Grand Island, Neb. – National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) members competed in the  illustrated and advanced speaking contests, during the 25th VitaFerm^® Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE), “The Grand Daddy of ’Em All,” on July 7 in Grand Island, Neb. The Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA), along with the NJHA and the National Hereford Women (NHW) hosted these skills-based speaking contests, which uphold its mission to promote leadership and education. 

Illustrated speech 

Young people build their public speaking, leadership abilities while learning to communicate accurately and professionally. The illustrated speech contest builds the skills needed for NJHA members to promote both the beef industry and Hereford breed. The NHW partners with the NJHA to sponsor this contest. 

This year’s top placings in the illustrated speech contest are as follows. 

Peewee: 

1st place: Landon Pesek, Western, Neb.

2nd place: Blaire Buehler, Fairbury, Neb.

3rd place: Copeland Paulsen, Preston, Iowa

Junior: 

1st place: Jarrett Worrell, Mason, Texas

2nd place: Libby Perez, Nara Visa, N.M.

3rd place: Peyton Perez, Nara Visa, N.M.

Advanced speech 

 The advanced speech contest, like the illustrated speech contest, encourages young people to promote the Hereford breed and agriculture as a whole through their public speaking skills. The advanced speech contest features an extemporaneous speech portion for finalists, in which young leaders have to think on their feet to prepare a speech on an assigned topic in just 30 minutes. The NHW sponsors this contest, as well.

This year’s top placings in the advanced speech contest are as follows. 

Intermediate: 

1st place: Taylor Marrs, Macomb, Okla.

2nd place: Ella Bane, Towanda, Ill.

3rd place: Josie Mares, Glenrock, Wyo.

Senior: 

1st place: Devon Lockhart, Caldwell, Texas

HYFA in collaboration with the NJHA and sponsors holds multiple educational contests and events during JNHE. NJHA members are encouraged to participate in these educational events and connect with other young people.

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The 2024 VitaFerm^®Junior National Hereford Expo, “The Grand Daddy of ’Em All,” was sponsored in part by BioZyme Inc., St. Joseph, Mo. The National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) is one of the most active junior programs in the country with more than 4,000 members. The NJHA’s mission is to create and promote enthusiasm for the breed while providing opportunities through leadership, education and teamwork. For more information about the NJHA, visit JrHereford.org.