Aug. 27, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Carrie Heitman, communications coordinator, at
816-383-5100 or cheitman@angus.org; or
Robin Ruff, director of junior activities, at
816-383-5100 or rruff@angus.org.
PHOTOS:
Top-five finalist photos available at 816-383-5155 or prphotos@angus.org.
NJAA Selects First-Ever Angus Ambassador
Lauren Adcock,
Illinois, to represent the National Junior Angus Association worldwide.
The National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) is fortunate to
involve hundreds of outstanding youth leaders in the Angus industry. For the
first time, this year the NJAA selected one junior member to represent the
organization at cattle events and meetings throughout the United States and
Canada. The winner – Lauren Adcock, Moweaqua, Ill. – is thrilled to begin her
duties as the Angus Ambassador.
“The Ambassador program will give me the opportunity to bring
together the junior and the adult organizations as one, and become a stronger
front as an Association to educate the public about the Angus breed,” says
Adcock, a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying
agriculture and consumer economics.
She gained an appreciation for agriculture through her family’s
operation, Adcock Land and Livestock, which has raised Angus and Simmental
seedstock since 1972. She continues to play an active role in the business.
Adcock also currently serves as president of the Illinois Junior Angus
Association and is a past Illinois Angus Queen.
When asked why she wanted to become the Angus Ambassador, Adcock
says she wants to inform others about the benefits of using Angus genetics and
how production agriculture feeds the world. During an internship this summer at
Farm Credit Services of Mid-America
in Vincennes, Ind., she was able to deepen her industry knowledge and educate
herself on how to better communicate agriculture’s positive message with others.
“Growing
up in agriculture, especially in the Angus industry, you are forced at a young
age to take life by the reins and take responsibility for something other than
yourself, every day, morning and night,” Adcock says. “I attribute all the
skills I have developed to the Angus breed, and becoming the Ambassador is the
best experience that will ever be given to me.”
And
it is a title that did not come easily. Seven applications were received and
the top five were invited to the American Angus Association® in
Saint Joseph, Mo. On Aug. 21, the finalists and their families toured the Association and gave a 15-minute presentation addressing
current beef industry challenges. Topics ranged from the historic drought to
genetic technology, and beef advocacy to forage management.
Competing in the top five were: Esther McCabe, Elk City, Kan.; Tyler Ottensmeier,
McLouth, Kan.; Hannah Wright, Spring City, Tenn.; and
Blaine Novak, Fordville, N.D.
“I am always impressed by the caliber of youth in the Angus
community,” says Robin Ruff, Association director of junior activities. “All of
our Ambassador candidates are well-spoken, confident representatives for our
industry. They have bright futures ahead of them.”
The panel of judges evaluating the finalists
were also impressed with their industry knowledge and enthusiasm.
“Before
we met the finalists, we reviewed their resumes and cover letters, and it was
neat to finally meet them, and know we had five finalists who could walk in off
the street and talk to strangers about the beef industry,” says Wes Tiemann, Association regional manager and competition
judge.
Joining
Tiemann as judges were: Larry Corah, vice president of Certified
Angus Beef LLC (CAB); Sally Northcutt, Association genetic research director;
Becky Hays of Centralized Ultrasound Processing (CUP) lab; and Chris Sankey, Association board
member.
Adcock
begins a year-long term as the Angus Ambassador, traveling to events such as
the National Angus Conference and Tour in Wichita, Kan.; a Certified Angus Beef® Building Blocks Seminar in
Wooster, Ohio; the Beef Improvement Federation in Oklahoma City, Okla.; the
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Industry Annual Convention in
Tampa Bay, Fla.; and the Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders (GOAL) Conference in
Canada.
Funding
for Adcock’s travel expenses and registration fees are provided by the Angus
Foundation, thanks to the generous donations it receives from Angus breeders
and friends.
“Investing in Angus youth has always
been a high priority of the Angus Foundation, and the new Angus Ambassador
Program is just another wonderful example of how we use unrestricted charitable
gifts from our generous Angus breeders, allied industry interests and friends,”
says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president.
For more information
about the NJAA or the Ambassador program contact Ruff at 816-383-5100 or visit www.angus.org/NJAA.
The American Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef
organization, serving more than 30,000 members across the United States and
Canada. It provides programs and services to farmers, ranchers and others who
rely on the power of Angus to produce quality genetics for the beef industry
and quality beef for consumers.
For more information about Angus cattle and the American
Angus Association’s programs and services, visit www.angus.org.
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