HARRISBURG, Pa. — Patty McMurray, of Eighty Four, Washington County, and Steve Moff, of Columbiana, Ohio, received the Obie Snider Award Sept. 15 at the 56th All-American Dairy Show, held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
The award, established in memory of Obie Snider of Bedford County, a founder 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.
Moff has served as a board member for the All-American Dairy Show since 2005, assisting with youth activities and show ethics, and is chair of the Show Advisory Committee. For 39 years, Moff has been a dairy programs specialist for COBA/Select Sires.He operated his family’s dairy farm, Ouric Holsteins, with parents Howard and Barb Moff and brother Greg, until they downsized the herd in 2010. He still owns cattle and raises heifers.
Moff represents the Ohio Holstein Association as the current Region 3 director for the Holstein Association USA and is a past national Holstein Junior Advisory Committee member.
He was also in the inaugural class of the association’s Young Dairy Leaders Institute. He has held offices in the state association, including serving as president when Ohio hosted the national convention in 2000 where he first met Obie Snider.
Moff is the assistant dairy show superintendent at the Ohio State Fair and serves as a board member and dairy superintendent for the Canfield Fair. He has served as a 4-H leader and has been recognized as an outstanding judge for youth shows, in addition to judging many other local, regional and state shows.
A graduate of the Ohio State University, Steve was recently inducted into the Ohio State Dairy Science Hall of Service.
McMurray has been involved with the All-American Dairy Show since it began in 1964. As part of the Penn State dairy judging team, McMurray competed in the collegiate division of the Invitational Youth Dairy Judging Contest.
She later used those skills to judge fitting and showmanship in the Pennsylvania Junior Dairy Show, judge the junior division of the All-American Showmanship Contest, and serve as an official for the Invitational Youth Dairy Cattle Judging Contest and the Dairy Judging Forum.
McMurray served on the show’s 25th anniversary planning committee and the show improvement committee. She was a good housekeeping judge, exhibited in the All-Dairy Antiques Show, offered consignments to the youth benefit auctions, helped initiate the show’s Image Award and continues to organize the ever-popular White Pants Exchange for exhibitors.
McMurray has judged numerous local, state and international shows, is a Distinguished Dairywoman awardee from the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association and has served state and national dairy breed associations, including chairing this summer’s the World Guernsey Conference.
McMurray coached Pennsylvania’s first-ever national winning Junior Holstein dairy bowl team in 1983 with Washington County youth, as well as numerous national champion Guernsey dairy bowl teams.
She was a Washington County 4-H leader, on the Washington County Dairy Promotion committee and handled publicity and advertising for the Washington County Fair.
