Dr. Douglas Evans, DVM, owner-operator of Sunny Acres Farm of Georgetown, N.Y., is the recipient of the 2015 Obie Snider Award, the top honor of the All-American Dairy Show.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding will present the award at the show’s Dairy Farmer Appreciation Banquet on Monday, September 14, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center.
The award, established in memory of Obie Snider of Bedford County, a founding father of the All-American Dairy Show, recognizes an individual who places significant value in service to the industry and community and displays high standards of conduct.
“The All-American is a success because of the longstanding dedication, participation and support given by those who love this show,” said Redding. “Dr. Evans embodies that commitment to the show and the industry through his involvement in many avenues. He is an ambassador and continues the legacy of excellence inspired by Obie Snider.”
As a full-time large animal veterinarian who farms 245 acres and milks a registered herd of Ayrshires, Evans keeps busy. For 33 years, he and his family have traveled to Harrisburg, bringing an outstanding show string of registered Ayrshires to compete in the All-American Ayrshire shows.
Obie Award winners are recognized for their character, laudable ethics, a high level of professionalism, leadership within their profession, and civic and public community service. Dr. Evans is a highly respected veterinarian and leader within the Ayrshire community. He is the sixth generation on the family farm, and his children have now taken on management roles in further developing the herd and farm.
“Doug Evans and his family have always exhibited a fine herd of Ayrshires at the All-American Dairy Show,” noted Dr. Larry Specht, treasurer of the All-American. “Dr. Evans has also contributed in other ways: as a class sponsor, a member of the advisory committee, and a judge for numerous national junior shows as well as several breed shows, all at the All-American. Dr. Evans and family certainly possess the qualities that the Obie Award represents.”
Nationally, Evans has served on the Board of Directors of the U.S Ayrshire Breeders Association for more than 25 years, recently completing a term as the President of the Association. The herd has won more than 20 Constructive Breeder Awards and numerous French Trophy recognitions for national production.
Evans is a graduate of Cornell School of Veterinary Medicine and is the owner of the Georgetown Veterinary Practice that specializes in bovine work. His leadership and service to his community are evident in his membership in the Ayrshire Sire Committee of the Eastern AI Cooperative, the Madison County Cooperative Extension Board, the Otselic Valley School board and the Georgetown Planning Board.
Evans is an internationally recognized judge, officiating at the Canadian Royal Winter Fair, the International Ayrshire Show in Quebec, and numerous shows across the United States. He officiated the All-American Guernsey Show in 1996, the Pennsylvania State Junior Dairy Show several times and also donated his time to judge the All-American Dairy Show Showmanship Contest.
Sunny Acres Farm has found perennial success in the tanbark at the All-American. Sunny Acres has won the prestigious Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor banners at the All-American for a combined 16 times since 1991. Ten Ayrshire Grand Champions have been owned and exhibited by the Evans family since then as well. Evans and his Sunny Acres Farm team are known as avid Ayrshire enthusiasts and friends to fellow exhibitors, always willing to lend an animal to the All-American’s judging contest. Evans has given back in still other ways, as a class sponsor and member of the Show Advisory Committee for more than two decades.
Doug and his wife Kathryn have four children. Andrew and Gregory are part of the family farm. Their daughter Laura and her husband are in the process of relocating to Houston, Texas, while other daughter Rachel is working as the calf manager for a large In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) farm in Canada.
“The All-American Dairy Show is a great place for families to come and exhibit,” said Evans. “Three generations of our family have shown in Harrisburg, and it has proven to be a great environment where young people can learn and grow.”
Evans joins a group of outstanding recipients who share Snider’s visionary leadership for a stronger dairy industry. Previous Obie Snider Award winners are, in order of receipt: Donald Seipt, Easton, Northampton County; Creedin Cornman, Carlisle, Cumberland County; David Patrick, Woodbine, Md.; Berneta Gable, New Enterprise, Bedford County; Dieter Krieg, Lititz, Lancaster County; George Cashell, Shippensburg, Cumberland County; John Cope, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County; Janet Harding, Clarion, Clarion County; William Nichol, State College, Centre County; Samuel Yoder, Shoemakersville, Berks County; and Jane Pepple, Oxford, Chester County.
The All-American Dairy Show features 22 shows in six days in addition to the nation’s only all-dairy antiques show. Last year’s show featured nearly 2,800 animals and more than 1,300 exhibitors from across the nation. For more information, visit HERE .
