The annual Wisconsin Junior Holstein Convention was hosted by the Chippewa County juniors in Wisconsin Dells at Glacier Canyon Lodge, Janu. 8-10. More than 500 Holstein members, chaperones, and volunteers were in attendance to help make the weekend a huge success.

Jessica Pralle of Clark County and Charlie Hamilton of Grant County were named Outstanding Holstein Boy and Girl.

Dairy Bowl winners
Throughout the convention junior members participated in numerous contests, including speaking, arts and crafts, photography, dairy jeopardy and dairy bowl. The largest competition of the weekend was dairy bowl, in which 34 junior, 22 senior, and 10 rookie teams competed. As the dairy bowl contest came to a close, the Manitowoc County juniors took top honors in the junior division defeating Dodge County in two matches, and the Dane County seniors defeated another tough Dodge County team to earn the honor to represent Wisconsin at the National Holstein Convention in New York. Manitowoc County's team included Clarissa and Garrett Ulness, Brianna Meyer and Lauren Siemers. Dane County's team was comprised of Lizi and Zach Endres, Joseph Opsal and Allie Breunig.

All juniors at convention had the chance to compete in the dairy jeopardy competition. The top competitor in each of three age brackets has the opportunity to compete at the national level. Qualifying this year was Lauren Siemers of Manitowoc County in the junior division,Kylie Nickels of Dodge County in the intermediate division, and Sam Minch of Wood County in the senior division.

In the speaking contest, Wisconsin can send up to three delegates in each division to compete at national convention. Heading to National Convention this year are Brianna Meyer of Calumet County, Mae Buttles of St. Croix County, and Ava Booth of Sheboygan County in the junior division. Eva Doornink of Pierce County, Courtney Moser of Vernon County, and Tyler Giddings of Marathon County qualified in the intermediate division. Representing the senior division will be Kelsey Cramer of Green County, Kati Kindschuh of Fond du Lac County and Elizabeth Sarbacker of Dane County.

Outstanding Boy and Girl
On Saturday evening, the annual banquet was held to honor outstanding juniors in the Association. Charlie Hamilton of Grant County and Jessica Pralle of Clark County claimed the most prestigious honor, being named Outstanding Holstein Boy and Girl. These individuals have excelled in their Holstein programs and have been an asset to the Association and dairy industry as a whole.

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In addition to Charlie and Jessica, 2015 Distinguished Junior Holstein Members included Kayla Krueger of Waupaca County, Elizabeth Sarbacker of Dane County, Andy Sell of Dodge County, Matthew Kramer of Fond du Lac County, Lizi Endres of Dane County, Kristen Broege of Rock County, Kelsey Cramer of Green County, Valerie Kramer of Fond du Lac County, Carley Krull of Jefferson County, Katherine Larson of Vernon County, Bethany Marcks of Outagamie County, Austin Nauman of Monroe County, Nicole Pralle of Clark County, Jordan Siemers of Manitowoc County, Brooke Trustem of Rock County, Logan Voigts of Lafayette County and Danielle Warmka of Dodge County.

The Young Distinguished Junior Holstein Members include Kylie Nickels of Dodge County, Dawson Nickels of Dodge County, Ben Kronberg of Rock County, Lindsey Sarbacker of Dane County, Dylan Steiner of Green County, Hannah Hockerman of Marquette County, Elise Bleck of Sheboygan County, Cole Booth of Sheboygan County, Drew Noble of Lafayette County, McKenzie Calvert of Lafayette County, Madison Calvert of Lafayette County, Hannah Nelson of Pierce County, Kalista Hodorff of Fond du Lac County, Kaianne Hodorff of Fond du Lac County, and Erin Strauss of Jefferson County.

Finally, 12 & Under Member Recognition was awarded to Colton Brandel of Jefferson County, Clarissa Ulness of Manitowoc County, Brianna Meyer of Calumet County, Jacob Harbaugh of Shawano County, Emily Stumpf of Fond du Lac County, Kaydence Hodorff of Fond du Lac County, Ava Booth of Sheboygan County, Brady Bleck of Sheboygan County, Garrett Ulness of Manitowoc County, Cathryn Gunst of Waushara County, Christopher Gunst of Waushara County, Ainsley Noble of Grant County, Emma Dorshorst of Wood County, and Abby Giddings of Marathon County.

Of the exceptional youth recognized, four representatives in the Distinguished and Young Distinguished Member categories were selected to submit award forms to the national level with hopes of being honored at the National Convention. Jordan Siemers of Manitowoc County, Matthew Kramer of Fond du Lac County, Elizabeth Sarbacker of Dane County, and Nicole Pralle of Clark County were all chosen to represent Wisconsin as Distinguished Junior Members. The Young Distinguished Member delegates include Kalista Hodorff of Fond du Lac County, Kaianne Hodorff of Fond du Lac County, Kylie Nickels of Dodge County, and Hannah Nelson of Pierce County.

The 2016 Wisconsin Holstein Princess and Attendant were also crowned at the banquet on Saturday evening. This year, Kati Kindschuh of Fond du Lac County will serve as the WHA Princess, and Paige Nelson of Pierce County will join her as the WHA Princess Attendant.

The convention concluded Sunday morning with an awards breakfast and the annual business meeting, where four new Junior Activities Committee members were elected. The JAC group is responsible for coordinating and overseeing all junior events within the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association. Selected this year for the southwest district was Zach Tolzman of Iowa County, Nicole Pralle of Clark County for the northwest district, Joseph Opsal of Dane County for the southeast, and Katie Bauer of Waupaca County for the northeast district. These members will serve a two-year term as JAC's, and join second-year members Logan Voigts of Lafayette County, Rachel Coyne of Pierce County, Kristen Broege of Rock County, and Andrew Greenfield of Fond du Lac County.

Source: Wisconsin Holstein Association