2008 National Convention News Release
Maryland again made a tremendous impact at the National Brown Swiss
Convention, held this year in Lima, OH. from July 2 -5. Congratulations
to Nicole Hood for sweeping the Palmer Hoffman Memorial Heifer Show
with her Spring Yearling, Hoodstead Victor Pippie, who was also the
Champion Bred and Owned animal. Following that accomplishment, the
high selling animal at the sale, Round Hill Prem Lil Fern ET, was bred
in Maryland by Cindy and Bill Warner and sold for $43,000! The
sale averaged over $7000 for the 86 animals in the auction.
The Ohio folks did a great job organizing the convention and were
wonderful hosts. Maryland was well represented with a large contingent
of the Long family- Peg, Cindy Warner, Becky Long-Chaney & twins,
and Brittany Cole along with Scott, Judy & Nicole Hood, Jeff, Patti
& Jeffrey Hubbard, Allen, Tammy & AJ Bassler, Hannah &
Suzan Thompson, Jake Hushon, Jen Keilholtz Hill, Kathy Whitman, Lee
& Judy Majeskie, and MD Swiss Miss Stephanie Eagle. (If I missed
someone email me, please!) We had 5
juniors; Nicole, AJ, Jeffrey, Hannah and Brittany, with 5 animals in
the show under the charge of Scott Hood, youth adviser. The animals
were transported by Jen & Kathy and everything went perfectly
according to schedule. The youth and parents rotated barn duties
except for Brittany, who had the more challenging position as caretaker
for Becky's twins for the duration! This allowed all to attend events
tailored for them, i.e. Youth Breakfast & Awards. The opening
event was a chicken barbecue on Wednesday evening followed by the
"Junior Olympics," where the youth were divided into teams composed of
members from different states and participated in fun activities i.e.
balloon toss and wheelbarrow racing. This was a great idea and enabled
the youth to meet others sooner rather than later during the convention.
The convention was centered at the Holiday Inn, just a stone's throw
from the Allen County Fairgrounds which was extremely convenient. The
hotel had a huge center court with multiple activities--pool, hot tub,
billiards, basketball free throws and many other activities for smaller
children allowing the adults and teens to socialize. Thursday began
with the Junior Awards Breakfast. I know Nicole was awarded something
but since I was taking my turn at the barn feeding and watering I don't
know the specifics. I do know I was soaking wet from the deluge that
continued for much of the day. I opted to forego the bus tour for a
hot shower and dry clothes along with a nap since I had not yet
recovered from my 8+ hour drive the day before. AJ Bassler was really
helpful in coaxing some of the heifers to drink that strange Ohio water
and eat in different surroundings. The rest of the juniors relieved me
at the barn around 9am and they remained there until time to clean up
for the buffet supper and Fun Auction. The Fun Auction had more than
50 items and was a great fund raiser for the national association since
everything went for much more than my budget allowed. All the items
started for more than my highest potential bid! Becky donated a copy
of "Bulldust in My Bra" and Brittany wound up being thrown in the deal
to have supper with the young man who purchased it. Kathy Whitman had
the winning bid on a quilt but I don't think anyone else from MD got
anything (please correct me if I'm wrong). Friday's activities
centered around getting ready for the Palmer Hoffman Memorial Heifer
Show. His family was instrumental in preparing for the entire
convention and warmly reached out to everyone in attendance. Many
speakers, including Wayne Sliker and Allen Bassler went to the mike and
shared memories of Mr. Hoffman which personalized him to those who had
not had the pleasure of knowing him. Most classes in the show had 18
or so animals and it looked like Madison with the judges creating 2
tiers of animals. Pippie was a "handy winner" per the judges.
Following the show was a pork chop barbecue, even though Jeffrey
Hubbard insisted he had a steak. Hannah is becoming more Ohioan (sp?)
every day in her journey to Ohio State as a freshman. She learned to
know several kids from Ohio and the next week one of them showed up in
the same orientation group at "The" OSU. Bonnie and John Ayars, who
recruited her to go there brought the judging team over to meet her
after the show. Saturday comprised the end of the convention along
with the sale. Other than the sale average and high seller I am not
knowledgeable regarding the sale, since we did not attend. I have a
bad habit of going to sales with no intention of buying and wind up in
a bidding war where my competitiveness overrules my pocket. We spent
the day heading home and visiting Hannah's friend's dairy farm and the
Amish countryside. We will have our work cut out for us to host the
convention in 2010 to show the national members that Maryland is a
small state but has a BIG impact on the Brown Swiss breed!
Suzan Thompson
