Michael & Mai Lee Olsen have been volunteer Meats Judging Coaches for the past 6 years. Each month, Mike, Mai Lee and their two year old son, Bert, spend between 15-20 hours planning and leading weekly practices in preparation for
the State Contest.
Mai Lee’s favorite part of her role as a volunteer coach are sharing the inside jokes with the team during their trips while Mike admits he likes when the members earn banners and ribbons from state and national contests. Last October, their team earned 3rd Place at the National 4-H Meats Judging Contest at the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City. This was the second time these coaches have taken kids to this contest.
In addition to their official roles of Meats Judging coaches, Mike volunteers with our county-wide Robotics teams and Mai Lee frequently helps our members create 4-H resumes during scholarship season.
Fast Facts:
Outside Hobbies: Mike enjoys golfing while Mai Lee enjoys running and eating delicious food.
Favorite Fair Food: Mai Lee’s favorite is funnel cake and Mike answered deep-fried Oreos!
One Place You’d Like to Visit: Michael answered Cayman Islands (again!) while Mai Lee would like to visit New Zealand.
Favorite App: Mike’s favorite app is eBay
Favorite Movie: Mai Lee’s favorite movie is Pretty in Pink
Favorite TV Show: Mai Lee’s favorite show is Friends
Meats Judgers Earn Third Place in National Contest
Local 4-H members, Kendall Haas, Anna Schmick, Kaci Schmick and Dally Wilkins earned 3rd Place in the National 4-H Meats Judging Contest held during the American Royal in Kansas City, MO. This award winning team is coached by 4-H volunteers, Michael and Mai Lee Olsen.
The team earned the chance to compete by winning the Wyoming 4-H Meats Judging Contest in April. In preparation for the premier national contest the team has conducted weekly practices since winning the state contest.
Goshen County’s own competed against 11 states in retail cut identification, meat judging and delivering three sets of oral reasons. In retail cut identification contestants identified 30 cuts of meat and were expected to know the species, primal cut, name of retail cut, and the cookery method. In the judging division contestants evaluated, compared and objectively placed beef carcass, beef ribs, pork carcass, pork fresh hams, T-bones/Porterhouses, and pork rib chops classes.
Contestants then provided three well-articulated defenses for their placement of the beef, pork and retail classes. Known as providing oral reasons, youth needed to organize their thoughts and speak publicly in a structured environment.
Individual scores from all classes and reasons are totaled to determine team scores. Participants are eligible for individual recognition as well as team awards.
In Beef Classes, Kaci Schmick led the team by placing 6th overall earning 142 points.
The team shined in Pork Judging, earning first place overall. Kendall earned high individual, Anna Schmick earned 5th and Kaci Schmick earned 8th. Collectively the team earned 425 points.
Anna Schmick led the nation in the Retail Cut Judging and earned 146 points for her team. Kaci Schmick earned 145 points, earning her 2nd place and teammate Kendall Haas earned 5th place with 143 points. With a total score of 434 points, Wyoming won the Retail Cut Judging portion of the contest.
In Retail Cut Identification, Kaci Schmick led the team, placing 5th overall and a score of 295. Kendall Haas earned 8th place and 291 points out of 300. The team earned third place in this division.
Kendall led the team in oral reasons, earning 3rd place and a score of 133. Kaci Schmick earned 5th place and Anna Schmick brought home 8th place. Dally Wilkins earned 18th place out of 45 contestants. As a result of these high scores, the Wyoming team ranks 2nd in the nation in the Oral Reasons division. Individual scores are totaled to create the team score. Wyoming’s score of 2,130 points easily earned them 3rd place in the nation behind Texas and Minnesota
