Congratulations, Cy Conard

Cy Conard is 6th Generation Peter Branch

NEW YORK’S CY CONARD WINS 2012 MERLE HOWARD AWARD

MADISON, WISCONSIN – A three-time showmanship winner at World Dairy Expo and this year’s World Dairy Expo fitting contest winner, Cy Conard has won the 2012 Merle Howard Award. The son of Wayne and Jen Conard of Sharon Springs, N.Y. Conard is the ninth person to receive this honor. The Merle Howard Award is presented to the top junior exhibitor at World Dairy Expo who demonstrates exemplary skills in fitting, showmanship, and overall passion for the dairy industry.

This 17-year-old is a critical member of the family’s Ridgedale farm team and is involved in all phases of the operation, especially with cattle showing and fitting, livestock marketing and the cropping enterprise. Conard also stepped up in numerous ways to help with three sales held on the family farm within the past eight years.

Within his state, Conard captured Master Showman honors at the 2012 New York State Fair. At that same show, he exhibited the Grand Champion Red and White and the first place four year old. Later this summer, he won the four year old and aged cow classes at the junior show at the All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg, Pa., plus he collected Reserve Senior Champion honors in the Red and White open division. He also exhibited a four year old cow in Tuesday’s International Junior Holstein Show and a pair of cows at Friday’s Grand International Red and White Show. All three individuals stood in the top-half of their classes.

Respected by his peers, Conard has agreed to serve on the 2013 selection committee for the judge of the Junior Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo. He also has agreed to serve on the 2013 Red and White Dairy Cattle Association Junior Activities Committee. He is a past New York Holstein Association Distinguished Junior Member finalist. And he is a graduate of Cornell’s Junior Dairy Leader Program.

Above all, this young man is a hard worker, who fits and prepares his own animals for the show each year. Conard is currently a senior at Canajoharie High School and enrolled in the Environmental Conservation Program. Conard also has one brother, Isaac.

2012 Reunion and News

109th Reunion Report

The 109th reunion of the Descendants of John and Sarah Conard was a huge success. We had perfect weather, lots of fellowship and delicious food. Forty nine descendants of John and Sarah Conard attended. It was the largest attendance we had had in many years. The Peter, Joseph and James branches of the family were represented.

President George Conard gave an interesting report, complete with many pictures about his grandfather’s farm in Belle Meade New Jersey. Because of its proud farm heritage, the New Jersey Agricultural Society honored the S.R Conard and Sons, LLC with the 2012 Century Farm Award.

Marty Searight reported that she received many interesting emails from cousins all around the county. One was from David Skilling who is the son of Gordon and Sara Bright Skilling. David was on his way to an international academic conference in Prague honoring his father who was not only an outstanding scholar of Central and Eastern European studies, and the first Director of the Center of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Toronto, but both he and Sara were active in the struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom in Czechoslovakia. Sara was active with the Friends Service Committee in Prague in 1938 and helped reunite many refugees.

Cornelia Mueller, from Catonsville MD attended the reunion because she feels she is a descendent of Thones Kunders on her mother’s side. She is interested in our reunion and brought several German reference books to share with us.