News Release Distributed 02/20/10
GONZALES, La. – The LSU AgCenter honored an outstanding volunteer leader and five 4-H and FFA members Saturday (Feb. 20) for their work with youth livestock projects.
The awards were presented during ceremonies that concluded the 75th Annual LSU AgCenter Livestock Show Presented by Price LeBlanc. The annual event ran Feb. 13-20 at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.
Sponsored by the Louisiana 4-H Foundation and Louisiana FFA, the annual awards recognize young people and adults for outstanding contributions to or work with youth livestock programs. The awards are based on evaluation of each person's record book or a detailed application concerning his or her involvement with youth livestock projects.
The 4-H program is the youth development arm of the nationwide land-grant university system. It is operated in Louisiana by the LSU AgCenter and includes projects for youth on topics ranging from raising livestock to computer science, family life, environmental science and much more.
“We’re pleased to be able to recognize an outstanding volunteer leader, since volunteer leaders help us reach even more young people with our projects and programs,” said Dr. Paul Coreil, vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter. “We’re also happy to be able to honor outstanding young people who are excelling in their 4-H and FFA projects.”
Among the honors presented Saturday were the Attorney General’s Award, which recognizes volunteer 4-H leaders who have assisted youngsters with livestock projects. This year’s award went to Lynn Farrar of Caddo Parish.
Other awards included the Superintendent of Education Awards, which go to students 13 years old and younger who have excelled in the livestock program. This year’s Superintendent’s Awards went to Sam Laroux of Sabine Parish and Morgan Rian Williams of Grant Parish.
Governor’s Awards went to Karine Cifreo of Livingston Parish and Kristen Rae Morrison of Vernon Parish. Those awards recognize older 4-H and FFA members who have excelled in their livestock projects.
Finally, the C.W. “Dub” Kennedy Award in Animal Science, which is named after a former LSU AgCenter Livestock Show manager and honors a young person for outstanding work in youth livestock projects, went to Leah Broussard of Vermilion Parish.
The Attorney General’s Award winner, Farrar, has been serving as a livestock project leader in Caddo Parish for 10 years. Among her many activities have been helping young people locate, train and show their animals; conducting clinics on grooming, care and showing of horses, exhibition birds, broilers, pygmy goats, market goats and rabbits; and supervising at parish fair poultry and rabbit shows, along with helping the youth with their chickens at the Louisiana State Fair since 2000. Her work has paid off with awards to the youngsters she’s helped, including the state-winning 4-H Quiz Bowl Team, two state Premier Poultry Exhibitors, a State Dairy Premier Exhibitor and a State Horse Premier Exhibitor, as well as four belt buckle winners in poultry showmanship at the LSU Ag Center Livestock Show, two state commodities speech winners, one lamb exhibitor winning a trip to the North American International Livestock Exposition and a dairy exhibitor winning a trip to the American Jersey Cattle Association 2009 Jersey Youth Academy.
As for the Superintendent of Education Award winners, Laroux is a member of the Ebarb High School FFA chapter and the son of Wade and Yolanda Laroux. His livestock projects center on swine production, and he has shown pigs at parish and state levels. He serves as Ebarb High’s FFA chapter sentinel, and he’s also a 4-H member and vice president of Ebarb High’s 4-H Club. In addition, he a member of FBLA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, One Great River and SADD, as well as playing on his school’s basketball team.
Williams, a seventh grader and 4.0 student at Montgomery Junior High, is the daughter of Brian and Vanessa Williams. She serves as the president of her 4-H Club in addition to playing basketball, cheerleading, dancing, swimming and riding horses, among other activities. Her livestock activities center on showing horses, and she says being involved in the horse project has taught her the responsibility of caring for an animal. In addition, she says her overall 4-H experience has “helped build my self-confidence and provided me with opportunities to strengthen my communications skills.”
The first of this year’s Governor’s Award Winners, Cifreo is a member of the Walker High School FFA chapter and the daughter of Phillip and Julie Cifreo. Her involvement with livestock projects covers a range including market steers, commercial heifers, a Shorthorn heifer, a Chimaine heifer, boer does, market barrows, Duroc breeding gilts and a market gilt. An FFA member since 2007, she also started showing cattle as a 4-H member while in the fifth grade. Among her accomplishments, Williams now artificially inseminates gilts and is learning how to artificially inseminate heifers. She will participate in an internship at a genetic farm this summer in Ohio.
Morrison is the 15-year-old daughter of Ray and Darlene Morrison of Anacoco and attends Anacoco High School. She is active in horse, goat, beef, poultry and swine projects in 4-H and says her favorite sport is rodeo, which she has been participating in since the age of 4. In addition to winning awards with her riding and showing livestock at a variety of events, she plays varsity basketball and softball and runs cross country and is a member of LEO, FBLA, SADD, FCS and National Honor Society.
Broussard, the Kennedy Award winner, is the daughter of Timothy and Gwen Broussard of Abbeville and has been involved with 4-H since the third grade. Among her accomplishments have been raising grand champion and reserve champion animals, but that’s not all. She places emphasis on showmanship and has won first place in the state Beef Ambassador Contest. In addition to showing and promoting cattle, Leah participates in many beef cookery contests, poster contests, photography contests, livestock judging, quiz bowls and, of course, beef records contests like the one that helped her win this award.
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Contact: Terril Faul
Writer: Tom Merrill