon, our alternate have been very busy since Coronation on March 29th. The Farm Store Open House the first weekend of April was a good opportunity for our girls to introduce themselves to our agricultural community, followed by the Holstein Sale and Dairy Women Silent Auction the next weekend. The Spring Youth Fair had the usual rainy weather but a busy time for our Apperson off to State contest. We wish her the best. Andy and Linda Styger are hosting an Open House to show their Computerized Milking System June 28th 11am-2pm, sponsored by Organic Valley. handed out ribbons and premiums. This past Thursday 750 Kindergarten students learned about the dairy industry by watching cows being milked, petting two day old calves and eating ice cream. WIAA events are around the corner. Finally in June we will send Marissa Warmly submitted, Marilyn Fenn, Lewis County Dairy Women Ambassador participated in WIAA State 1A basketball in Yakima with Olivia, the Washington State Alternate Ambassador. Both girls did a great job and enjoyed an exciting day of action on the hard courts. The Spring Quarterly Dairy Women's meeting was held in our neck of the woods, so Heather Zurcher attended the meeting in Yakima. On April 24th, we held our farewell dinner for Keestan, thanks to Dan, at the Camano Island Cattle Company's lodge in Othello. It was a nice potluck dinner event in which Keestan gave her farewell speech to about 30 people. She did a great job representing the MidColumbia, even with her busy schedule at the running start program at CBC and sports in Othello. She is attending BYU this fall in Provo, Utah. Unfortunately, we do not have a new ambassador for this upcoming year but we are always looking for potential girls for future years. Our next event is delivering our baby baskets to Othello Memorial Hospital and Moses Lake Hospital to celebrate June Dairy Month. Our ladies really enjoy collecting items for these baskets and even Tina Decker makes 2 beautiful baby blankets each year to give to the babies. We are lucky again this year to be able to have Olivia present the baskets to the mothers and the babies. We now look forward to the busy months coming up with the fair season beginning! Mid-Columbia It is now spring in the MidColumbia! The fields are green, waiting for the first cutting of hay, the sun is shining, and the wind has arrived like clockwork. Our ladies have held several meetings, of course with their husbands, enjoying each other's company and a great meal. We have even met for a luncheon in Moses Lake with just the ladies, which wasn't a scheduled meeting! Keestan Andersen, our Mid-Columbia Dairy Skagit County Wow spring came with wonderful smelling air, beautiful flowering trees and flowers and that beautiful emerald WA green grass. We recently donated to the Edison Elementary school annual carnival for dairy products. We also hosted and served the lunch at the March 18th robotic milker open house at our member Vicki Mesman's(Alan) farm. Our most exciting news is that we have 3 wonderful young ladies representing us as dairy ambassadors for the 2014-15 year. Our new county ambassador is Katie Jo Connley, equal alternate ambassadors are Megan Sybrandy and Riley VanderVeen. We had a wonderful evening dessert coronation, well attended and beautifully decorated. Our MC Shelley Flaig did an outstanding job. Our unit scholarship recipients this year were Simon LeClair, son of Annette LeClair, Jared Fohn, son of Rhonda Fohn and grandson of Bertha Fohn, Ashley Dykstra, member and daughterin-law of Sandy Dykstra, and Abby Lohman, daughter of Annie Lohman. Outgoing dairy ambassador, Chelsea Hansen, will now run for state in June 2014. We all wish her the best. She has been busy continuing to go to schools and speaking at events. She and our new ambassadors were in the Holland Happenings parade in Oak Harbor. We have been asked by a local bank to make cookies(with real butter of course) for an open house they are having. We will soon be attending a state wardrobe showing for Chelsea Hansen and seeing her presentations. State dairy ambassador Erin Peek , recently came to our county and spoke at 2 local schools. Enjoy our much improved weather and scenery. Even though it is repetitive, ALWAYS,ALWAYS be a dairy/dairy product advocate whenever the chance occurs. Respectfully Judy Hansen, Secretary submitted, Skagit Unit Snohomish County On Saturday April 5th we crowned three new girls: Ambassador, Olivia Russell from Stanwood, and Alternates, Nicole Buell from Marysville and Larissa Ablutz from Monroe. All three girls have been active showing dairy animals at the fairs in either 4-H or FFA. We look forward to working with these three remarkable young ladies. Our day consisted of the usual interviews, speeches and getting to know each other along with an outreach at the Everett YMCA and lunch at Anthony’s. Our evening coronation was at the Everett Holiday Inn where we met our candidates, heard from our out-going ambassadors Marcy Bartelheimer and Mikel Levi, and State Ambassador Erin Peek. In addition we recognized our county dairy farmers with a reading of “So God Made a Farmer” and gave each farmer in attendance a small gift. We were happy to have so many of our dairy farmers there to help us celebrate Dairy Farming in Snohomish County. We also inducted two of our farmers into the Dairy Shrine. The Honoree inductee was the late Mark Hereth who was remembered for his commitment to his family, his farm and his church as well as the many youth that he encouraged. Duane Kulman was named this year’s Pioneer honoree for the impact he has had on the Jersey Breed. We donated $50 to each of the Snohomish County Food Banks for Dairy Products, and also made donations to the Oso and Darrington Fire Departments and also to the Oso slide victims. Both of our out-going ambassadors will be competing for State Dairy Ambassador. We will be having their shower at our May Dairy Women Meeting. Thurston County Hi all, I attended our recent WSDW Spring Quarterly meeting in Yakima, it was very informative and enjoyed having a joint session with the Federation and Dairy Products Commission. It was nice seeing all the ladies and sharing a ride with Gloria. We have a couple of members dealing with health issues: first Terry Wilson is recovering from early stage breast cancer and we are all relieved with the good news received from her doctors. Terry Mensonides, one of our members for many years, has had double knee replacement surgery and now is battling a flesh eating bacteria…. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. Her husband is still recovery from a bout with cancer. Please keep all of these in our dairy family in your prayers. Respectfully submitted: Judy Odermann, Sec/Treas Thurston County Dairy Women Whatcom County Busy, busy, busy!!! That’s how spring came in Whatcom County. February and March welcomed workshops for 5 girls running for our Dairy Ambassador position. On March 21, the new slate of girls was chosen: Amanda Howe as Ambassador, and LaKrista Buckley and Ellie Steensma as alternate dairy ambassadors. Fox Hall at the Hampton Inn in Bellingham saw a packed house that evening as we culminated a day full of interviews, outreach, lunch, speeches, and impromptus. It is always a very busy time, but still remains an exciting and fun evening spent celebrating the dairy industry and the girls who are chosen to represent that way of life. We barely got our feet back on the ground and were off to shopping and the Skagit County Coronation the next Monday, and a week later the Snohomish Coronation had us on the road again. Our own Whatcom County Youth Fair was also that weekend which proved to be very busy for our girls who were showing and helping with ice cream and butter making classes. On April 22, 23, and 24 the Whatcom County Dairy Women welcomed 1,250 first graders and 560 adults to the annual Milk Makers Fest, now in its 22nd year. All kids leave with activity books, pencils, erasers, and a fair pass and voucher for a free ice cream cone. Washington State Ambassador Erin Peek presented on Tuesday, followed by our own new ambassadors on Wednesday and Thursday. Almost all of our Whatcom county ladies are involved with this event in some form or another, whether it is organizing, putting up posters, talking to kids, chaperoning, group leading, serving lunch, or volunteering husbands to drive tractors. It seems more like our social event that heralds the start of spring and summer! Our ladies also proudly presented Pauline VanWeerdhuizen with a plaque honoring her with lifetime membership since she has been a loyal member since 1969. Come rain or shine we usually see Pauline’s smiling face and hear her words of support at Milk Makers and the Fair among other events. Years of supporting the dairy industry is a goal that we can all strive to achieve. While we anticipate the sound of tractors in the fields, we also will be looking forward to parades, and of course, state contest. We wish our contestant, Janis DeJager, the best as she pursues the State title in June. Hopefully many of us will be attending and will renew acquaintances from around the state. Respectfully submitted, Marlene Noteboom Yakima Valley Spring in the Yakima Valley is a glorious time of the year. The orchards have bloomed, the vineyards are waking up and now asparagus season is in full swing. It is also a very busy and event filled season. competing in June for the state ambassador title. Katie is very grateful for all the opportunities she has had as a county ambassador. We wish her luck in June. Three of our members attended the Spring Quarterly meeting held in Yakima on April 16. It was nice to see other state dairy women members and to join with Washington State Dairy Federation members in an informative joint session. On April 24 we held our Ambassador Farewell Banquet for our 2013-2014 outgoing ambassador, Katie Hutchins. Katie has done an outstanding job representing the dairy industry. She will be Erin Peek, our current state ambassador, also attended the banquet. We enjoyed hearing her speak about her year as ambassador and wish her luck in her future endeavors. Two scholarship awards of $500.00 were presented to Kevin De Jong and Kristen Wedam. Kevin is a student at Pacific Lutheran University and Kristen attends Washington State University. On the evening of May 8, Theresa Mensonides will host an ambassador shower for Katie Hutchins. Katie will model her state wardrobe and present her speeches. We will "shower" her with good wishes and little gifts she can use at the state competition. It will be a fun and enjoyable evening for all. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Newhouse Vice President YVDW 2014-2015 Washington State Dairy Ambassador Contestants Skagit County Contestant Chelsea Hansen Yakima Valley Contestant Katie Hutchins Chelsea Hansen is the daughter of Becky Hansen of Sedro-Woolley. She is 18 years old and will be graduating from Sedro-Woolley High School. Chelsea is a Cheerleader and has been involved with gymnastics for 14 years. She grew up living a few miles from her grandparent’s Dairy Farm where she spent much of her childhood playing and began feeding calves when she was a teenager. Katie Hutchins is the daughter of Robert and Trish Hutchins of Everett and Spokane. She is 17 years old and a graduate of Sunnyside High School. Katie is a competitive swimmer and was voted Most Inspirational Swimmer by both her swim teams. She has been very active in 4-H and FFA. She currently lives on Spokane Family Farm where she has very active role on the farm. Whatcom County Contestant Janis DeJager Lewis County Conestant Marissa Apperson Janis DeJager is the daughter of Pete and Shelli DeJager of Everson. She is 18 years old and a graduate from Nooksack Valley High School where she played soccer and was captain of her team Senior Year. She has been very involved with 4-H and FFA and has held various officer positions with both organizations. Janis grew up on her family dairy farm and has the dream to one day own and operate a dairy farm of her own. Marissa Apperson is the daughter of Michael and Myrna Apperson of Rochester. She is 18 years old and will be graduating from Rochester High School where she is a member of Honor Society and FFA. Marissa has also been involved in 4-H and grown up on her family’s farm where they raise dairy heifers. Snohomish County Contestant Marcy Bartelheimer Snohomish County Contestant Mikel Levi Marcy Bartelheimer is the daughter of Ryan and Michelle Bartelheimer of Snohomish. She is 18 years old and will be graduating from Snohomish High School. Marcy has been very active in both 4-H and FFA and currently own 3 registered Holsteins that she houses at the Frohning Farm of Monroe. Marcy would one day like to be a large animal veterinarian. Mikel Levi is the daughter of Clint and Raylene Levi of Stanwood. She is 17 years old and will be graduating from Stanwood High School where she was very involved in the FFA as well as involved in 4-H for 10 years. She has shown animals from both Sildahl Farms and Cliff Haven Jersey Farm. Mikel has high hopes that in the future she will have her own small herd of dairy cows and become a first generation dairy farmer. Clark County Contestant Samantha Schmidt Samantha Schmidt is the daughter of Kent Schmidt and Jennifer Ramsey of Vancouver. She is 18 years old and will be graduating from Columbia Adventist Academy. She was a member of National Honors Society and active in Student Government. She has been a member of 4-H since she was 6 years old and has been a Junior Holstein member. Samantha grew up next to her grandparent’s farm, Sparkledue Holstein Farms where she helped with raising calves and milking cows. You are cordially invited to the 59th Annual Washington State Dairy Ambassador Coronation to be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Holiday Inn, 3105 Pine Street, Everett, WA on June 20, 2014. (Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with program starting promptly at 6:30 p.m.) The Washington State Dairy Ambassador Program provides a tremendous professional and educational opportunity for young women in Washington State. The young woman chosen to serve as Washington’s Ambassador for Milk receives a generous college scholarship, various internships, and extensive communications training. The event promises to be very enjoyable. Please help celebrate this important tradition by joining us for the gala event. We are unable to sell tickets at the door, so tickets may be ordered by completing the bottom portion of this form. Festival seating is available for all guests. Sincerely, Erin Peek Erin Peek 2013-2014 Washington State Dairy Ambassador ORDER YOUR TICKETS FOR 59th Annual Washington State Dairy Ambassador Coronation Friday, June 20, 2014 ~ HOLIDAY INN, 3105 Pine Street, Everett, WA 98201 Dinner Choices Include: New York Strip Loin with Red Wine Jus, Rosemary Grilled Chicken Breast with Red Pepper Relish, OR Vegetarian Lasagna Tickets are $35.00 per person Children’s Menu for 10 years and younger– Chicken Tenders Meal - $20.00 per child All ticket orders must be received no later than June 10, 2014. Ticket sales are by advanced sale only. No tickets will be sold at the door. Seating begins at 6 PM ~ Festival Seating. Name: ____________________________________ New York Strip Loin ______ X 35.00 = ________ Address: __________________________________ Grilled Chicken Breast ______ X 35.00 = ________ __________________________________ Vegetarian Lasagna _____ X 35.00 = ________ __________________________________________ Kids Meal (Please include name) ______ X 20.00 = _________ TOTAL ENCLOSED $ ___________ Confirmation Email or Phone _________________________________________________ Make checks payable to: WA State Dairy Women Mail ticket orders to: WSDW, 1555 S. Bank Road, Oakville, WA 98568 Phone: (360) 273-7313 - Gloria Edwards ~ [email protected] Dates To Remember State Dairy Ambassador Coronation……………..………...June 20, 2014 State Ambassador Workshop………………………………...July 8-10, 2014 Fall Dairy Women Meeting………………………………….September (TBD) Annual Meeting…..…………………………………….November 10-11, 2014 Washington State Dairy Women Officers President………………….………. Lynnae Rodeffer, [email protected] Vice President………………………………….. Helen Kemp, [email protected] Treasurer…………………..…..Darlene DeGroot, [email protected] Secretary…………………….……….Cathy Boisseranc, [email protected] Ambassador Committee Carrie Neff……………………………………………………..……[email protected] Nora Doelman………………………….…[email protected] Financial Coordinator & Event Planner…Gloria Edwards 360-273- 7313 State Ambassador Advisor………...Tammi Schoenbachler 360-269-8855 State Dairy Ambassador………………………….……..Erin Peek 360-269-8055 WSDW PO Box 354 Silvana, WA 98298 360-269-8855 [email protected]