Lyle Perrier and Corinne Nelson Placed Second At Royal Highland Show Contest
After being named Reserve National Champions at the American Royal in October of 2023, the Eure-ka FFA team, comprised of Lyle Perrier, Corinne Nelson, Hannah Perrier and TJ Mills, were afforded the opportunity for a trip of a lifetime as they earned the chance to compete internationally.
The team recently returned from their 13-day trip in Scotland and Ireland and shared their experiences with the Eureka USD 389 Board of Education during their July monthly meeting.
Eureka and the State of Kansas were well represented at the event as L. Perrier and C. Nelson were announced as the second- place sheep judging team from America at the Royal Highland Show Contest. “The livestock over there looks completely different,” stated C. Nelson. “The sheep are all shown at two-six years of age compared to just being less than a year old here,” she continued. Both C. Nelson and L. Perrier noted that they had to run from class to class as they were only allowed four minutes per class to judge. “We are accustomed to 10-12 minutes per class,” stated L. Perrier. “We judged four classes in 16 minutes,” he continued. The group also shared that instead of providing numbered reasonings by 1, 2, 3 and 4; they were to provide them as A, B, X and Y while competing. Mills and H. Perrier judged cattle during the event.
Throughout their time abroad, the group took in several tours, hiked, shopped, visited museums and more during their 13-day trip, when they weren’t competing. The group provided a Power-Point presentation for the board and discussed their trip. To kick-off their trip, the group visited a Scottish museum of country life and attended the Royal Highland Show, where they competed on Day 4. The fun continued as they traveled in Scotland to Falkirk Wheel and St. Andrews; toured Edinburgh on their own, where they shopped along the “Royal Mile;” went on farm tours; visited Culzean Castle and Ferry to Ireland; visited an Angus farm and the Kilkenny Mart; toured Ring of Kerry; competed at the Charleville Show and Contest; and visited a Water Buffalo Dairy and Blarney Castle before concluding their trip.
“My favorite part of the trip was getting to see the Kilkenny Mart in Ireland. It was a farmers market and livestock auction,” stated T. Mills. “It was really cool to compare it to what we have here in America,” he continued. T. Mills also noted that the contest was rough as the animals are stouter there and structure didn’t matter nearly as much as is it does in the United States. C. Nelson’s favorite part of the trip was seeing the water buffalo dairy farm in Ireland. “All of their milk is used to make different kinds of cheeses,” she stated. “My other favorite part was meeting other livestock judgers from all over the country. We made some amazing friendships while over there,” she concluded.
Chaperoning the group were Eureka FFA Advisor Trint Peine and Stephanie Nelson. Peine noted that it was hard to pick a favorite day from the trip; but settled on seeing the Royal Highland Show and how they exhibit livestock differently there. L. Perrier is a 2024 graduate of Eureka Junior/Senior High School (EJSHS). He will be attending Kansas State University this fall, with plans to pursue an Animal Science degree. His sister, H. Perrier, will be a junior at EJSHS. They are the children of Matt and Amy Perrier of rural Eureka.
C. Nelson will be a senior at EJSHS this fall. She is the daughter of Jamie and S. Nelson of rural Toronto.
T. Mills will be a junior at EJSHS. He is the son of Shawn and Dana Mills of rural Eureka.
The pictures inset were shared by the group from their 13-day adventure.
Routine Business Items The July meeting of the Eureka USD 389 Board of Education served as their organizational meeting as the fiscal year began July 1. The board approved the consent agenda, including various appointments, authorizations, the reimbursement mileage rate of $0.67 and the organizational plan, as presented.
Brief administration reports were given by Marshall Elementary Principal Stacy Coulter, EJSHS Principal Angie Lowe and Superintendent Scott Hoyt. It was shared that the gym floor at EJSHS is basically down and crews are slightly ahead of schedule.
Following a 10-minute executive session with Superintendent Hoyt and Principal Lowe, for personnel, the board approved the following employments: elementary paras, Deborah Smith-Oelke and Phoebe Bush; EJSHS paras, Christina Rosenbaum and Giovanny Garcia; Junior High Basketball coaches, head coach Terik Crisswell and assistant Gabe Valentine; district grounds and maintenance, Brad Asher; and EJSHS secretary, Danica Baker. The board also accepted resignations from Tony Denner, as the junior high school head basketball coach and Hollie Samuels, Marshall Elementary para and district bus driver.
The Eureka USD 389 Board of Education will hold its next monthly meeting on Monday, August 12, at 6 p.m.
(Courtesy photos)
