Dave Snyder of Ashland was appointed as the National FFA Superintendent of the Milk Quality and Products career development event effective in 2013. The first official responsibility of this position was to attend the National CDE Superintendent Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. There are 27 Career Development Events held at the National level each year hosting contestants of teams from all state in the United States.
Snyder served as interim superintendent for the year in 2012. It is the responsibility of the superintendent to attend the January superintendent meeting, and conduct the summer organizational meeting for that particular committee in charge of the Milk Quality and Products CDE. Here the decisions are made concerning organization, preparation, implementation, and revisions of the contest so that the contest can be conducted at the National FFA Convention each year. The 2012 national contest was held in Indianapolis, IN and will be moved to Louisville, KY in 2013. 147 contestants from 37 states participated in the 2012 Milk Quality CDE. Members of the committee include Mr. Pat Healy of the U.S. Dairy Marketing Service, Dr. Robert Marshall of the University of Missouri , Dr. Joseph O’Leary of the University of Kentucky, Dr. Michael Schutz of Purdue University, and Mr. Bob Sieving retired Agriculture Educator of Lucas Local School.
The superintendent must also stay in contact with the National FFA office where all efforts of the event are coordinated. He must also stay in touch with the committee members and respond to questions coming from coaches/advisors of teams from across the nation.
At the national convention the contest must be organized, set up, and conducted. The superintendent will conduct the coaches/contestant orientation meeting, the team event, and the skills judging. The judging portion of the event is a 2 day activity. At the conclusion of the judging the results are tabulated printed and checked for accuracy. The following day the plaques, certificates and award pins are organized and coordinated in preparation for the noon banquet. The superintendent emcees the National Milk Quality and Products noon luncheon where the rankings of all teams and individuals are announced. All awards and national winners are presented.
Snyder has been actively involved in the Milk Quality and Products CDE as a high school coach or official since 1972. He is also the co-superintendent of the Ohio contest in Columbus and the Big E contest in West Springfield, MA each year. He earned his B. S. and M.S. degrees in Agriculture from The Ohio State University. Snyder was a teacher of Agriculture Education in Ohio for 38 years before retiring and served on the Ohio Career Development Events committee for 12 years.
