1. education
2. alumni and reunions

The Showbox
gopher Dairy Club 2009 Edition
I
Meet the 2009-2010 Executive Team
in this issue
Meet the
Executive Team
Gopher Dairy Camp
Recap
State Fair Dairy Bar
Review
GDC Hosts FFA Students
for Fall Invitational
Gopher Dairy Judging
Update
GDC Hosts Annual
Alumni Reunion
2009-2010
Roster
Member and
Alumni
Recognition
(L-R) Jessie Ingvalson, Staci Sexton, Courtney Heuer, Erica Seitzer, Charlie Schiller,
Jessica Achen
President, Charlie Schiller is a
senior in Animal Science, Industry
Emphasis with a minor in Applied
Economics. He grew up on a 100
cow Holstein dairy farm in Freeport, MN. Charlie is the son of Michael and
Karen. On
campus he
is involved
in Alpha
Gamma
Rho Fraternity,
Minnesota
Royal
Executive
Committee, Block
and Bridle and is a member of the
Gopher Dairy Judging Team.
Vice President, Jessica Achen
is a senior in Animal Science Dairy
Production Emphasis. Jessica is
the daughter of Craig and Cindy of
Sauk Centre, MN. Her family milks
68 cows including Holstein, Brown
Swiss, and Milking Shorthorn. Jessica
is actively involved in Lambda Delta
Phi Sorority and enjoys to travel.
Treasurer, Staci Sexton a senior
in Animal Science. She grew up
on 90 cow Holstein Dairy farm in
Millville, MN and is the daughter of
Vince and Sheri. On campus Staci is
involved in Beta of Clovia sorority
and is a member of the Minnesota
Royal Executive Committee.
Secretary, Courtney Heuer is a junior in Animal Science, and co-manager
of the Gopher Dairy Bar. She grew
up on a five generation family farm in
Howard Lake, MN and is the daughter
of Roger and Cindy. Courtney is also
the assistant
overall chair
of Minnesota Royal and
serves on the
Animal Science
curriculum
committee.
Reporter, Erica Seitzer,
is a senior in
Applied Economics, and co-editor of the GDC
yearbook. She was raised on a family
dairy farm in St. Peter, MN and is the
daughter of Jerry and Carol. Throughout her college career she has been
a member of Beta of Clovia sorority,
CFANS Student Board, the Agriculture
Future of America organization and
National Agri-Marketing Association.
Student Board Representative, Jessie Ingvalson is a junior in Animal
Science. Jessie works for the Center of
Outdoor Adventure as a climbing wall
assistant. Next Semester, Jessie will be
studying abroad in Ecuador. She grew
up on a dairy farm in souther Minnesota, where her father and brother,
Don and Eric Ingvalson, currently milk
120 Holsteins on 383 acres.
Contact Info: 612.624.2277 [email protected] www.ansci.umn.edu/gdc/
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Gopher Dairy Camp 2009 is a Success!
-Karen Anderson
The Gopher Dairy Camp was held at the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota on June 11-13, 2009.
Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin were represented with fifty- two campers participating in the 6th
annual camp.
The camp highlights included ‘buying’ a calf from auctioneer Jeff Balcom and learning how to fit and properly
show the calf. Educational sessions were also given about sire selection, dairy nutrition, dairy judging and
understanding how to positively promote the dairy industry. Campers also had time to relax and meet new
friends at the Grand Rios Water Park. Furthermore, the
campers were recognized for their accomplishments at a
pancake breakfast awards banquet.
The Gopher Dairy Camp could not have been a success
without the wealth of industry representatives, University
of Minnesota alumni, students
and faculty who contributed to the camp’s activities.
Thank you to our sponsors and everyone who pitched in to make this Minnesota
camp a success!
Gopher Dairy Camp provides a unique opportuntity for kids to learn and enhance
their daiy cattle knowledge. It was organized by Zach Sawall and Karen Anderson
(Co-Chairs) with help from Missy Mussman and Jenn Becker, the alumni chairs. The
camp was successful with the help of nine current Gopher Dairy Club members.
Chilly Weather still brings customers
to the dairy bar
-Staci Sexton and Brett Boyum
The cold didn’t hold back the Gopher Dairy Bar this year. Even with days of rainy weather at the
Minnesota State Fair, the Gopher Dairy Bar was able to bring in over $197,000. This year’s senior managers
were Brett Boyum and Staci Sexton, and the junior managers were Courtney Heuer and Stacey Butler. The
Dairy Bar is vital to the club’s success as it is the only fundraisrer. The profits earned from the Dairy Bar are
used for club activities throughout the year including the annual banquet, senior trip and ADSA meetings. Additionally these earnings provide scholarships for incoming students, as well as organizational donations. As
in previous years the club donated 1,500 coupons to the Milk Run participants, of which 1,254 coupons were
redeemed this year for free shakes. The club also donated coupons to dairy judging practice hosts.
This year there were over 60 members that worked at the Gopher Dairy Bar. The GDC members
help everything run smoothly. They are excited and motivated to work at the State Fair and without their
contribution, the Gopher Dairy Bar would not have been a success. A great thanks goes out to all the people
who support the Gopher Dairy Bar and also those who came and visited us during the days of the great Minnesota get together. Come visit us at the 2010 Minnesota State Fair. We will happily serve you with a milkshake and a smile!
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Gopher Dairy Judging Team Takes Top
Three in all National Contests
-Jessica Achen
Once again Minnesota was a top contender in all the
National Contests, placing in the top three at all four
national contests. Placing 3rd Overall and 1st in Reasons at the Accelerated Genetics Intercollegiate Dairy
Cattle Judging Contest in Viroqua, WI on September
20th. The junior team consisted of Caitlin Kasper, Megan Herberg, Abby Udermann, and Robert Westman.
The team was 1st in Brown Swiss, 2nd in Jersey, 3rd in
Guernsey, and 4th in Ayrshire and Holstein. Individually Caitlin was 2nd Overall, 3rd in Reasons, 1st in Brown
Swiss and Holstein; Megan was 9th Overall, 4th in
Reasons, 1st in Ayrshire, and 2nd in Brown Swiss; Abby
was 16th Overall, 7th in Reasons, and 3rd in Jersey.
The Senior Team composed of Jessica Achen, Staci
Sexton, Mike Donnelly, and Brandon Theising made
the long trek to the All-American Dairy Show Intercollegiate Contest in Harrisburg, PA on September
21st. The team was 2nd Overall and Reasons. In the
different breeds they were 1st in Ayrshire, Brown
Swiss, and Jersey Breeds, 4th in Holstein, and 6th in
Guernsey. Individually Brandon was 3rd Overall and
Reasons, 2nd in Brown Swiss and Jersey, 5th in Ayrshire,
and 7th in Holstein; Mike was 4th Overall, 14th in Reasons, 1st in Brown Swiss (winning the Swiss Bell!) and
7th in Ayrshire; Jessica was 7th Overall, 8th in Reasons,
3rd in Brown Swiss, 4th in Guernsey, and 8th in Ayrshire.
Junior Dairy Judging Team (L-R): Dr. Les Hansen; coach, Alicia Thurk;
coach, Robert Westman, Caitlin Kasper, Kevin Borst, Abby Udermann,
Megan Herberg, Mikayla Krause and coach Scott Ellinghuysen
Senior Dairy Judging Team (L-R): Dr. Les Hansen; coach, Alicia Thurk;
coach, Staci Sexton, Charlie Schiller, Brandon Theising, Jessica Achen,
Mike Donnelly, Jeff Pagel and coach Scott Ellinghuysen
The same team competed at the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest at World Dairy
Expo in Madison, WI on September 29th. The Team
was 3rd Overall, 4th in Reasons, 3rd in Ayrshire, Brown
Swiss, and Red & White, and 5th in Milking Shorthorn.
The team also did well individually, Brandon was 11th
Overall, 6th in Reasons, 2nd Milking Shorthorn, and
8th in Brown Swiss; Jessica was 12th Overall, 2nd Red
& White, 6th in Guernsey, 9th in Jersey; Staci was 21st
Overall, 3rd in Ayrshire, 5th in Brown Swiss, and 9th in
Holsteins. The final contest of the year took place at the North
American International Livestock Exposition Center
in Louisville, KY on November 8th. The team was
composed of senior Charlie Schiller and juniors Catlin
Kasper, Megan Herberg, and Abby Udderman. The
team was 3rd Overall, 2nd in Holstein, 3rd in Guernsey,
4th in Ayrshire, 5th in Jersey, and 7th in Brown Swiss.
Individually Megan was 4th Overall, 6th in Reasons,
2nd in Brown Swiss, and 4th in Holstein; Abby was 9th
Overall and 2nd in Jersey; and Caitlin was 12th Overall,
6th in Ayrshire, 7th in Brown Swiss. All of this success
wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated coaches
of the judging teams: Dr. Les Hansen, Scott Ellinghuysen and Alicia Thurk; also assisting were Barry Visser,
and Kim DeFrang. Thank you for your time, advice,
and expertise you provided in helping the teams succeed. We would also like to extend a special thank
you to all of the farms that let us come practice!
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FFA Fall Invitational Moves to
Miracle of Birth Center
-Stacey Butler
As fall comes around the Gopher Dairy Club gets
ready to host the FFA Fall Invitational on the St. Paul
Campus. One large change for the members was
moving the location of the contest to the Miracle of
Birth Center on the Minnesota State Fair grounds.
With the larger facilities the contestants were able to
stay dry and have room to view the cattle.
The contest was held October 8th, 2009. This year
there were 288 FFA participants and 54 teams that
participated. There were two rings going simultaneously to give the contestants time to view each animal
and to make the contest stay on time. GDC members
went between the two rings to help with any confusion. All FFA members did a great job and scored high.
The top three teams were Brillion, Randolph #2, and
Forest Lake. The top individuals were Mary Liebenstein from Randolph #2 (402), Andrew Miron from
Forest Lake (400), and Paul Johnson from Winona
(398).
GDC Hosts Annual Aumni
Reunion
-Krsity Mussman
The Golden Gopher Dairy Club traveled
across rival borders to Madison, Wisconsin
for the annual Alumni Reunion. The reunion
was held on October 2nd 2009, in conjuction
with World Dairy Expo. Charlie Schiller- club
president, extended a big maroon and gold
welcome to nearly 60 past and present Gopher Dairy Club memebers. Both young and
old shared their proud memories of being
involved in our organization and how we have
been able to expand our horizons through
the dairy industry.
The club takes pride in putting on a great contest.
There were over 35 members who helped with the
clipping, washing, leading, hauling and taking reasons
during the contest. This was a very successful year
and the contest chairs, Darin Davis and Stacey Butler,
would like to thank all GDC members and participants for a great contest. See you in the spring!
4
Each year, the Gopher Dairy Club is proud to
host this event for our alumni and this night
always proves our passion for our University
and the dairy industry!
2009-2010 Gopher Dairy Club Roster
Emily Achen
Jessica Achen
Jacob Achen
Jacob Albrecht
Jannelle Andersen
Karen Anderson
Kevin Anderson
Steph Backhaus
Lindsey Beckendorf
Jane Bergquist
Kevin Borst
Brett Boyum
Kelsey Brandt
Laura Bunke
Stacy Butler
Willie Coyne
Chris Dahlke
Luke Daninger
Darin Davis
Kevin Davis
Mike Donnelly
Caity Durow
Kirstin Durow
Keith Engle
Taylor Engquist
John Ertl
Tyler Evink
Erika Fernholz
Emily Fox
Kerri Haider
David Hanson
Jesse Heitke
Scott Helgeson
Matt Herberg
Megan Herberg
Courtney Heuer
Meg Hintzen
Alex Hintz
Kyle Hoen
Kelsey Hoen
Jessie Ingvalson
Jason Kaare
Ryan Kappers
Caitlin Kasper
Danielle Kiefer
Mikayla Krause
Emily Krekelberg
Andy Kryzer
Katie Kubacki
Erin Laboda
Chris Love
Morgan MacDonald
Kyle Mathews
Lucien McBeth
Shance McFadden
Lee Michels
Josh Miller
Theresa Miniscalco
Kristy Mussman
Molly Neil
Elizabeth Olson
Ellie Opitz
Jeff Pagel
Jessica Rauba
Megan Reeck
Brenda Reiter
Michelle Reitsma
Cory Riewe
Mitch Rosenfeld
Abby Rudenick
Isaac Salfer
Zach Sawall
Abby Sawatzke
Charlie Schiller
Erica Seitzer
Staci Sexton
Randi Staudinger
Ashley Swenson
Ryan Tentis
Brandon Thesing
Laura Thompson
Theresa Twohey
Abby Udermann
Megan Udermann
Pamela VonRuden
Brandon Walter
Brian Walters
Laura Weisz
Robert Westman
Becca Wiley
Patricia Zentner
Amanda Zwieg
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Gopher Dairy Club
1364 Eckles Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Cograts to these current and Alumni GDC members!
Weddings:
• Kristen Heitke and Alex Jankila
were united on January 10, 2009
• Justin Reeck married Lisa Thompson on February 7, 2009
• Amanda Eppen married Derrik
Sommers on April 14, 2009
• Jennifer Borash and Ryan Burggaff
were married May 23, 2009
• Lucas Sjostrom and Alise Jennissen
were married on June 6, 2009
• Carlina Sloan and Pat Gallagher
wed on June 13, 2009
• Kia Vander Kooi and Aaron Nystrom were united on September 12,
2009
• Adam Dicke and Melisa Huneke
were married September 12, 2009
• Casey Rickemen and Brian Walters
were married Octoer 17, 2009
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Engagements:
• Megan Reeck is engaged to be
married to Dan Roberts on May
29, 2010
• Ashely Bents and Josh Hein are
engaged and planning a June 12,
2010 wedding
• Amanda Alberg and Luke Zwilling
are engaged to be married July 10,
2010
• Chris Dahlke and Amy Esselman
are engaged to be married August
14, 2010
• Ahnna Olson and Kyle Compart
are engaged and planning a September 11, 2010 wedding
• Janelle Kuechle is engaged to be
married to Andy Daberkow on
September 18, 2010
• Kristy Mussman and Paul Miron
are engaged and planning a November 20, 2010 wedding
Dates to
Remember
February 7th: Annual Gopher Dairy Club
Banquet
February 26th27th: Midwest Regional ADSA-SAD
April 12-17th:
Minnesota Royal
April 17th: Annual
Minnesota Royal Alumni
BBQ and showmanship
contest