VERSAILLES – Blake Schmitmeyer is a senior at Versailles High School and participates in the Agriculture Education Capstone Program and has been selected as the capstone highlight student of the month. The Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone Program is in its 13th year of existence. Blake is the son of Matt and Liz Schmitmeyer of Versailles, Ohio. Capstone is a program that gives Versailles High School Junior and Senior Students who are enrolled in agriculture education an opportunity to gain real-world employment experiences and opportunities while in high school.
Blake started working at The Butcher Block and Smokehouse the summer of his junior year of capstone and has continued to work throughout his senior year and has worked over 2,000 hours. Blake’s primary roles include: processing beef and pork, including cutting it off the bone, packaging, and labeling finished products. He also plays a key role in maintaining a clean and safe work environment, assisting with the cleaning and sanitization of the processing and kill rooms. Blake regularly helps customers with their custom orders, he manages the stocking of our retail meat freezer and the organization of both our custom beef and pork freezer and hanging cooler. Matt Schmitmeyer, owner of The Butcher Block and Smokehouse is quoted as saying “Blake’s work ethic is exceptional. He is dependable, hardworking, and always eager to expand his skill set. He demonstrates a high level of maturity, showing respect and courtesy to both customers and colleagues alike. His positive attitude and willingness to learn make him an asset to our team.” Blake plans to attend Wright State University Lake Campus after graduation and plans to continue to play an instrumental role in The Butcher Block and Smokehouse.
The Butcher Block and Smokehouse was established in 2013 and in 2019 was purchased by Matt and Liz Schmitmeyer. The Butcher Block Smokehouse is a USDA-inspected meat slaughter and processing facility. Their main focus is on the custom processing of cattle and hogs, but also work with goats, sheep and bison. The Butcher Block and Smokehouse harvest around 1300 beef and 1300 hogs yearly. The Butcher Block and Smokehouse operates a retail meat store in addition to the processing.
This year 53 students are enrolled in the Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone programs and are leaving school after their daily required courses are complete and working at area businesses. The goal of the spotlight is to highlight each month one of the students that participate in the capstone program and highlight the skills/knowledge they are gaining, and the roles/assets they are to their business. The students enrolled in capstone also use their employment as their Supervised Agricultural Experience Program. As part of their grade in capstone, students are required to keep detailed records of their hours worked, earnings and skills performed. In addition to the record books, capstone students are being evaluated at the end of each nine weeks by an evaluation completed by their employer.
Congratulations to Blake Schmitmeyer and Thank you to The Butcher Block and Smokehouse for this opportunity.