The OCA BEST Program annually holds its Leading the BEST Conference. The two and a half day conference is coordinated by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation and focuses on education and leadership development in a social and interactive setting. This conference is designed to follow the model of many breed association youth leadership conferences and is an event you will not want to miss! The conference includes BEST participants between 13 and 17 years of age, and provides various breakout sessions that are age appropriate. The goal of this conference is to develop leadership skills, expand industry knowledge and provide mentoring opportunities for the youth of Ohio’s beef industry.

The conference is held in Columbus at the Ohio State University Ag Campus. OCA provides chaperons and conference volunteers to oversee youth participants. The registration fee for each participant is $105, which includes all meals, hotel room shared with other participants, participant notebook and a participant gift. Registration is only open to the first 50 BEST participants to sign up.

Beef Industry Youth Attend 2010 Leadership Conference     

Thirty three of Ohio’s beef industry youth recently attended the Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation’s Leading the BEST Conference. The fifth annual Leading the BEST Conference was held on March 5-7, 2010, in Columbus. The conference was coordinated by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation and focused on education and leadership development in a social and interactive setting. The conference was open to Ohio Cattlemen’s Association’s Beef Exhibitor Show Total (BEST) Participants between the ages of 13 and 17 and was sponsored by Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and Bob Evans.

The conference began with a round of ice breakers and the participants were then treated to an informal dinner by Bob Evans. Following dinner, participants kicked off the weekend’s learning and development with conference speaker Marlene Eick who taught participants about the value of teamwork through games and challenges with group members. To end the evening, BEST junior representatives Lindsey Grimes, Brandon Klehm and Seth Miller led the group in a game of BEST jeopardy.

Saturday morning came with an early rise as the participants made their way to the OSU Animal Sciences building and tuned in for their next session with Eick. During this session she taught the basics of leadership and explained how youth can improve their leadership skills. Following her session, participants had the opportunity to think about future careers during the career panel. Panel participants included: Chris Henney, Ohio Farm Bureau; Heather Hetterick, Ohio Ag Net; Amanda Nolz, BEEF Magazine; Lindsey Regula, Agriculture Teacher; Dan Wells, Livestock Marketer; and David White, Ohio Farm Bureau. Panel members described their climb up the career ladder and offered insight to participants about entering the work force.

After lunch, participants were split into groups for a photo scavenger hunt around the Ohio State University campus. Each group was led by OSU students in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Following the hunt, participants listened as Amanda Nolz led them through a session on standing up and speaking out for the agriculture industry. Nolz shared some personal stories on how she has become a spokesperson for the industry and encouraged the participants to do the same. Participants were then split into two groups where they either attended a session about scholarship applications taught by Nolz or etiquette that was facilitated by Ohio State University student Bailey Harsh.

The afternoon’s learning activities concluded with a session from Eick on the importance of communication as well as the art of listening.  The day wrapped up with an opportunity for participants to roller skate and play laser tag.

On Sunday morning, the group started off with several educational sessions relating to becoming better cattle producers. Participants were taken to Claylick Run Angus Genetics in Newark where owner David Felumlee gave them a tour of his 200-head cow/calf operation. Felumlee also coordinated an activity where participants learned more about artificial insemination. Dr. Steve DeBruin also gave an interactive presentation to the participants about calving. The youth learned about some of the problems associated with calving and how they can assist.

During the afternoon sessions, Ohio State University students Molly Creamer and Sam Baer instructed the youth on cattle evaluation and what to look for when selecting projects for the coming year. Each of the participants were able to judge a class of heifers based on their knowledge and then discussed the differences between each of their placings. The next session on meat science was facilitated by OSU meats judging coach Megan Bishop. In the meat lab, Bishop instructed students on quality grades and current issues within the beef industry.

To wrap up the conference, Eick left the participants with a message about setting realistic goals and the ways they can achieve those goals.

	Thirty three youth attended the fifth annual Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation’s Leading the BEST Conference that was sponsored by Ohio Farm Bureau and Bob Evans. The conference was held Jan. March 5-7, 2010, at The Ohio State University Campus in Columbus. Pictured from left in the front row: Kelsey Sheeley, Highland Co.; Sarah Simpson, Brown Co.; Angie Wiechart, Putnam Co.; Taylor Rudor, Butler Co.; Meghan Reed, Sandusky Co.; Caroline Miller, Sandusky Co.; Tyler Clark, Miami Co.; Taelor Cox, Champaign Co.; and Taylor Darner, Butler Co.  In the second row: Samantha Darner, Butler Co.; Amber Shoemaker, Stark Co.; Megan Hunker, Huron Co.; Emily Herring, Fulton Co.; Halee Allen, Highland Co.; Karen Hiltbrand, Butler Co.; Dani Mae Hopkins, Morgan Co.; and Dara Howser, Brown Co. In the third row: Kelli Gerber, Butler Co.; Cheyenne Jepsen, Fairfield Co.; Chani Hopkins, Morgan Co.; Allison Reed, Sandusky Co.; Sarah Miller, Sandusky Co.; Zach Minges, Butler Co.; Colton Shamblin, Butler Co.; and Brandon Klehm, Stark Co. In the fourth row: Keaton Strouse, Holmes Co.; Curtis Harsh, Delaware Co., Jared Cluxton, Brown Co.; Will Harsh, Delaware Co.; Courtney Trimbach, Warren Co.; Lindsey Grimes, Highland Co.; Seth Miller, Williams Co.; and Matthew Hiser, Greene Co.
	The 2010 Leading the BEST Conference welcomed 33 of Ohio’s youth for a weekend of educational seminars, team building activities and networking opportunities within the cattle industry.
	BEST participants worked together in teams to build replicas of the Voinovich Building during the Ohio State Fair steer show as part of Marlene Eick’s first team building session on Friday evening.
	Participants had the opportunity to hear from six industry professionals as part of the career panel on Saturday morning.
	Marlene Eick, OSU instructor, led youth participants in team building and leadership activities throughout the weekend.
	The BEST Junior Representatives led the group in a competitive game of Jeopardy during the first night’s activities. The juniors are pictured above asking questions and keeping score.
	Participants discussed their possible answers for a question during jeopardy. Participants were quizzed on all aspects of the industry.
	Marlene kept the participants on the edge of their seats all weekend and always kept them guessing about what they would learn next.
	Megan Bishop, Ohio State University Meats Judging Team Coach, talked with participants about quality and yield grading beef carcasses.
	OCA President Dave Felumlee welcomed participants to his farm on Sunday morning. Dave is pictured above explaining the goals of the session he put together to teach participants the basics of artificial insemination.
	Molly Creamer and Sam Baer, past OSU Livestock Judging Team members, provided the participants a session on livestock evaluation. The participants judged a class of heifers and had to defend their placings to the group.
	Dave Felumlee answers questions outside of his calving barn at Claylick Run. Participants had the opportunity to tour Felumlee’s farm as part of the conference.
	Dr. Steve DeBruin (right) spoke to the group about calving as part of the activities at Claylick Run. DeBruin provided a fun and interactive session for the group.
	Amanda Nolz, BEEF Magazine, talked to the group about becoming advocates for the industry and using Social Media to teach others about the industry.
	The participants were split into groups for a photo scavenger hunt on the OSU campus. One of the groups is pictured above outside the OSU Football Stadium.