News Release
Monday, December 18, 2023
Celebrating a Dynasty of Friends of Expo
MADISON, WIS. – On Wednesday, December 13, World Dairy Expo hosted its annual Friends of Expo celebration, honoring the hundreds of volunteers, paid workers, and partners who make World Dairy Expo possible. Highlighting the evening was the presentation of the 2023 Friends of Expo awards. Receiving recognition this year were Lee Haag and Katie Palmer, John Salzwedel and Dave Bollig.
Lee Haag and Katie Palmer, Mount Horeb, Wis., are a couple of Brown Swiss lovers who have dedicated the past 11 years to the International Brown Swiss Show at Expo. From checking in each Brown Swiss on grounds to entering placings and confirming official results, they have helped no matter the weather conditions or how late the show goes. During their time, they have been a part of 133 hours on the colored shavings in the Showring and have entered placings for 3,828 beautiful Brown Swiss cows.
For 18 years, ExpoTV has acquainted people from around the globe with World Dairy Expo. Without John Salzwedel, of Waunakee, Wis., and a chance meeting at the Alliant Energy Center with the General Manager of World Dairy Expo at the time, ExpoTV would not have grown into what it is today. Salzwedel has been at the forefront of the efforts onsite each year, ensuring not only superb customer service for the Expo team and its stakeholders but also producing a high-quality livestream, setting the standard for other national and international shows. During Salzwedel’s tenure, more than 2,600 World Dairy Expo videos have been posted to YouTube.
The final friend honored was Dave Bollig, Belleville, Wis., who has been involved with Expo for over 30 years and has been on the Dairy Cattle Show Superintendent team for the past 10 years. As the current overall Dairy Cattle Show Superintendent, Bollig works hard to ensure all parts of both his superintendent team and the world-class Dairy Cattle Show are running smoothly and in perfect harmony. He takes his role very personally and seriously, making it a point to get to know each of the superintendents to best identify and understand each person’s strengths to form a cohesive group, as well as working with the dairy cattle exhibitors to provide a great experience for all.
Serving as the meeting place of the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo brings together the latest in dairy innovation and the best cattle in North America. The global dairy industry will return to Madison, Wis. for the 57th event, October 1-4, 2024, when the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, dairy and forage seminars, a world-class dairy cattle show and more will be on display. Download the World Dairy Expo mobile event app, visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow WDE on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Spotify, Instagram or YouTube for more information.
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