Local 4-H Wool Judging National Champions Recognized

The Tom Green County 4-H Wool Judging Team, 2016 National Champions, were recognized in Commissioners’ Court Tuesday morning. Team members Ross Smith and Baylor Hoffman were present with their coach, Dr. Micheal W. Salisbury. The other two members of the team, Matthew Salisbury and Casie Weishuhn, could not attend as they are at an FFA convention.

“Dr. Salisbury’s worked tirelessly with this group, and they’ve been working hard all year; and it paid off,” Jaye Chasteen of the TGC AgriLife extension said. “We would just like to appreciate them for their hard work in representing Tom Green County on the national level.”

The 56th annual National 4-H Wool Judging Contest was held in Sonora. Matthew Salisbury’s score of 618 points placed him in the top five individuals for the national contest. According to AgriLife’s newsletter, the winning team had a score of 1,800 points. Also, Medina County placed second with 1,739 points, and Wyoming’s Natona County earned third with 1,616 points.

According to County Judge Steve Floyd, Smith is from Water Valley, Matthew Salisbury is from Grape Creek, and Hoffman and Weishuhn are from Wall.

“That pretty much gets all around the county, so it’s a great representation, I’d say,” Floyd said. “Congratulations to you, gentlemen.”

Dr. Salisbury is the chair of ASU’s Department of Agriculture and the director of Management, Instruction and Research at the university.

“My job as a college professor, dealing with a lot of students coming into school, [I think] these [students who] come through a 4-H program are some of the most top-notch kids we’ve got coming across into college,” Salisbury said.

Floyd added, “We have the national champion wool judging team out of the 6 million kids participating.” Furthermore, 450 4-H members are in Tom Green County alone. Chasteen also claimed that 4-H is about to involve even more kids in August.

Dr. Salisbury thanked the parents, volunteers, Chasteen, and the county leadership itself for making the team’s participation possible.

“As a coach and someone who’s grown up through the 4-H program, I tip my hat off to the county’s support for the 4-H program, and also across the state,” Dr. Salisbury said. “It’s the leadership of the county office that makes it happen, and I want to commend them for a job well done.”

For more about Tuesday's Commissioners' Court, check out San Angelo LIVE!'s article about the proposed burn ban.