North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge® (NAIDC) awarded Dr. Stan Henderson, Professor Emeritus from Cal Poly, the Dairy Challenge Founders Awards during the Western Dairy Management Conference in February. The Dairy Challenge Founders Award was established in 2016 to recognize volunteers with extraordinary, consistent contributions and/or distinguished service to NAIDC.
Renee Smith, Western Sales Manager for Virtus Nutrition and Publicity Chair of the Dairy Challenge Board of Directors, presented the award and highlighted the tremendous contributions that Dr. Henderson has made to the Dairy Challenge program over the years. Dr. Henderson is known worldwide for his expertise in dairy judging and has an accomplished career at California Polytechnic University. He has been an active supporter of Dairy Challenge through the years, first as a coach of the Cal Poly team, and as an active member of the Western Regional Committee where he continues to be enthusiastically involved in the planning of events, including several California-hosted regional events. Dr. Henderson was also a key driver on the 2017 and 2018 National Dairy Challenge host committees when the national events were held back-to-back in Visalia, California.
“Henderson has been a constant encourager for students at Cal Poly to get involved and to learn all they can through the hands-on experience that Dairy Challenge provides,” said Smith. “He has made a lasting impact on countless students and the Dairy Challenge program through his enthusiastic support and willingness to serve.
Past recipients include Kas Ingawa, Dairy Records Management Service; Barry Putnam, Farm Credit East; Michael Van Amburgh, Cornell University; Dave Thorbahn, Select Sires, Inc.; Linda Hodorff, Second Look Holsteins; and Dave Selner, National Dairy Shrine, Don Rogers with Farm Credit East, Dave Winston, Virginia Tech, and Dr. Larry Muller, Penn State University.
To watch a short video from Dr. Henderson accepting the award, visit the Dairy Challenge You Tube link: https://youtu.be/RIqmSZUwBUc
About Dairy Challenge
NAIDC is an innovative event for students in dairy programs at North American post-secondary institutions. Its mission is to develop tomorrow’s dairy leaders and enhance progress of the dairy industry, by providing education, communication and networking among students, producers, and agribusiness and university personnel. Over its 17-year national history, Dairy Challenge has helped prepare more than 5,000 students for careers as farm owners and managers, consultants, researchers, veterinarians or other dairy professionals. The next national event will be hosted in Tifton, Georgia on March 28-30, 2019. Four regional events will be held this fall and winter; details are at www.dairychallenge.org.
