Dinner to support CC judgers going ‘down under’

By Ashlee Estlack, Clarendon College

The Clarendon College Meats Judging Team has had three members qualify to attend a global competition in Australia this summer.

Scotta Faulkenberry, Cody Shannon, and Morgan Boyer, along with their coach Tate Corliss, will take part in the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) Contest in Armidale, New South Wales, for two weeks in July.

The students were invited to this competition due to their membership on the Academic All-American First Team for the “A” division. Of the 5 students on this team, 3 will represent Clarendon College.

“This is the first time in the history of the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association that a Junior College Team has been invited,” CC Coach Tate Corliss said. “Historically only Senior College teams have competed.”

The goal of the Australian ICMJ contest is to expose and encourage students into careers in the meat industry in the global sector while competing internationally. Teams will come from across Australia and the Far East including Japan, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, and South Korea.

“While we are there we will get to learn how to calculate yield grades by Australian standards and many other different aspects of their meat industry through workshops and listening to speakers prior to competing in the competition,” Corliss said. “Contest content will be beef, pork and lamb carcass judging, placings, grading and reasons/questions as well as retail cut identification.”

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent junior college programs,” Corliss said. “We will represent Clarendon College as well as Texas and the United States in an international setting.”

A prime rib fundraiser dinner is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, at 6 p.m. at the Bairfield Activity Center to help with expenses associated with this trip.

The cost is $20 per meal and there will be silent auction items to bid on during this event.

To RSVP or to donate silent auction items, call or e-mail Johnny Treichel at 806-664-0159 or johnny.treichel@clarendoncollege.edu.