“Our board reviewed several different options and came to the decision that, with regard to the COVID-19 situation and the health and safety of everyone who may gather for the event, to cancel this year’s awards banquet,” says Nate Janssen, president of National Dairy Shrine. “We look forward to hosting the event again in 2021.”

The honorees who would have been recognized at the 2020 banquet will be honored in 2021. That includes the Guest of Honor, Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder and Pioneer award winners. Students who received scholarships in 2020 will also be formally recognized next year, however the monetary value of the scholarships will be provided this year. National Dairy Shrine will select award and student scholarship winners again in 2021, and those recipients will be recognized at the 2021 banquet as well.

“With this format, the adult award winners as well as the student scholarship winners will receive the accolades due to them,” says Janssen. “The National Dairy Shrine is centered on recognizing dignitaries who have made significant contributions to the dairy industry and the youth who are the industry’s future. Recognizing this year’s winners in a formal fashion fits that mission.”

The annual meeting of the National Dairy Shrine, normally held just prior to the awards banquet, has been moved to a virtual format. The 2020 meeting will be held at noon CST on October 1, 2020. Additional meeting details will be provided at a later date.

The 2021 National Dairy Shrine awards banquet will be held Thursday, September 30, 2021.

For more information about National Dairy Shrine, the banquet, or the students and dairy industry leaders being recognized this year, contact National Dairy Shrine’s office at info@dairyshrine.org or visit www.dairyshrine.org.