YDLI 11 Kicks Off Phase 1 - Ready, Set, Grow!

Sixty young adults from around the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico are meeting in Phoenix, Az. this week for Phase 1 of the Holstein Foundation's Young Dairy Leaders Institute program. 

Many class members arrived early to participate in a pre-conference tour on Wednesday. The first stop of the day was Danzeisen Dairy, where they had the chance to tour their processing plant, where they bottle their own milk and offer it in a variety of flavors for customers in the Phoenix area. After lunch, the group ventured on to Arizona Dairy Company, which provided the opportunity to see a large-scale working dairy farm first hand, up close. 

© Liz Byers-Doten

© Bo Harstine

 Some of the delicious flavors of milk bottled at Danzeisen Dairy. ©Kendra Kissane

Comfortable calves enjoy their afternoon meal at Arizona Dairy Company. ©Bo Harstine

The program officially started on Wednesday evening with a welcome reception. New YDLI Advisory Committee members Heather Hunt and Bec Shaw led the class in an activity to help them learn some new networking tips, such as "come with stories," "observe, ask, reveal," and "be interested, not interesting," then put them into practice learning some new and interesting facts about their classmates. 

Holstein Foundation Programs Manager Jodi Hoynoski welcomes YDLI Class 11 during Wednesday evening's program.

Vanessa Crowley and Pat Wiltzius visit during the welcome reception.

Thursday morning was the start of three jam-packed days of workshops. After a brief welcome and a few words of inspiration from the YDLI Advisory Committee, Jill Tomac took the stage to lead her opening session, “Breaking Through Performance Barriers.” Her focus was to help participants understand their own personal motivations and “life orientations,” how that influences their response to different situations and people, and how they can capitalize on their strengths and recognize their weaknesses to work more effectively in all aspects of their lives. 

After lunch, Tomac moved into her session titled, “Unleashing Your Personal Power,” a workshop was based on the book, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. She reviewed "the four agreements," and discussed how the agreements that one makes with themselves can truly drive the direction of their lives and help them be a more effective leader and communicator. The agreements include "be impeccable with your word," "don't take anything personally," "don't make assumptions," and "always do your best."

Holstein Foundation programs manager Jodi Hoynoski spent some time at the end of the day reviewing YDLI Phase 2 expectations, covering the various assignments the class will complete over the next twelve months and sparking ideas for Phase 2 advocacy projects.

To cap off the day, Galen Emanuele delivered a high energy and fun keynote, "Intro to 'Shift Yes'," where he introduced the basic tenants of improv comedy and how those concepts can be integrated into a workplace setting to create a positive environment and culture where all members of a team can feel comfortable contributing ideas. Emanuele will be back on stage first thing Friday morning to dig into his concepts more deeply and put them into practice.

The Holstein Foundation would like to thank the YDLI Welcome Dinner & Networking Reception sponsor - Northeast Ag Education Foundation along with the sponsors of Thursday’s meals, workshops and keynote - Cargill, John Deere, Holstein Association USA, and CHS Foundation.

Phase 1 continues through Saturday evening - follow along with our blog each day for more highlights from YDLI! To learn more about the program, visit the Holstein Foundation web site.