This 40 Gators Under 40 honoree has an unusual method for teaching young people valuable life and work skills: Bringing them into the world of competitive meat judging.

by Barbara Drake (MFA ’04)

T-bone. Ribeye. Porterhouse. Tenderloin.

For some 4-H members, these beef cuts are more than delicious mouthfuls. They are among the high-stakes “curveballs” thrown to them in the sport of competitive meat-judging.

Braving the chill of 40-degree meat coolers, dressed in spotless white “frocks” and colorful hard hats, team members compete to correctly identify and grade retail cuts of meat, then defend their decisions orally to a panel of picky judges. It’s a nail-biting test of knowledge, eloquence and composure, and few teams make it all the way to the national 4-H championships.

Few except the Escambia County 4-H senior (ages 14+) meat judging team, that is. Last year’s Florida champions placed second at the 2020 National 4-H Meat Judging Contest and are hoping to bring home the grand prize this fall.

Powering the team’s success is the big-hearted dedication of one man: Brian Estevez (BSA ’04, MS ’07), 4-H Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County since 2017 and a UF 40 Gators Under 40 honoree for 2021.

Since earning two degrees from UF, one in meat science and the other in agricultural leadership, Estevez has been deploying his niche expertise to “lead people to meat,” he says, specifically by co-creating the Florida 4-H Tailgating Contest. Held on the UF campus, the annual event has awarded more than $86,000 in college scholarships to Florida 4-H contestants since 2016.

But Estevez’s most enduring achievement may be empowering young Floridians by coaching them in essential life skills.

“Brian is a fantastic 4-H agent,” said Michael Gutter, Ph.D., Associate Dean for UF/IFAS Extension and a 4-H State Program Leader. “He not only does great programming for youth but is a great mentor to others, helping them find the same successes he has had.”

“Brian is just awesome and hands-on and so patient,” agrees mother Jennifer Thorne, of the Panhandle town of Cantonment, whose teens Ethan and Hannah Thorne have been coached by Estevez for four years and are now ranked among the top 4-H meat judgers in the nation.

“He goes above and beyond what is expected — you know, he takes them to the grocery store, butcher shops and tailgating, where they learn about cooking the meat,” she says. “Plus, he teaches them public speaking, saying thank you to the judges, making a positive impression.

“As a single mom, I can’t tell you what that means to me,” adds Thorne. “4-H made my kids what they are today.”

“I have the privilege and responsibility to be a role model for 4-H youth,” explains Estevez, 38, who is also a husband and father. “I have always lived by the motto, ‘Little eyes are watching you.’”

Put me in, Coach

It wasn’t that long ago, in the 1980s, when Estevez was a wide-eyed youngster himself, gazing up at his elders in Williston, Florida.

Mom Cheryl Estevez was a homemaker, and his father, Tommy Estevez, worked in the meats department of Publix. Tommy spent long hours on the job, eventually rising to the position of meats manager, but the caring father always carved out time to spend with children Brian, Zachary and Kelly, passing on his love of fine steaks and family togetherness.

Brian’s father, Tommy Estevez (left), worked for 20 years in the Publix meat department in Williston before becoming the retail manager for UF’s Meat Processing Center, a USDA facility in the Animal Science Department. They are shown here at the “Meat We Eat” workshop, held at Florida 4-H University in 2017.

But not every early authority figure made such a positive impression.

At age 5, Brian Estevez took up tee-ball. He loved whacking the big white ball off the tee and running around the bases for his team, the Orioles.

But he didn’t like Coach Philpot.

“He was yelling and loud and everything I wasn’t,” said Estevez. “So, I only did one year of tee-ball and quit.”

By the time Estevez entered Williston High School, things had changed. Mean old Coach Philpot was now his agriculture teacher, as well as the school’s FFA advisor, and he wasn’t so scary anymore. Estevez’s father was about to retire from Publix and become the retail manager at the UF Meat Processing Center, in the UF/IFAS Department of Animal Sciences. Estevez knew he had to start thinking about a career path for himself and began eyeing his school’s FFA chapter.

Turns out, Robert Philpot (BSA ’73, MAG ’86) was an expert in livestock and meat judging, and he coached Williston FFA championship teams in the specialties, winning two national titles and 45 state titles.

“Mr. Philpot got me on the path to meat science, and I have wanted to emulate him ever since,” says Estevez.

Once again under Coach Philpot’s wing, Estevez began training seriously in the competitive sport, evaluating beef, pork and lamb carcasses and their retail cuts. His high school team clinched the Florida FFA meat judging championship in April 2000.

Competitive meat-judging events take place in total silence in freezing meat lockers; 4-H competitors have to rank carcasses, identify cuts and defend their decisions orally. Here, left to right, Escambia County team members Jessica Conti and Hannah Thorne ID beef cuts at the 2020 National 4-H Meat Judging Contest.

“We got to go to the national [FFA] championship in Indianapolis, so I always had that taste in my mouth of what it could be,” says Estevez. “That’s when I got the bug.”

Finding His Calling — and Mindy

The first member of his family to go to college, Estevez got a head start on his studies by working at the UF meat lab in the summer of 2000, side by side with his father through 2005.

“Not many parents get to see their kids go to college,” Tommy Estevez said recently. “I worked with mine every day. I’m proud of that.”

“I had the early opportunity in 2000 to get to know all of the animal science professors that I would eventually study under,” says Estevez, who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences in 2004 and a master’s in agricultural education and communication in 2007.

Among his mentors at UF were Dr. Ed Osborne, then chair of the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, and Larry Eubanks (MS ’76), a meat instructor and coordinator of research programs in the Department of Animal Sciences.

During the 2000s, competitive meat judging was in its infancy at UF, so Estevez was unable to compete at the collegiate level. But college proved fruitful in other ways: It was through UF that he met his future wife, Mindy Hanson (BS ’09), a food science and nutrition major.

Brian and his wife, Mindy, met at a UF reunion. Married in 2011, they struggled to conceive until in vitro fertilization came to the rescue. Eli Thomas was born in 2019. “We have been 2 for 2 with IVF,” says Brian. “Mindy is due with our second child December 5, 2021!” Photo credit Brian Estevez

“We were both ambassadors for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, but at different times; we met at one of their reunions,” he says. (The pair married in 2011.)

In 2008, he became a 4-H Youth Development Agent for UF/IFAS Suwannee County Extension and set about building a stellar 4-H program for Suwannee County, one that would lift up all its young members.

“4-H’s motto is ‘To Make the Best Better,’ and I have always felt that I can do that, help make these kids a little bit better by giving them real-world experiences,” says Estevez.

More than 200,000 Florida youth participate in 4-H clubs annually.

Based in Live Oak for eight years, Estevez took advantage of the proximity of UF and other institutions to take the 4-H students on college field trips, going on campus tours and meeting agriculture professionals. His goal was to make his young charges feel comfortable on a college campus — not just as spectators at athletic events but as potential students themselves.

“We want to create productive citizens, and the best way to do that is college, right?” says Estevez.

“I got a lot of strange looks”

Judging teams and events are at the heart of the 4-H experience. Specialties can include everything from livestock and “dairy quiz bowl” to forest ecology and horticulture judging.

“All these events teach young people life skills,” explains Estevez. “We’re teaching decision making, critical thinking, leadership, problem-solving, goal-setting and communication.”

Seeing the Suwanee County 4-H program lacked a meat-judging team, Estevez proposed the idea to his county director.

“I got a lot of strange looks from people in my office, like, ‘what is that?’” he remembers.

Some local “ag” people understood, though, and 4-H parents were intrigued, so with the director’s blessing, Estevez got to work assembling and training teams of intermediate (ages 11 to 13) and senior (14+) members.

Soon, Estevez was leading his “kids” on forays to the Publix and Winn-Dixie meat sections. With a thumb over the sticker, Estevez would hold up a packaged cut and ask the youngsters to identify it by sight alone. Butchers ended up letting Brian’s 4-H-ers into the meat locker to see whole carcasses up close.

Just as important as technical knowledge in meat judging are verbal skills and confidence, Estevez says, since 4-H contestants must orally defend their decisions to the judges. That rule meant Estevez had to start coaching his teams in public speaking, something he had personally dreaded in his teens.

“They may not like it at the moment, but as they get older, they’re all glad they did it,” he says.

Career Highs & Transformed Lives

The teams’ efforts soon paid off. During Estevez’s eight years in Live Oak, Suwanee County 4-H meat judging teams won 12 state championships, and a dozen individuals were crowned best in the state.

When Estevez took a new job as 4-H Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County in 2017, he brought the sport with him. “Mr. Brian” quickly got his Escambia teams up to speed – his top competitors include a vegetarian! – and they took the state lead in 2020 and 2021. That led to a career high: placing second at last year’s National 4-H Meat Judging Contest at Kansas State University, with member Jessica Conti, then 17, placing first overall in the nation.

“That was definitely my proudest moment,” he says.

But it’s not all about the blue ribbons and celebratory steak dinners, he insists.

While preparing for contests in their specialties, 4-H members can tour land-grant institutions around the country and meet with faculty in top-rated agriculture programs. Many of the 4-H youth he has coached in Escambia County and Suwanee County have gone on to attend the University of Florida and other universities.

Eighteen-year-old Hannah Thorne plans to emulate Estevez and teach agriculture one day, says her mother, Jennifer Thorne.

Hannah’s brother, Ethan, 19, has been especially helped by Estevez’s leadership, says Thorne. Ethan has ADHD, Asperger’s and severe anxiety.

“Ethan doesn’t like to get up in front of crowds, but Brian made it fun and encouraged him to do his best,” says Jennifer.

Ethan received a perfect score of 300 in retail cut identification at last year’s nationals, and placed fifth overall in the contest. Those achievements have been game-changers for the young man.

“Ethan is so much more confident now,” says Thorne. “He decided to join drama at school. He’s on the 4-H executive board. And he wants to become a butcher!”

“If you would call any of Brian’s 4-H parents, they would all say the same thing,” adds Thorne. “He gives 110% and looks out for the kids — not just the winners or the ones who compete in meat judging, but every single one of them.”

Fire Up Your Grills, Kids!

Statewide, Estevez served on the Florida Association of Extension 4-H Agents’ executive board from 2014 to 2018, and as the board’s president in 2017. That was one year after he helped Dr. Chad Carr of UF/IFAS launch what is now a beloved tradition on the UF campus: the annual Florida 4-H Tailgating Contest.

Brian Estevez uses his “love of meat” to coach 4-H youth in real-life skills. Here he teaches youngers from Suwanee County all about pork at the 2013 Bacon Day Camp held at the University of Florida, in Gainesville.

Nearly 350 participants from 39 counties across the state have competed to date.

Winners of the four district competitions advance to the state contest — sponsored by Winn-Dixie, National Beef, Sanderson Farms and Sonny’s BBQ — where the top two winners in each protein category earn college scholarships.

“A thousand dollars for second place, first place, $1,500 — just for grilling steak!” says Estevez.

The 5th Annual Florida 4-H Tailgating Contest will be held Sept. 25, 2021, in Gainesville. And you know who will be there: Brian Estevez, with his wife, Mindy, and their 2-year-old, Eli Thomas Estevez, in tow.

“One of the top items on my bucket list is to take my son to his first Gator football game,” says Estevez, a season ticket-holder.

Of the 40 Gators Under 40 honor, Estevez says he was surprised and delighted.

“So many great people come out of UF every year, that to be one of the 40 alumni chosen for the award — well, I’m honored and humbled,” he says.

“I grew up in the shadow of the Swamp,” he continues. “Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to go to UF, and now, to be working for the university, even off campus, is a great point of pride for me.”