Members of the World Dairy Expo® Board of Directors, Commercial Exhibitor Committee and Dairy Cattle Exhibitor Committee met for annual meetings and elections at the Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis., on March 6 and 7. These groups of industry representatives, dairy producers and Expo exhibitors offer input and leadership to World Dairy Expo as plans continue for the annual event, slated for Oct. 3 – 7, 2017.
The biennial election of officers resulted in Al Deming being re-elected as President, Bill Hageman, Jr., First Vice President; Debbie Crave, Second Vice President and Mike Hellenbrand, Secretary/Treasurer. Filling the remaining seats on the Executive Committee are Dave Bollig, Overall Dairy Cattle Show Superintendent; Bob Hagenow, At-Large Director; Dean Hermsdorf, Commercial Exhibitor Committee Chair; Jeff Lyon, Ex-Officio; Tom Morris, Dairy Cattle Exhibitor Committee Chair; Bryan Voegeli, Purebred Breeders of WDE; and Scott Bentley, WDE General Manager.
During the Monday morning meeting, the Commercial Exhibitor Committee re-elected Dean Hermsdorf, ABS Global, and Jane Griswold, Hoard’s Dairyman, Committee Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively. The committee also welcomed three new members, Brian and Yogi Brown, Sunburst Dairy, and Josh Hushon, Cargill Animal Nutrition, who were nominated and elected by the 2016 commercial exhibitors to each serve a three-year term.
The Dairy Cattle Exhibitor Committee met Monday afternoon and re-elected Committee Chair Tom Morris, Industry Representative and Vice-Chair Bryan Voegeli, Purebred Breeders of WDE. Joining the committee are five new geographical representatives, Christy Ratliff, Western United States and Western Canada; Bruce Gingerich, Midwestern United States; Terri Packard, Eastern United States; Chad Ryan, Wisconsin and Ysabel Jacobs, Eastern Canada. These individuals were selected by their fellow dairy cattle exhibitors to provide guidance for the Dairy Cattle Show for the next four years.
For over five decades, the global dairy industry has been meeting in Madison, Wis. for World Dairy Expo. Crowds of nearly 75,000 people from more than 100 countries attended the annual event in 2016. WDE will return Oct. 3-7, 2017 as attendees and exhibitors are encouraged to “Discover New Dairy Worlds.” Visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@WDExpo or #WDE17) for more information.
