Holstein Association USA recognized several Junior members who breed and own exceptional Holstein cattle at the recent National Junior Holstein Convention, June 23-26, in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Given in six different categories based on type and production, the awards are designed to reward and encourage Junior members to continue their excellent Registered Holstein breeding programs.

The Breeder of an Excellent Cow award is presented to Junior members who have bred and owned a cow officially type classified “Excellent” on or after January 1, 2006. 2008 recipients are: Chelsea Abbott, Vt.; Frank Behling, Wis.; Christian Donahoe, N.Y.; Samantha Foster, Penn.; Brittnay George, Kan.; Casey George, Kan.; Eric Lawrence, Penn.; Ashley Martin, Maine; Micah Matlock, Ind.; Jason Miley, Ohio; Matt Mitchell, Tenn.; Kayla Moret, Wis.; Amanda Nelson, N.Y.; Chad Nold, Mo.; Tyler Peachey, Penn.; Chris Potts, Va.; Curtis Rhoderick, Md.; Ben Sarbacker, Wis.; Melissa Schuler, Penn.; Kevin Shaffer, Penn.; Lee Slattery, Wis.; Jenna Smith, Penn.; Tobin Stuff, Penn.; Cory Thompson, Penn.; Zachery Welker, N.Y.; David Wilson, Penn.; Holly Wright, Md.; and Hannah Young, N.Y.

The National Breeder of a Multiple “E” Excellent Cow award is received by Junior members who have bred and owned a cow classified Multiple “E” Excellent. The breeders who received this award are: Laura Davenport, N.Y.; Daniel Hardesty, Va.; Danyel Hosto, Wis.; Ashley Martin, Maine; Matthew McEvoy, N.Y.; Travis Nelson, N.Y.; Tyler Nelson, N.Y.; and Malorie Rhoderick, Md.

The National Progressive Breeder Award recognizes cattle bred by Junior members that meet high production and classification standards for their age group. Every cow qualifying receives a star and Junior members acquire a star for each elite cow they have bred. Those accumulating five or more stars over their career receive a plaque at National Convention.

One star winners are Chelsea Abbott, Vt.; Christian Donahoe, N.Y.; Carissa Doody, Md.; Ashley Hartle, Penn.; Jennifer Hula, N.Y.; Jessica Hula, N.Y.; Reid Lundy, N.Y.; Katrina Nunes, Wis.; Daniel Petersheim, Wis.; Heather Petersheim, Wis.; Hayley Potts, Va.; T. Nathan Rhoderick, Md.; Evan Snyder, Penn.; Emily Tudor, N.Y.; and Nicole Wright, Wis.

Receiving two star honors are Emily Achen, Minn.; Robyn Bechtel, Penn.; Chad Currie, N.Y.; Jessica Currie, N.Y.; Kristen Davenport, N.Y.; Charles Hamilton, Wis.; Gregory Lloyd, N.Y.; Patrick Lundy, N.Y.; Zachery Nell, Penn.; Travis Nelson, N.Y.; Elizabeth Sarbacker, Wis.; and Zachery Welker, N.Y.

Three star winners are Jacob Achen, Minn.; Frank Behling, Wis.; Brittnay George, Kan.; Casey Gillis, N.Y.; David Hardesty, Va.; Tera Koebel, Mich.; Jenna Smith, Penn.; and Riley Welker, N.Y.

Receiving their fourth star are Kayla Currie, N.Y.; Laura Davenport, N.Y.; Brandon Long, Wis.; Mark Simon, Iowa; and Clayton Wohlk, Wis.

Five star honorees include Kelly Lee, Wis.; Maureen Lee, Wis.; Justin London, Penn.; Kayla Moret, Wis.; Benjamin Sarbacker, Wis.; Jason Troutman, Penn.; and Bethany Wohlk, Wis.

Receiving six star honors are Jason Miley, Ohio; Amanda Nelson, N.Y.; Tyler Nelson, N.Y.; and Hannah Young, N.Y.

Seven star winners are Danyel Hosto, Wis.; Christopher Potts, Va.; and Holly Wright, Md.

Krysty Kepler, Wis. received her eleventh star.

Fifteen star honorees are Casey George, Kan. and David Wilson, Penn.

Samantha Foster, Penn., received her eighteenth star this year.

The National 30,000 Pound Cow award is received by youth who own a cow producing over 30,000 pounds of milk in 305 days or less, between May 2006 and May 2008. This year’s recipients are: Brad Arthur, Iowa; Chad Currie, N.Y.; Kayla Currie, N.Y.; James Dunn, Penn.; Joshua Dunn, Penn.; Samantha Durfee, N.Y.; Stacy Eash, Ore.; Dustin Fleck, Penn.; Rachel Foster, Penn.; Samantha Foster, Penn.; Matt Henkes, Iowa; Devin Kepler, Wis.; Krysty Kepler, Wis.; Brent Koester, Ill.; Cassy Krull, Wis.; Jordan London, Penn.; Bret Long, Wis.; Kyle Mitchell, Ill.; Laurel Moore, Md.; Alexa Nunes, Wis.; Katrina Nunes, Wis.; Katie Osborne, Penn.; Andrea Pagenkopf, Wis.; Tyler Peachey, Penn.; Randall Post, N.Y.; Jessica Pralle, Wis.; Ryan Pralle, Wis.; Jocelyn Riser, Penn.; Ben Sarbacker, Wis.; Staci Sherer, Ore.; Jennifer Schultz, Penn.; Addie Snyder, Penn.; Evan Snyder, Penn.; Michael Stewart, Iowa; Ashley Stoltzfus, Penn.; Anna Troester, Iowa; Eric Troutman, Penn.; Jason Troutman, Penn.; Clayton Wohlk, Wis.; Holly Wright, Md.; Nicole Yoder, Penn.; Hannah Young, N.Y.; and Andrew Younker, Penn.

The National 150,000 Pound Cow award is given to Junior members who own a cow that has produced over 150,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime. 2008 winners are: Elizabeth Acel, Penn.; Andrew Bechtel, Penn.; Brad Guest, Penn.; Daniel Hardesty, Va.; Leslie Hardesty, Va. Nathan Huser, Wis.; Cassy Krull, Wis.; Eric Lawrence, Penn.; Kelly Lee, Wis.; Brandon Long, Wis.; Amanda Nelson, N.Y.; Tyler Nelson, N.Y.; Tyler Peachey, Penn.; Heather Petersheim, Wis.; Logan Potts, Va.; Ben Sarbacker, Wis.; Matthew Schantz, Penn.; Hannah Smith, Penn.; Jenna Smith, Penn.; and Nicole Yoder, Penn.

The National 200,000 Pound Cow award is given to Junior members who own a cow that has produced over 200,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime. This year’s recipients include: Sean Brown, Wis.; Krysty Kepler, Wis.; Laurel Moore, Md.; Jason Troutman, Penn.; and Holly Wright, Md.
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The National Dairy Bowl and Dairy Jeopardy contests took place at the National Junior Holstein Convention in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., June 23-26. They promote dairy industry knowledge and program participation for Junior Holstein members.

Dairy Jeopardy, modeled after the popular game show, tests individuals’ knowledge of the dairy industry and Holstein cattle. Participants competed in three age divisions – junior, ages 9-13, intermediate, ages 14-17, and senior, ages 18-21. There were 87 participants from 20 states in this year’s contest.

In the junior division, first place went to Caitlin Lopes, Calif., second place was Logan Potts, Va., and in third was Jordan Siemers, Wis. In the Intermediate division, Taylor Pires, Calif., came out in the top spot, followed by Hayley Potts, Va., in second, and Kyle Demmer, Iowa, in third place. Rounding out the day in the senior division was Janelle Hartzell, Penn., in first place, Aaron Palmer, Iowa, in second, and Katie Steinlage, Iowa, in third.

The National Dairy Bowl competition is made up of four-person teams that compete in two age divisions. The junior division, for ages 9-15, had 18 entries this year. The senior division, ages 16-21, also had 18 entries.

In the junior bracket, Wisconsin and California faced off in the finals. The California team, coached by Kirsten Areias, came out as the champions, with the team of Justin Bopp, Rocco Cunningham, Tony Lopes, and Amanda Moretti. This was the state’s first National Dairy Bowl championship in the history of the contest. The second place Wisconsin team included Arlisa Landis, Colin Landis, Thomas Larson, and Katie Wendorf, and was coached by Kent Wendorf.

The senior division final match-up came down to two teams that are no strangers to Dairy Bowl finals, Iowa and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania claimed the champion title, with the team of Elizabeth Cloninger, Dustin Gates, Nathan Ulmer, and Derek Wasson. The team was coached by Dr. Bob Cloninger. The second place Iowa team included Jessie Hammerand, Luke Rauen, Dan Stewart, and Jenn Vander Veen, coached by Marilyn Steffens and Heidi de Gier.

The top three individual scores on the written seating exam are also recognized. In the junior division, California had the top three scores, with Tony Lopes in first, Amanda Moretti placing second, and Justin Bopp in third. Top three scores in the senior division went to Nathan Ulmer, Penn., in first, Curtis Rhoderick, Md., second, and Casey Arlig, N.Y., in third.

Sportsmanship awards are given in each division to teams that demonstrate exemplary sportsmanship throughout the contest. The Iowa junior team received this honor in the Junior division, with team members Rachel Demmer, Jake Mills, Megan Rauen, and Bethany Simon, coached by Marilyn Steffens and Heidi de Gier. In the Senior division, the Washington team claimed the sportsmanship award. The team consisted of Melissa Cook, Shelby Hansen, Briar Jeg, and Brooke Vander Veen, coached by Ann Marie Magnochi.

Six finalists were named in the 2008 Distinguished Junior Holstein Member (DJM) competition at the National Junior Holstein Convention on June 26. The contest recognizes Junior Holstein members for outstanding work with their projects and is the highest honor that can be received by a Junior Holstein member.

This year’s finalists are Andrew Birch, Derby, Vt.; Julia Hudyncia, Fort Plain, N.Y., Heather Petersheim, Viroqua, Wis., Lucas Sjostrom, Lafayette, Minn., Michael Stewart, Oelwein, Iowa, and David Wilson, Port Royal, N.Y.

“The knowledge and passion these individuals have for the Holstein cow and the dairy industry is just incredible,” said Kelli Dunklee, Holstein Association USA Youth Program Specialist. “I am confident that with this caliber of youth, our industry will remain strong for many years to come.”

The field was narrowed down from twelve semifinalists by interviews that took place at the convention. The six finalists receive annual renewed memberships to Holstein Association USA.

The DJM contest is designed to honor Junior Holstein members ages 17 to 21 who have excelled in their junior project work, involvement on their farm, and in their communities. Twelve semifinalists are selected based on an entry book that includes the story of their junior Holstein work, information about their cattle, involvement in school and community activities, and personal view questions.

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Over 700 youth gathered in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. last week for the National Junior Holstein Convention, making it one of the largest in history.

“Enthusiasm and knowledge for the Holstein cow and the dairy industry was at an all-time high as the week was filled with a variety of exciting programs and events,” said Kelli Dunklee, Holstein Association USA Youth Programs Specialist. “Youth had the chance to meet Junior members from coast to coast who share similar interests, which offered them a tremendous networking opportunity.”

Public Speaking Contest

Forty-eight contestants participated in this year’s Prepared Public Speaking competition. In the junior division, first place went to Crystal Siemers-Peterman, Wisconsin, with her speech, “Opportunities with U.S. Holsteins.” Second place was Lucia Cerasoli, Pennsylvania, with “Classical Music Geeks,” and third was Collin Stoltzfus, Pennsylvania, “The First 24 Hours of Calf Care.”

In the intermediate division, Nancy Jackson, Missouri, placed first with “Ride that Wave!,” second was Jessica Budge, Oregon, “Methane Generated Power,” and in third was Kelly Lee, Wisconsin, “Technology Isn’t A Bad Word.”

Heidi Scapanski, Minnesota, captured first place in the senior division with her speech, titled “The Assembly Line.” Coming in second was Malorie Rhoderick, Maryland, with “Inbreeding,” and third place went to Abigail Andrew, New York, “B.S.E.”

Folding Display Competition

The second annual Folding Display competition, in which participants create a free-standing display on a dairy industry topic, received 20 entries in three divisions.

Megan Rauen, Iowa, had the winning entry in the junior division with her display titled “Queen of the Breed.” In second was Christy Achen, Minnesota, with “Are You Smarter Than A National Holstein Member?.” Third place went to Thomas DiGiovanni, Ohio, with “Cow Groupies.”

In the intermediate division, Corbin Wood, Pennsylvania, had the winning display, “Junior Holstein Programs – New and Old.” Joseph Martinelli, New Jersey, placed second with “Life Cycle of a Holstein Cow,” and in third was Allison Janes, Ohio, with “Could These Be Lurking on Your Farm?.”

For the senior division, first place was Keri Bickel, Ohio, with “Milk: Udderly Delicious,” second place went to Leah Henkes, Iowa, with “Show Me Your ID,” and third place went to Jarrett Remsberg, Maryland, with “Removal of Compounds in Dairy Waste Lagoons by Ferrate.”

State Scrapbook and Banner Competition

The state scrapbook contest gives each state the opportunity to showcase the Junior Holstein activities they do throughout the year. Ten states submitted entries this year, with Pennsylvania having the winning scrapbook, New York placing second, and Iowa placing third.

A new contest this year was the digital scrapbook competition. This division is judged on the same criteria as a traditional scrapbook, but must be presented on a computer, DVD player, or other digital format. Winning the first digital scrapbook contest was California, with Iowa placing second and Minnesota coming in third.

States have an opportunity to show off their creativity in the state banner competition. Seventeen entries were displayed throughout the convention. First place in the banner contest went to Iowa, second to Washington, and third was Missouri.

Junior Advisory Committee Election Results

At the Junior Forum on June 26, two new members were elected to the Junior Advisory Committee (JAC) to replace outgoing youth committee members Kalli Keen, Area IV, and Matt Mitchell, Area II representative. For Area II, Jason Miley of Ohio was elected. To represent Area IV, Kate Probert, Missouri, was elected. Current committee member David Wilson was also announced as the new committee chairman.

The JAC is the governing body of the Junior Association and oversees the organization’s activities. The committee is elected by the membership at the National Junior Forum, and members serve two-year terms. The committee experience helps Juniors learn about running an organization while strengthening leadership skills.

Holstein Association USA
Holds Exciting National Convention
(press releases provided by Jim Leuenberger)

The atmosphere of the 123rd annual meeting and national convention of Holstein Association USA, held at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., was enthusiastic, festive and upbeat. Excitement for U.S. Registered HolsteinsSM and their owners abounded as 1,800 Holstein enthusiasts participated in the convention.

It is a sign of the times when it comes to the Holstein cow and her Association. As Holstein Association USA Chief Executive Officer John M. Meyer presented in his report, “Our year was highlighted by considerable increases in key areas that measure breed interest and the strength of a dairy breed association. In 2007, your Association registered 317,128 of your animals, a four percent increase over the previous year’s total. It is interesting to note that well over three times as many Holsteins were registered in 2007 than the combined total of all other dairy breeds.”

In his State of the Association address, Meyer pointed out, “The unprecedented growth the Association has seen in program participation, not only in the past year, but over the last five years, is an excellent indication of the value dairy producers see in U.S. Registered Holsteins.” Meyer indicated that over the last five years, registrations have increased by ten percent, the number of cows classified have increased by 16 percent, the number of Holsteins on official production test increased by 20 percent and the number of herds enrolled in the Association’s hallmark program, Holstein COMPLETE, increased 123 percent, while the number of cows enrolled in COMPLETE increased 120 percent.

The Wisconsin native also stated, “These illustrations detail how we have successfully increased our market share in an industry that is getting smaller every day.” Meyer credited the members of the Association for the excellent growth, stating, “What is the real secret of this success? It is you, the members of Holstein Association USA. From our youngest junior member to the oldest adult member, you have supported and participated in the programs your Association offers.”

The demand for U.S. Registered Holsteins continues to soar. The Wisconsin Nationals Sale, managed by Tom Morris LTD, averaged $12,831 on 86 lots.

The Association’s financial strength continues as the year ending December 31, 2007 recognized revenues of $18,064,000, an increase of four percent over 2006. The Association recognized net income of $1,259,000 and an increase in net assets of $499,000.

During the convention, John Bierbaum of Burnsville, Minnesota, director at-large, and Jay Houser of Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, director representing Region II, retired from the Holstein Association board of directors. Elected to replace them are James Burdette of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in Region II, and Boyd Schaufelberger of Greenville, Illinois as director at-large.

Next year’s Holstein Association USA national convention and annual meeting will be held in Sacramento, Calif. June 26-30.

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Mark and Angie Ulness, Valders, Wis., are Holstein Association USA’s 2008 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders. They were presented with the award at the recent National Holstein Convention in Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

The Ulness’ have made great strides since taking over their operation in 2002, building a strong foundation for their future with Registered Holsteins based on hard work, careful decision making and strong values.

Both Mark-31 and Angie-30 grew up on Registered Holstein farms in northeast Wisconsin. Mark’s parents, Wally and Ava, established the Ragnar prefix in 1976 and started building their Registered Holstein herd. Angie grew up at Cycle Farms, a fourth-generation Registered Holstein farm, owned by Bill and Clarice Brey and their family.

Mark and Angie were actively involved in 4-H and Junior Holstein activities growing up. Following graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in Dairy Science, Mark returned to the home farm and Angie was employed by the Holstein Association as a regional field representative from 2000-2005.

Mark and Angie purchased the herd and machinery in May 2002 and were married that September. In October 2003, they purchased the house, buildings and 80 acres and continue to rent the remaining 140 acres.

Herd Management

Considerable improvement has been made in cow comfort and nutrition, which in turn has increased production per cow. The current rolling herd average on twice daily milking is 27,714 pounds of milk, 1,068 pounds of butterfat and 892 pounds of protein on 69 cows.

Breeding Program

Mark and Angie believe in using the best AI sires available to maximize genetic improvement and longevity in their herd. “The sires we use combine high type with high production and do it consistently,” Mark said. “Cows need to have strength, width and depth to allow them to consume large amounts of feed and in turn produce large quantities of milk. And if they do that over several lactations, it allows us to market more animals for dairy replacements.” Sires currently being used at Ragnar include Goldwyn, Shottle, Stormatic, Durham, Linjet, Talent, Damion, Advent, Bolton, and Fortune.

Productive Life (PL) is another tool used to help enhance the longevity of the herd. “Just in our herd, we’ve seen that daughters of bulls with high PL ratings matured gracefully and lived long, trouble-free lives while those from low PL sires often left the herd at a young age or were high maintenance animals,” Mark said.

Over the past six years, Mark and Angie have been working on developing cow families and improving profitability. “We are working on building pedigrees with Very Good and Excellent cows that have the ability to produce large amounts of milk over the course of their lifetimes,” Mark said.

“The ultimate goal of our breeding program is to breed a well-respected herd, consign animals to sales with our prefix that will have a positive impact on other people’s herds, breed an animal that will compete well at national shows and be nominated All- American, and to develop a cow family and merchandising program that will have international demand,” Angie said. “Having Registered Holsteins has allowed us to sell our genetics at a premium, resulting in extra income we have put toward paying down loans, reinvesting in new cow families and making capital investments on the farm,” she added. The Holstein COMPLETE program has saved the Ulness’ money on the many Holstein Association USA programs and products they use to market their genetics effectively.

The Ragnar herd has received the Holstein Progressive Breeders Registry Award for the past 15 years. Many of the top cows in the herd trace back to Ragnar Linjet Callie EX-93-3E-GMD-DOM, the granddam of the first bull they sent to AI. The herd’s current BAA is 108.9, with 14 cows scored Excellent, 29 Very Good and 21 Good Plus. Six cows have been named Gold Medal Dams and six cows in the herd have produced over 200,000 pounds of milk in their lifetime.

Industry Involvement

Mark and Angie are highly involved in the dairy industry and their local community, serving on national, state and local committees. In February, they received the Wisconsin Holstein Association Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder Award.

Working with and developing Registered Holsteins is the passion of Mark and Angie. They believe their investment in classification, milk testing, registration, buying higher value semen, embryo transfer, advertising and having a Web site (www.holsteinworld.com/ragnar) will pay off over time. They also see their time spent in the Registered Holstein industry as being beneficial. “Being a part of the Registered Holstein industry has given us the chance to meet many people and develop many friendships,” Angie said. “We cherish the time we spend with breeders who share the same goals and passion we do.”

Both Mark and Angie want to raise their family like they were raised, giving their three children, Clarissa-4, Garrett-3 and Whitney-8 months, the opportunity to experience many of the “life lessons” on the farm and fun activities involving Registered Holsteins as they did. “We strive to raise our children to be honest and hard working, and to have fun and dream big,” Mark and Angie said. “By paying close attention to the things we can control, and with luck on our side, we can do what we love to do everyday – work with Registered Holsteins successfully.”

We simply ran out of room! The August issue of Holstein World features some pages of National Convention coverage, but there were just too many pictures to fit in! So we’re going to post the remainder of the photos on the blog so you can remember the fun and good times of this year’s convention! The following are scenes from Monday night’s “Welcome to Wisconsin” event. Photographs by Sarah Schmidt.

In grand fashion at the Annual Convention Banquet on Thursday night, the National DJM’s were announced to a capacity crowd, while being “introduced” by the UW-Madison Marching Band. Finalists included:

Andrew Birch, Derby, VT
Julia Hudyncia, Fort Plain, NY
Heather Petersheim, Viroqua, WI
Lucas Sjostrom, Lafayette, MN
Michael Stewart, Oelwein, IA
David Wilson, Port Royal, PA

Congratulations!

Lavender Ruby Redrose relaxes in her boxstall at Rosedale.

Years of hard work have paid off for Mark Rueth and Nicky Reape, as displayed here in their trophy room.

Rear udder shot of La-Par 1593 Gin 1824, a superstar at Maple Lawn Farms.

Tom Lyons Jr. leads Gin around for the visitors.

Numerous calf hutches at So-Fine Bovines, LLC.

Brooks and Jade Buchholz show off some of the herd favorites at So-Fine.

Zach and Chris Shauf, of Indianhead Holsteins, entertained the juniors on Monday night with a stellar concert.

Luke Ruen of Iowa gets his groove on with some fellow juniors during the Catchpenny concert.

Youngsters from accross the country show their dance moves at Catchpenny.

Curtis Bickel, president of the Ohio Junior Holstein Association, and Jason Miley, Vice-President, analyze some heifers at Maple Lawn Farms. Jason Miley is running for area 2 JAC.

Curtis and Gus Koebke of Maine enjoy the young calves in the new barn at Maple Lawn Farms.

Senior dairy bowl teams from Minnesota and Michigan match up in the first round of the dairy bowl competition.

The senior dairy bowl team hailing from New York makes their debut at the 2008 dairy bowl contest.

Louis Liming and Matt Oechsle of Ohio, display their “Feature Presentation” at the banner contest.

The juniors from Maryland enjoy their pizza at the Luau.

Juniors from across the country gather to discuss travels, cows, and all the fun they are going to have through out the convention.

National Junior Holstein members from Minnesota create a plan of action to promote the National Convention in Minnesota in the summer of 2010.

‘Moogle: “California” All the answers are there.’ A group from California sports their new Cali-pride shirts.

Brianna Sheehan, Meredith Ziller, Emily Irwin and Kaylen Miller, show off their beautiful banner. These Illinios natives are at the convention to compete in the speaking and dairy jeopardy contests.

Brian Coyne, J.R. Boyke, Ty Hildebrandt and Clayton Wohlk, Wisconsin Junior Advisory Committee members get the juniors excited for the limbo contest at the luau.

Emily Achen, of Minnesota shares the Minnesota tokens with Ben Mangun and Matt Oechsle of Ohio. Ben is participating in the fitting contest and Matt is here for the fun experience.

Young juniors from California share their candy with convention goers from across the country.

Wisconsin Holstein Princess shows her skills at the limbo contest.

Minnesota juniors exchange gifts with some junior girls from Georgia.

These two Iowa juniors are ready to rock and excited to be here participating in the 2008 National Convention.

“Jersey Fresh” stickers from the New Jersey kids were a popular present at the junior exchange.

Doug Petzel sports one of the many masks at the luau.