July 28, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

Jena McRell, digital editor, at 816-383-5100 or jmcrell@angusjournal.com

PHOTOS: Available upon request at 816-5155 or prphotos@angus.org

Angus Ambassador Finalist, Esther McCabe

Kansas junior selected as a finalist during the breed ambassador competition

Esther McCabe, Elk City, Kan., considers it a privilege to have grown up on a registered Angus cattle operation. Raising cattle is a way of life for the McCabe family, and she says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Growing up in southeast Kansas, the Angus breed is where my roots come from,” McCabe says. “Being a third generation Angus breeder, it’s where my passion is, and every day I wake up and that’s what I want to be doing. I want to be out there with the cattle, and I want to see a calf from the time it’s born to when we sell it as a two-year-old bull.”

McCabe, a senior at Kansas State University majoring in animal science, recently competed in the 2014 Angus Ambassador competition held July 24 in Saint Joseph, Mo. Hosted by the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA), McCabe and her family visited the American Angus Association^® headquarters along with other finalists and their families.

“The caliber of applicants in our Angus Ambassador program are second to none,” says Jaclyn Upperman, Association director of events and education. “It’s tremendous to see such dedicated and passionate youth who are looking forward to a future promoting our breed and the entire beef industry.”

To be considered for the position, earlier this spring, each junior member submitted a cover letter, résumé and two essay responses. The top candidates were invited to the Association where they gave a 3-5 minute presentation with 5 minutes of questions that followed.

Topics ranged from the importance of connecting with consumers about beef products to the value of marketing cattle on the grid. McCabe’s presentation addressed the opportunities and challenges associated with the uncharted waters the industry is experiencing with historical high prices, not only for buying cattle, but keeping them as well. McCabe also discussed the role the Angus breed plays in rebuilding the nation’s cow herd.

Judging this year’s competition were John Butler, chief executive officer of Beef Marketing Group; Crystal Albers, director of communications for Angus Productions Inc.; Jason Kenyon, Association director of information systems; Ginette Kurtz, Association director of commercial programs; and John Pfeiffer, Association Board Director.

Following the presentations, the judges selected Emma Jumper, Paragould, Ark., as the 2014-2015 Angus Ambassador. Jumper is a junior at Mississippi State University double majoring in business administration and foreign language. Joining McCabe as a finalist was Will Pohlman, Prairie Grove, Ark.

Funded by the Angus Foundation, the 2014-2015 Angus Ambassador will represent the breed at industry events throughout the United States and Canada, including the Angus Means Business National Convention and Trade Show; a Certified Angus Beef ^® Building Blocks Seminar in Wooster, Ohio; the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Industry Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas; the Beef Improvement Federation Annual Research Symposium and Convention; and the Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders (GOAL) Conference in Canada.

For more information about the NJAA or the Ambassador program, visit www.ANGUS.org.

ANGUS MEANS BUSINESS. Explore how the Angus breed impacts every sector of the cattle business – from the feedlot to the meatcase – during the 2014 Angus Means Business National Convention and Trade Show. Hosted by the American Angus Association, the event takes place Nov. 4-6 at the KCI Expo Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Participants will hear from top-flight speakers, conduct Association business, visit the trade show featuring allied industry partners and have the opportunity to attend the Angus University.

The American Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef breed organization, serving more than 25,000 members across the United States, Canada and several other countries. For more information about Angus cattle and the 2014 convention, visit www.ANGUS.org.

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