Marie Meis Receives First-Ever Kalin Henn Memorial Award

Marie Meis capped off her final year of 4-H in a meaningful way.

At the 2019 Antelope County Fair, Meis was not only the champion senior showman in poultry and the winner of the small animal round robin, she was also the first-ever recipient of the Kalin Henn Memorial Award.

The new award was created in Kalin’s honor by Rhonda Meyer, the Antelope County poultry superintendent. The son of Tom and Sandi Henn of Elgin, Kalin died on April 27 at age 21. He was a former Antelope County 4-Her and poultry showman.

“Kalin was the one to get his family started showing chickens,” Meyer said of the reason she established the award. “His mom Sandi said if it wasn’t for him, they probably would not have been part of the poultry family.”

When it came to showing chickens, Meyer said Kalin “was serious about it and did very well.”

“He worked hard,” she said. 

Meyer said she carefully chose Meis as the first recipient of the award.

“I chose Marie because she has shown chickens her entire 4-H years,” she said. “Marie is a great role model for the younger exhibitors. She is always willing to help them.”

Meyer said she also felt the award would mean something special to the Meis and Henn families.

She was right.

“The Henn family started showing chickens around the same time as us, so we learned together,” Meis said. “Kalin and my brother are about the same age and Grace (Kalin’s younger sister) and I were classmates, so our families have always shown together, worked together,  and been in the same 4-H club together.”

When Kalin passed away, Meis said it was “a hard loss for everyone in the community.”

“So to be able to show next to Grace, and then be awarded with that by the family and Rhonda Meyer, was really special,” the 19-year-old said.

Meis has been participating in 4-H since she was eligible, starting out as a Clover Kid and becoming a member of the Cedar Creek 4-H Club. She will soon begin her sophomore year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she plans to double-major in agricultural communication and journalism.   

“This was a nice way to end my 4-H career,” Meis said.

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