HARRISBURG, Pa. — Reid and Diane Hoover of Annville, Lebanon County, have been selected as recipients of the Dairy Hall of Fame Award. The award recognizes the service and accomplishments of Pennsylvania dairy leaders based on their character, leadership and commitment to youth development within the dairy industry.
For 44 years, the Hoovers have operated Brook-Corner Holsteins, a Registered Holstein herd with 375 milking cows and about 400 acres. They now farm in partnership with their son Brad and his wife, Amy. The Hoover family includes four children and nine grandchildren.
The Hoovers have exhibited cattle at local, state and national shows, earning All-Pennsylvania and All-American nominations as well as other awards. They have also hosted farm tours for students from preschool through college, including dairy judging teams, and hosted the Northeast Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge.
Reid received the Distinguished Dairy Producer Award from the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania in 2018. Further, the farm received both the Pennsylvania and national Dairy Beef Quality Assurance Awards in 2016.
Reid has served on the Annville-Cleona School Board and the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center Board. He also has served on the boards of the Lebanon County and Pennsylvania Holstein associations, including as president, and has represented Pennsylvania numerous times as a delegate to the Holstein Association USA national convention.
His additional leadership roles include service on the boards of the Center for Dairy Excellence, Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association and Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation. He has chaired each organization and serves on the advisory committee for the Little Dutchmen FFA chapter.
Diane has been a member of the Lebanon County Dairy Promotion Committee for 35 years and is a longtime leader in the Lebanon County 4-H Dairy Club. She served as a dairy representative and chair of the Pennsylvania Beef Council and recently completed a 6-year term representing Pennsylvania on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which oversees funds collected through the Beef Checkoff program.
The Hoovers served as the host couple for the 2021 National Holstein Convention in Pennsylvania. They are members of Gingrich’s Mennonite Church, where Reid serves as an elder and Diane teaches Sunday school. For the past four years, they have also operated a small restaurant specializing in soft-serve ice cream, Colebrook Crossing, with Dean and Mary Ann Hoover.
The Hoovers will receive the Dairy Hall of Fame Award during the Holstein fall calf class at the Premier National Junior Show on Monday afternoon, Sept. 14, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
