Jill Houin's 'Milk Person' Debut Delayed Until August
Published: Friday, May 29, 2020
Gentlemen didn't start their engines over Memorial Day weekend as dictated by tradition, and Jill Houin didn't hand the customary bottle of cold milk over to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
Social-distancing concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic caused new Indy 500 owner Roger Penske to postpone the heavily anticipated rite of spring that makes the month of May and event unto itself in Indiana. Consequently, the typical buildup for "the greatest spectacle in racing" is on hold until just another summer Sunday afternoon.
"To delay is a little disappointing," Houin admitted. "It's a time-out, if you will."
Nevertheless, Houin is planning to fulfill her official Milk Person duties just as enthusiastically on Aug. 23 and the Plymouth dairywoman promises it won't be anticlimactic.
"I'm still super-excited," she said. "With everything going on, we're not really sure what it's going to look like, but the whole experience itself, with the winner celebrating with a glass of milk and raising it up in support both of the team working so hard to get to the finish line and the dairy farmers of Indiana who produce the milk, is overwhelming."
Houin's family owns Homestead Dairy, a fourth-generation, 4,800-cow operation on three farms in Marshall County. She manages calves and the dairy's website, giving live virtual tours to viewers around the world.
The practice of celebrating victory at the Indy 500 with a swig of milk began in 1936 when champion Louis Meyer requested some buttermilk to quench his thirst after the race.
American Dairy Assn. Indiana sponsors one of the most revered traditions in all of sports as part of its Winners Drink Milk campaign. Last year, Houin was selected by peers across the state to serve as the "rookie" who assists the official Milk Person in delivering milk to the winner's circle.
"It used to be Milkman but now that they have girls they changed it to Milk Person," Houin said with a laugh.
In 2019, Houin was responsible for getting milk to the winning crew chief and team owner, while Andrew Kuehnert, of Fort Wayne, presided over the Milk Person ceremony with winning driver Simon Pagenaud. Later this summer, Houin will assume the responsibility of handing over a chilled glass bottle of the victorious driver's choice—most go with whole—and Tim Haynes, of Garrett, will be the rookie.
She doesn't mind letting the anticipation build a while longer.
"Last year when I was the rookie, I was in awe of all these people coming together and being so excited about the milk and the tradition of it, and I'm really excited about being the one who gets to hand the milk off to the winner this year," she said. "I just have to wait a little bit. I teach my (two) children to be patient so I think I can live with it.
"I want to say I'm pretty proud of the way Roger Penske has handled everything, and putting the health and safety of the fans and everyone involved in the Indy 500 as a priority. I'm disappointed but I understand the situation."
Instead of listening to the roar of engines and watching cars flash by at speeds in excess of 200 m.p.h., Houin planned to spend the weekend enjoying finally pleasant weather with her family and joked that she was going to prepare for her big day by lifting gallons of milk "to get stronger."
Homestead Dairy is already renowned for its cutting-edge approach to milk production. In addition to its robotic milking system, Homestead has its own electrical power plant that converts manure, food waste and other biomass into green power it sells back to the grid.
Consequently, Houin is more than happy to share the prestige that comes with being the Milk Person.
"The honor isn't just for our farm, it's for all Indiana dairy," she said. "The family farms in general work so hard year in and year out and even through this pandemic, farmers continue to work hard to get milk to the shelves of stores, to get it to the people working with food pantries and people in need.
"That is overwhelming to me because I get to represent all of us and that's such an honor. It's going to be delayed, but the feeling is going to be the same, and I'm just elated to be a part of this tradition and look forward to training the rookie for next year."
In the meantime, she'll wear her cow bandana and Indy 500 sunglasses while giving virtual tours, at a much slower pace, that can be arranged by contacting her at jill@homesteaddairy.com.
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