Minnesota Scrapie Information
Number
1-866-873-2824
Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers
Association
Silver Bell Award
The Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers are currently seeking nominations for the 2007 Junior and Senior Silver Bell Awards. Applications are due by November 16, 2007. The Silver Bell Awards will be presented at the Shepherds Conference and Trade Show, December 8, 2007 in Rochester, Minnesota.
Silver Bell Award History
The Silver Bell Award has awarded annually to one or two Minnesota shepherds
who have excelled in modern sheep, lamb, or wool production for over
25 years.
Over the years, the selection criteria has included flock size, lambing and weaning rate, lamb and wool production per ewe, sale price of lamb and wool, gross return per ewe, and the following less tangible but equally important factors:
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Attitude toward the adoption of new technology.
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Use of financial as well as flock production records.
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Willingness to commit labor, feed, capital, and managerial effort toward the profitable production of a quality product from their flocks that reflects well upon the entire sheep industry.
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An apparent faith and confidence in the “old ewe” and in their efforts to consistently generate a substantial part of their farm income with a ewe flock.
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A contagious enthusiasm for sheep, coupled with a record of profitable production that encourages others to follow a similar program.
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Civic contributions to their community.
The selection of the state’s most profitable flock, the largest lamb crop, the heaviest shearing ewes, or the best appearing flock was not the goal. Rather, we have chosen sheep producers who are exemplary of what all shepherds should strive to be.
General Rules and Guidelines
A shepherd can receive the award only once in a lifetime. If there is
no individual worthy of receiving the award, one will not be presented.
The individual should show longevity in the sheep business. All aspects
of the sheep industry will be considered equal, including commercial,
purebred, dairy, and hand-spinning operations.
There shall be a Junior Silver Bell award based on the same criteria as the adult Silver Bell award, except that the nominee must be less than 21 years of age and a current FFA or 4H sheep program participant. Selection emphasis for this category will focus on how they have gone out of their way to promote the sheep industry in Minnesota.
Selection of individuals to receive the award will be done by a committee of the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers with at least one previous award member on the committee. It will be the responsibility of the committee to determine the degree of excellence of each nomination and to select the winner based on the collective subjective judgment of the committee.
The Silver Bell Award will be presented at the annual MLWP conference. All winners will be notified prior to the MLWP annual conference. Winners will be asked to give a short presentation at the following year’s annual conference.
Criteria for the Award
Individual must meet the following criteria to be nominated for the
Silver Bell Award:
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Individual must be a paid current member of Minnesota Lamb & Wool Producers.
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Individual must have excelled in the PRODUCTION of sheep, lamb, or wool
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Individual must have excelled in the PROMOTION of sheep, lamb, or wool.
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Individual must have excelled in the production and promotion of sheep, lamb, or wool over an extended period of time.
Letter of Nomination
Individuals do not need to be notified that they are being nominated
for this award. Nomination letters may be kept on file for future years
if there are more nominees than awardees in a given year.
The letter of nomination should not be verbose. There is no set format. Try to limit your letter to one page. Focus on how the person being nominated meets the criteria for the award and what they have done to distinguish themselves from other shepherds. Each letter of nomination must stand on its own merit.
Letters of Nomination for this year’s Silver Bell
awards must be submitted not later than November 16, 2007 to Selection
Committee Chair:
Foster Mooney, 9710 Jewel Lane, Chisago City, MN 55013
Past Winners of the Silver Bell Award
| 1976 | DuWayne Swenson and John Larick |
| 1977 | John Wichern and Milo Mastny |
| 1978 | Curtis Roos and Orin G. Green |
| 1979 | Doug Ness and Arne Stoen |
| 1980 | Ernest Haehnel |
| 1981 | Lee McEvilly |
| 1983 | Jim Perkins and Paul M. Westerberg |
| 1984 | John Schrier and LeRoy Christianson |
| 1985 | Joel Rehm and LaVerne Martin |
| 1986 | Wayne & Betty Geppert and Richard & Mary Wishart |
| 1987 | Roger O. Green and Robert J. Burns and Peter & Charles Bobendrier |
| 1988 | Ian Tamara Cunningham |
| 1989 | Rodney Eldevik family and Dale Billberg family |
| 1990 | Randy Dombek |
| 1991 | Chris Aubart and John & Dorie Bailey |
| 1992 | Susan Zenk and Roger Karstens and Jim & Linda Hove and Brad Meyers |
| 1993 | Wayne Busch and R & K Shepherds and Shane Wishart |
| 1994 | Ryan Dostal and Pat Anderson and Foster Mooney |
| 1995 | Randy & Jewel Noble |
| 1996 | Kelley O’Neill and Dr. Cindy Wolf |
| 1997 | Paul & Dr. Holly Neaton |
| 1998 | Janet McNally |
| 2000 | Paul & Jan Anderson and Joel & Pat Friedrich |
| 2002 | Gene & Gail Christians |
| 2003 | Bob Padula |
| 2004 | Mike Haubrich Family & Dale Carter Family |
| 2005 | Mike and Carrie Caskey Family |
| 2006 | George and Jackie Mead |