The MSU Block and Bridle Club won first place in Web site design at the Block and Bridle National Convention in Kissammee, Fla., in January.Mike Martin, the club’s adviser, said 42 schools attended the convention and eight other schools entered the Web design competition.
The members of MSU’s club were extremely proud to win the competition, he said. Other participants included Kansas State, Pennsylvania State, North Dakota State and Michigan State universities.
Web site editor and senior aerospace engineering major Cody Hardin said each school’s site is judged on club participation, overall design and activities.
The Web site was inspired by a conglomeration of many things including past sites, other sites and the National Block and Bridle’s standards, Hardin said. He said he designed the site with the help of members who took pictures and created and attended events.
Hardin spent his time preparing for the competition by viewing formats for Web sites. He would view different formats and decide what he could use from them to combine into one great Web site, he said.
He was also able to log onto other schools’ Web sites to see what he was up against, she said. This helped him improve certain areas of the site.
“Cody is a great member and has been a great addition to the club over the past four years,” Martin said.
Hardin said he has been raising cattle for almost his entire life. He has participated in numerous shows and events, was a pledge Marshall and was named Outstanding Member of the club in 2005.
Hardin said the club is a great way to meet people who are interested in agriculture.
The MSU chapter of the Block and Bridle Club was chartered in 1930 as the MSU Saddle and Sirloin Club. According to Block and Bridle’s Web site, the club’s objectives are to “promote a higher scholastic standard among the students of Mississippi State University with an interest in livestock, the livestock industry in general and to bring about a closer relationship among the students at MSU sharing a common interest in livestock.”
The club hosts annual activities including a crawfish boil, Little International Livestock Show, Bulldog Stampede (collegiate rodeo), Dixie National Livestock Judging Contest, parking trailers and the Mississippi State Fair, Pledge Cookout, Pledge Sale, Halloween on the Farm, Halloween Hoedown Formal, a flag football team and Steak Soiree.
Hardin said the club members meet the first, third and fifth Wednesday of every month at the Wise center auditorium, and encourages anyone to attend.