4-H Judging Team Wins Nationals
by Jennifer Miller
Staff Writer, The Enterprise Ledger

The Coffee County 4-H Meat Judging Team went to Kansas City, Kan., as state champions and 
returned home as national champions.

Four county students --- John Sawyer, Ann Schieffer, Heather Carroll and Carrie Edwards earned 
the right to compete at nationals after winning both the district and state championships earlier 
this year.  According to 4-H coach Stan Windham, the students judged six classes, identified 30 
cuts from a possibility of 90 retail cuts and gave three sets of reasons why they were judged the 
way they were.  Windham said the team has been practicing since April.

“It’s a total academic exercise, and it’s one of the hardest things you can do,” Windham said.  
“That same bunch of students won the Denver contest last year.  That’s never been done --- to 
win the two biggest stock shows in the nation.  As far as we know, it was the first time ever.”

The 4-H students competed against representatives from 20 states during their six-day trip, which 
began Oct. 26.  According to Shieffer, winning the competition was perhaps her greatest 
accomplishment.

“Stan Windom is an excellent coach for our team,” she said.  “He did an excellent job with us, and 
we’re the best I think.  I hope we made him proud.  We were so excited because it was such a 
close competition.  This was the first time Alabama has won since 1946.”

According to Windham, not only is the win an accomplishment for their high school career, but it 
could lead to jobs in the future.

“Former kids have gone on and applied for jobs and gotten them,” Windom said.  “The industry 
knows about these contests and uses it as an indicator of their abilities.”

Although Edwards has no plans for an agriculture career in the future, she said she wouldn’t 
change the past three years of participating in 4-H.  She was encouraged to join the meat judging 
team by one of her friends who participated in 4-H livestock judging.  

“At first I thought --- meat judging, that’s really weird --- but I’m glad I decided to go with it,” 
Edwards said.  “It’s been a lot of fun these past three years.  Winning the championship was a 
real honor.  It was so close when they announced it, I’m not sure we believe it yet.”