Eddie Burdette was a talented dairyman.  In 1960, at the age of 17, he received an award trophy at the Montgomery County Fair for “Showmanship.” After winning a national cow judging contest in Iowa in 1961, he was sent to England to compete as a member of the United States team in the Royal Show at Newcastle Upon Tyne. He traveled to England on the  ship the US United States and visited Scotland, Germany, France, Holland, and Jersey Island.

At the 1975 Hoard’s Dairyman Cow Judging Contest, Mr. Burdette was awarded second place prize in competition with 120,406 contestants from 49 states and 19 countries.  During the 1960s and 1970s he was recognized locally with such awards as the 1966-1967 Damascus Jaycees “Outstanding Young Farmer Award” and the 1974 “4-H Award of the Gold Clover” for his years of 4-H leadership.

In 2000 the National Park Service (NPS) recognized Mr. Burdette with an “Award of Excellence” for re-building an indoor horse-riding ring in the NPS Horse Stables and Facility in Rock Creek.  Former First Lady Nancy Reagan attended this event.

A member of the MOOseum’s Advisory Board from 2004-2017, it was Mr. Burdette who created the MOO’s Herd of cows since he told Board members “you can’t have a barn without a cow!” He was also the first to be recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” by the MOOseum’s Board of Directors in 2010 when the King Barn was ready to welcome visitors.

Eddie Burdette was a talented dairyman who made valuable contributions to the diary community and to the MOOseum and its mission.  Based on the listing above and other highlights to Mr. Burdette’s dairy career, Board of Director member Garner W. Duvall, Jr nominated Edward M Burdette to be inducted to the Hall of Fame in the Maryland Dairy Shrine.