Governor's Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction

WEST ALLIS, WI – August 11, 2010 – Officials of the Wisconsin State Fair and members of the Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions Foundation are pleased to announce that the 42nd Annual Governor's Red, White and Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction (formerly the Governor's Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction) at the 2010 Wisconsin State Fair was very successful. The auction featured exciting additions including appearances from members of the UW-Madison Marching Band, Bucky Badger, former UW-Madison Athletic Director Pat Richter, and former badger football star and Heisman Trophy Winner Ron Dayne, and of course, Governor Jim Doyle.

The real stars of the evening, the youth exhibitors and their Grand Champion or Reserve Champion animals, stepped into the spotlight when the auction kicked off promptly at 6:30pm in the Coliseum at the Fair Park. Board president of the Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions and respected auctioneer Bob Johnson of Milton emceed the event. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle joined Johnson and others in encouraging bidders to raise their paddles to bid throughout the night.

Spectators watched from the seats in the Coliseum while bidders were seated in the ring to get an up close look at the champion beef market steer, sheep, and swine. Bidding commenced with the Grand Champion Steer exhibited by Brock May of Iowa County. Brock, age 16, had a broad smile spread across his face when his Crossbred steer was selected as Grand Champion for the fourth consecutive year! In the end, the Grand Champion Steer (Crossbred), weighing 1330 pounds, sold for $15,000 with the winning bid from Kenosha Beef and Birchwood Foods. The steer was donated to Shalom Society of Kenosha.

In total, 28 Junior Market Steers, Barrows and Lambs were auctioned off raising a grand total of $111,900. The award structure is a sliding percentage scale based on the amount of the auction sale price. "The Governor's Red, White and Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction is an incredible opportunity for the youth exhibitors to exhibit their showmanship skills and be rewarded for the dedication they have shown over the past year to their project animals. Hard work, passion and dedication that it takes to be part of the agriculture industry are all exemplified through the auction, and really, all of our exhibitors at the Wisconsin State Fair.," stated Patrice Harris, Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Wisconsin State Fair. Harris continued, "It's so very important to continue to find ways to showcase the importance of Agriculture to Wisconsin, and the Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions Foundation did an excellent job of doing that through the auction."

The judges who selected the champion animals for the Governor's Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction were:

• Jim Williams, Boling, TX - Junior Market Steers
• Gary Childs, Pelham, GA – Junior Market Barrows (Swine)
• Kelly Bruns, Brookings, SD – Junior Market Lambs

The winning bids for the 2010 Governor's Red, White and Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction (in program order) are:

• Grand Champion Steer (Crossbred): exhibited by Brock May of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $15,000 by Kenosha Beef and Birchwood Foods (donated to Shalom Society of Kenosha)
• Grand Champion Barrow (Crossbred): exhibited by Brady Tibbits of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $6,000 by a syndicate of Saz's, Leff's Lucky Town, Bunzel's Meats, Major Goolsby's, Country Fresh Meats, All City Auto, UNITS Mobile Storage, Trawicki Electric, Ironwood Golf, Shorewest Realtors, Milwaukee Admirals and Mary Henke

• Grand Champion Market Lamb (Crossbred): exhibited by Tierney Reilly of Lafayette County; Winning Bid of $4,000 by a syndicate of Saz's, Leff's Lucky Town, Bunzel's Meats, Major Goolsby's, Country Fresh Meats, All City Auto, UNITS Mobile Storage, Trawicki Electric, Ironwood Golf, Shorewest Realtors and Milwaukee Admirals.

• Reserve Grand Champion Barrow (Hampshire): exhibited by Brittany Wethal of Dane County; Winning Bid of $5,750 by Coca-Cola
• Reserve Grand Champion Market Lamb (Suffolk): exhibited by Calvin Reilly of Lafayette County; Winning Bid of $3,250 by Giant Slide, Inc., SkyFair, Inc., Crutchee's Concessions, G&G Concession and Caribbean Smoothies (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation)
• Champion Chianina Breed Steer exhibited by Mallory McConnell of Rock County; Winning Bid of $6,500 by MillerCoors (donated to Feeding America Eastern WI)
• Champion Yorkshire Barrow exhibited by Erica Langholff of Wood County; Winning Bid of $2,250 by Badger Ethanol.
• Champion Hampshire Lamb exhibited by Tierney Reilly of Lafayette County; Winning Bid of $1,250 by Beer Capitol (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation)
• Champion Maine-Anjou Steer exhibited by Justin Lillesand of Sheboygan County; Winning Bid of $4,500 by Wisconsin Souvenir Milk Caps (donated to Waukesha Food Pantry)
• Champion Poland China Barrow exhibited by Mariah Schulz of Green Lake County; Winning Bid of $3,000 by Anheuser-Busch / Beechwood Sales & Service (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation)
• Champion Dorset Lamb exhibited by Bailey Quam of Columbia County; Winning Bid of $1,100 by Saz's, Leff's Lucky Town, Bunzel's Meats, Major Goolsby's, Country Fresh Meats, All City Auto, UNITS Mobile Storage, Trawicki Electric, Ironwood Golf, Shorewest Realtors and Milwaukee Admirals
• Champion Simmental Steer exhibited by Taylor Schuetz of Rock County; Winning Bid of $4,750 by Rock County Syndicate consisting of Ken & Marcia Luety and MillerCoors (donated to Feeding America Eastern WI)
• Champion Berkshire Barrow exhibited by Mikayla Wehrle of Waupaca County; Winning Bid of $3,250 by the Budweiser Pavilion
• Champion Natural Colored Lamb exhibited by Daren Whittmann of Green County; Winning Bid of $1,250 by Giant Slide, Inc., SkyFair, Inc., Crutchee's Concessions, G&G Concession and Caribbean Smoothies (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation)
• Champion Hereford Steer exhibited by Paige Poad of Richland County; Winning Bid of $4,500 by Deer Valley and Wisconsin Show Cattle Supporters (donated to Racine Food Pantry)
• Champion Duroc Barrow exhibited by Nicole Gross of Jefferson County; Winning Bid of $3,500 by Harmon Solutions Group
• Champion Any Other Breed Lamb exhibited by Jed Dallas of Shawano County; Winning Bid of $1,250 by I.G. Hall and Badger State Auction & Realty (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation)
• Champion Angus Steer exhibited by Sarah Lillesand of Sheboygan County; Winning Bid of $4,000 by Advance Fun Technology/Ejection Seat and Halbman Landscaping Co.
• Champion Spotted Barrow exhibited by Jenna Olson of Rock County; Winning Bid of $1,700 by a syndicate of Hoss Rehberg Agency / Farmers & BWO Insurance
• Champion Southdown Lamb exhibited by Leah Green of Brown County; Winning Bid of $1,300 by Wisconsin State Fair Park Board (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation)
• Champion Shorthorn Steer exhibited by Brett Rosek of Racine County; Winning Bid of $4,000 by Beer Capitol (donated to Wisconsin State Fair Park  Foundation)
• Champion Chester White Barrow exhibited by Cody Puntney of Columbia County; Winning Bid of $1,500 by Coca-Cola
• Champion Columbia Lamb exhibited by Jessica Taylor of Columbia County; Winning Bid of $1,000 by I.G. Hall and Badger State Auction & Real Estate (donated to Feeding America)
• Champion Any Other Breed Steer exhibited by Dan Vyvyan of Racine County; Winning Bid of $4,250 by Wisconsin Show Cattle Supporters (donated to Racine Food Pantry)
• Champion Landrace Barrow exhibited by Hunter Langholff of Wood County; Winning Bid of $1,600 by IMPARK and Firewagon Racing
• Champion Registered Dairy Steer exhibited by Victoria Leix of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $5,000 by American Foods Group (donated to Salvation Army, Green Bay)
• Champion Tamworth Barrow exhibited by Ethan Schmaling of Dane County; Winning Bid of $2,200 by a syndicate of United Country Jones Auction & Realty,  Saz's, Leff's Lucky Town, Bunzel's Meats, Major Goolsby's, Country Fresh Meats, All City Auto, UNITS Mobile Storage, Trawicki Electric, Ironwood Golf, Shorewest Realtors and Milwaukee Admirals
• Champion Hereford Barrow exhibited by Jenna Pribbenow of Columbia County; Winning Bid of $1,500 by Dalton Lumber (donated to Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions Foundation)

Additional packages and items that were auctioned off at various points during the auction include:

• UW Package #1 – Golf with Ron Dayne purchased by Halbman Landscape Co. and Advance Fun Technology / Ejection Seat for $2,000
• UW Package #2 – UW Badger Basketball (four luxury suite tickets and basketball autographed by Bo Ryan) purchased by Prime Ag for $1,200
• UW Badger Package #3 – UW Badger Football (four 50-yard line tickets for Sept. 18 Badger game vs. Arizona State, personalized, autographed helmet signed by Ron Dayne, Pat Richter, and Bret Bielema as well as autographed Bucky Badger poster) was purchased by Hoss Rehberg Agency - Farmers & BWO Insurance for $1550
• 12 Commemorative Western Hats to benefit the Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions Foundation Scholarship Found were sold for $300 to a variety of supporters
• WISCONSIN Plant Hanger & Plants – Two "W" yard flower stands donated by Koepke's Flowers of Oregon, Wisconsin and hanging plants donated by Minor's Garden Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One was purchased by Mary Beth Carr for $225 and the second was purchased by Triple L Show Pigs for $225

The additional packages and items garnered $8,880.
In all, the evening raised a total of $ 117,950.

The 2010 Wisconsin State Fair, presented by U.S. Cellular, continues through Sunday, August 15. The Wisconsin State Fair offers an original experience to all that attend and is a phenomenal value with 30 FREE entertainment stages, thousands of animals, endless family activities, events, contests, vendors and culinary delights. For the most up-to-date information visit WiStateFair.com.

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