COLUMBUS, Ohio — Goodbye to the 2020 membership year and welcome to the 2021 membership year. It will be great to start fresh in 2021, and we need to begin planning and implementation of the 2021 Ohio Sheep Improvement Association program year. Sorry we could not get together in person much during 2020, but the realities of this COVID-19 health situation made it very difficult/impossible to do so!
Let me first share a quote that I received recently from Dean Cathann Kress, dean of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences:
“If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less!”
The spins, curves and turns of 2020 are hopefully almost over, and we hope to never see the 2020 situation again in our lifetimes. Like me, I am sure that everyone is ready to get back to some sort of normalcy, including but not limited to face-to-face meetings, in person programs and activities such as fairs, field days and symposiums.
Through this difficult year, we have sustained ourselves as a strong, unyielding commodity organization for our members. We have dealt with important wildlife issues such as the coyote proposals that ODNR and the Ohio Wildlife Council introduced this past spring. We have canceled, rescheduled and canceled important events but we kept thinking about the future and how these programs will look in 2021.
Our OSIA LEAD Council had market lamb and breeding sheep youth shows despite the government orders. We were able to work around them so the youth could be in the ring with their projects. County fairs, the backbone of many of our communities, went on looking much different from in the past. So with all of that said, we are certainly looking forward to 2021 and beyond.
I hope that you were able to enjoy a first for OSIA, the 2020 Virtual Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium and 2020 OSIA Annual Meeting in December. It was successful due to the many folks who were involved in the planning and implementation of this fabulous educational program.
Not only did OSIA have a successful Virtual Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium, but we had an amazing Ohio Make It with Wool Contest and an awesome OSIA LEAD Banquet and Awards program in November. These programs show the resilience of our organization and the ability to continue despite all of the hurdles presented to us.
Remember, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association is a one size fits all commodity organization. The council/committee structure of OSIA allows many members to become involved in the success of this organization. OSIA Councils/Committees include Educational Programming Council, which includes the Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium, Ohio Sheep Day, and Statewide Sheep Shearing School committees. Membership Marketing Council, which includes the Membership Marketing, Young Shepherds, and Industry Communications Committee. Youth Programming Council, which includes the Scholarship Committee. Public Policy Council that is the basis of our industries legislative activities. The Promotional Activities Council which includes the Ohio State Fair “Taste of Ohio Café,” Ohio Make it Yourself with Wool and the Ohio Lamb and Wool Ambassador Scholarship Committees.
In addition, OSIA’s largest council/committee structure is the OSIA LEAD Council. This Council has a broad range of committees that each of you are involved in some way or another to make the OSIA organization strong and dynamic. OSIA LEAD assists in creating one of the strongest overall sheep, lamb, and wool organizations in the country. If you are interesting in participating in any of the OSIA Committees, please contact me at rhigh@ofbf.org and I will send a committee application to you. Request: OSIA Committee Application
As I finish up this last 2020 OSIA Executive Director’s Report, I would like to once again thank everyone for their support of the best state sheep, lamb, and wool commodity organization in the country. The undying support that so many of you have for OSIA makes this a truly rewarding experience.
Welcome 2021 OSIA Officers and Trustees
Ohio Sheep Improvement Association Officer Team
John Anderson, President
Allen Johnson, First Vice-President
Denise Percival, Second Vice-President
Mike Stitzlein, Immediate Past President
Ohio Sheep Improvement Association Board of Trustees
Term Ending 2022
Kathy Bielek
Shawn Ray
Tom Conner
Stuart Heavilin
Term Ending 2021
Brady Campbell
Tim Barnes
Tom Wallace
Emily Buck
Representing the Joint Council of Extension Professionals Term ending 2022
Christine Gelley
— Roger A. High, OSIA/OSWP Executive Director
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