The Klussendorf award is presented annually at World Dairy Expo (WDE) to the show man who exemplifies the ability, character, friendliness and sportsmanship practiced by Arthur D. Klussendorf. The award created by 3 of Arthur’s closes friends who met after his funeral to discuss an award for the namesake of the talented, popular cowman.
Klussendorf Memorial Association
- made up of previous winners of the award, who nominate people for consideration each year and then vote on the winner at the annual meeting which is held on the Thursday at WDE
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Peter Heffering (1985), winner of the Klussendorf & Curtis Clark Memorial and inducted in the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame the winner is held closely by the association until the announcement at the beginning of the Holstein show; most winners are very surprised to win this coveted lifetime achievement award
- the association decides the winners for the Klussendorf-MacKenzie award as well as the Robert “Whitey” McKown Master Breeder Award, which recognizes a well-managed breeder herd that has been successful in the show ring and judging dairy cattle. The McKown Master Breeder award was first given out in 2009 in memory of Robert McKown who was also a recipient of the Honourary Klussendorf award in 1997
- the Association also gives out scholarships each year, the most popular of the scholarships administered by the Dairy Shrine with over 80 applicants each year
Klussendorf Winners
- 76 winners of the award (it was not presented from 1942-1946)
- trophy is made by Tiffany and Co.
- 1st recipient: Olaf Kjome (MN), the herdsman of the Boulder Bridge Guernsey herd for 20 years
Alta Mae Core (1999), first female winner - 15th recipient: Chris Kampf (OH), made a sizeable donation to the Klussendorf Association in 1983. Proceeds now fund the Chris C. Kampf Achievement Award and the plaque and gold watch are all given to the Klussendorf winner
- 17th recipient: A.L. Hay, the herdsman and showman of Carnation Farms (WA), he became one of the most recognized men in the US. Now there is an award given in his memory at Western National in Utah each year to a showman who excels in leadership, sportsmanship, dedication and who seeks to promote the dairy industry
- 23rd recipient: Ray Brubacher (ON), the first Canadian to win the award
- 29th recipient: Allen Hetts, who is also the namesake of the trophies presented to the Grand Champions at WDE
- 30th recipient: Henry LaFranchi (OH), well-known for developing the nationally prominent Oak Ridge Ayrshire Herd in Ohio. He became the first to have also won the Distinguished Breeder Award given by the National Dairy Shrine
Barry Quickfall, first winner of both the Klussendorf (2007) and Klussendorf-Mackenzie (1991) - 44th recipient: Peter Heffering (ON), not only won the Klussendorf and Curtis Clark Achievement awards, but has also been inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
- 58th recipient: Alta Mae Core (KY), became the first woman to win the award
- 65th recipient: Paul Stiles and 69th recipient: Mike Stiles become the first sibling pair to win
Klussdendorf – MacKenzie Award
- first presented in 1991 in memory of 1961 Klussendorf winner Duncan MacKenzie (MN)
- award is a statue of a man holding a pitchfork and recognizes individuals with a strong work ethic and care of cows in the barn, so they can excel in the show ring; it also exemplifies the same qualities of character, sportsmanship, ability and endeavor represented by the Klussendorf Award
- “above all else, the person who helps make the show string successful”
l-r: Harry Papageorge (UT), winner of the 2017 Klussendorf and Paul Petriffer (ITA), the first person outside North America to win the Klussendorf-MacKenzie - Barry Quickfall (ON) was the first to win the Klussendorf-MacKenzie award, making him also the first person to win both awards, being the 66th recipient of the Klussendorf in 2007
- Mark & Nicky Rueth are the first husband-wife team to win; Mark in 1995 and Nicky in 2010. Mark also won the Klussendorf Award in 2008
- 2017 recipient Paul Petrifer became the first person to win the award outside of North America
Honourary Klussendorf Winner
- The Klussendorf Memorial Assocation occasionally recognizes honourary members for their involvement in the purebred dairy industry.
- Since 1937 only 16 people have received the honour
- the first 3 recipients of the Honourary Klussendorf were Harry Strohymeyer Jr (1953), Dr. Earl Hopper (1957) and Gordon Hall (1957), fittingly the 3 friends of Arthur Klussendorf who created the Klussendorf Award
- Doug Blair won in 2007, currently the only Canadian
- Tim Abbott won in 2014, the most recent Honourary Klussendorf award winner