INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Members of the Indiana Holstein Assoc. (IHA) gathered for their annual meeting in Indianapolis on Jan. 26, to discuss business and hand out hardware to their award winners.

Honoring the achievements of Holstein breeders, the Indiana Master Breeder Award went to Richard Thomas of Middlebury, while the Honorary Lifetime Member Award was given to Ray Becker.

Receiving the Derek Blough Heart and Soul Award was Jodi Jones of Marshall. Blough, late of Goshen, Ind., was a dedicated member of the IHA, who was killed in a truck accident several years ago.

President Todd Jones of Marshall presided over the events of the day as votes were cast for Districts IV, V, VI and two At-Large board positions. Duane Hill, Fountain City, was elected for the District IV position, Liz Kelsay of Whiteland was elected in District V, Linda Finke of Hope was elected in District VI and the two At-Large posts were filled by Ron Fuhrmann of Hoagland and Dru Mercer of Bryant.

Sabra Jackson of Frankfort was crowned the Indiana Holstein Princess, and the Hoosier Holstein Scholarship winner was Annie Achen of Ambia.

Al and Cindy Kuehnert of Fort Wayne discussed details of the marquee event of the IHA – hosting the National Holstein Convention in Indianapolis on July 8-11, 2013. As chairs of the event, the Kuehnerts discussed the pre-convention tours and also announced the National Holstein Convention Race to the Futures Sale will be July 8, while the live cattle convention sale will be July 10.

They explained instead of the cattle being housed at a facility outside Indianapolis, they will be housed in the convention center, which is accessible from a walkway from the hotel.

A full slate of farm tours is scheduled for Holstein enthusiasts, with a northeastern Indiana option of visiting Kuehnert Dairy Farm, Auburn Cord Duesenberg, Brand Dairy Farm, K-Z Sportsman RV tour, Maplebranch Farm, Guggusberg Deutsch Kase Haus-Cheese Factory, Yoder Popcorn Farm, Oneeda Dairy Farm, Darita Holsteins, Amish Acres and Nor-Bert Dairy Farm.

The northwestern Indiana dairy tour will include Lucas Oil Stadium, Fair Oaks Farms Adventure Center, Bos Dairy Farm, Benton County wind farms, Eli Lilly tour, Springbrook Farms and Carter Dairy Farm.

Attendees will also get a taste of Indy when they visit Dallara Indy Car Factory, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track tour and the Hall of Fame Museum.

For more information on the National Holstein Convention, visit www.indiana holstein.com or contact Alan and Cindy Kuehnert at 260-489-3766 or by email at awkuehnert@frontier.com

The annual meeting concluded with the announcement the 2013 Indiana State Holstein Show will be in Richmond, at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. The junior show will be June 15 while the open show will be June 17.