Dreibelbis And Holter To Be Honored As Outstanding Dairy Alumni
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Jack Dreibelbis, retired executive of Agway Inc., and James Holter, professor emeritus of animal and nutrition sciences at the University of New Hampshire, have been selected to receive 2001 Dairy Science Distinguished Alumnus Awards from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Dreibelbis and Holter will be guests of honor at the 2001 Alumni Weekend Celebration on April 20-21 at University Park, when the department of dairy and animal science will host the Little International Show and Penn State Dairy Exposition. An informal luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 20. To attend the luncheon, call Carol Ertley at 814-863-3665.
Dreibelbis, of Camp Hill, was born and raised on a farm in State College. The son of Bruce and Ruth Dreibelbis, he attended Ferguson Township School in Pine Grove Mills and graduated from State College High School in 1947. He entered Penn State in the fall of 1947. Because of the influx of World War II GI's, he was assigned to California State Teachers College. He returned to Penn State and received his bachelor's degree in animal husbandry in 1952. He then served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. In college, Dreibelbis was a three-year letter-winner on the varsity wrestling team. During his junior and senior years, he was named to "Who's in the News at Penn State." He also belonged to Block and Bridle Club and the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. Dreibelbis has belonged to many community and service organizations. He was a charter member of the Northampton Community College Authority; board member and president of Penn Ag Industries Association; and board member and vice-chairman of Tressler Lutheran Services; and board member and president of the Penn State Agricultural Council. A member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Camp Hill, he currently serves on the board of directors of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, a Lutheran agency that concentrates on health care, nursing and retirement homes, and adoption and refugee services. Dreibelbis belongs to the F & AM Whitfield Lodge #622, the Valley of Allentown Consistory and the Rajah Temple Shrine. He also is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association, American Legion Post #998 and National Rifle Association. He was named to the 21st edition of "Who's Who in the East" and belongs to the West Shore Elks #2257. He is an avid sports enthusiast and outdoorsman and belongs to the Nittany Lion Club, Penn State Wrestling Club and Varsity "S" Club. He and his wife, Miriam, a retired bank officer, have four children: Daniel, Donald, Gail and Kent.
Renowned for research on how to predict dry matter intake in Holstein and Jersey dairy cattle, James Holter developed software for dairy ration balancing. Dry matter intake is fundamentally important in nutrition because it establishes the amount of nutrients available to an animal for health and production. Holter and his research group developed one of only two dry matter prediction equations for use in the field that have been published and tested for accuracy. He is the only researcher to develop dry matter prediction equations that include animal, dietary and environmental factors. In addition, Holter is the only researcher to develop prediction equations for dry matter intake of Jersey cattle. The recently issued 7th edition of the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle includes much information from Holter's research, particularly from the last decade. Holter was raised on his family's farm in Clarion County and graduated from Clarion High School in 1952. He graduated from Penn State with honors in dairy science in 1956.
He received his master's degree in nutrition from the University of Maryland in 1959. After earning his doctorate in dairy nutrition from Penn State in 1963, he began his professorial career at the University of New Hampshire.
Holter and his wife, Vada Marie, have two children -- Melanie and Jonathan.
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EDITORS: For more information, contact Carol Ertley at 814-863-3665.
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Editor: Kim Dionis 814-863-2703 kdionis@psu.edu