Black Hawk College’s Dr. Blake Bloomberg recently was voted Best Jr. College Livestock Judging Team Coach in the Best of the Barns competition.
Best of the Barns is an annual nationwide awards program sponsored by Sullivan Supply Inc. that recognizes leading businesses and individuals in the livestock and agriculture industry.
Winners in each category were voted on by the people of the livestock industry from Jan. 1-13, 2024, and are considered the best of the best in their respective field. The competition received an all-time record number of votes this year, with Bloomberg receiving well over 10,000 of them.
Bloomberg is an associate professor of animal science and lead coach of the award-winning BHC Livestock Judging Team. A 2005 Black Hawk College East Campus graduate and former member of the BHC Livestock Judging Team, he returned to his alma mater in 2020 to teach and coach.
“I personally feel one of the most rewarding educational experiences in animal science is the opportunity to participate on a judging team,” he said. “My coaching philosophy is to teach for success. I believe a good coach, in any area, understands his or her job goes full circle – from recruitment to teaching to delivering professionals. Coaching a livestock judging team is no different.”
Bloomberg said he believes it’s his duty to enable students to reach their full potential.
“As a coach, there is no greater pressure than to know your students are counting on you to prepare them for success,” he said.
