July 13, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:

Katie Allen, American Angus Foundation marketing and public relations assistant, at 816-383-5100 or kallen@angusfoundation.org; or

Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president, at 816-383-5100 or mjenkins@angusfoundation.org

The Auxiliary aims to help move the Angus breed even closer toward its Vision of Value: Campaign for Angus fundraising goal of $11 million by Dec. 31, 2011.

The Arkansas Angus AuxiliaryÕs ambition to create more scholarship opportunities for Angus youth from Arkansas led to its donation of $10,000 to the Angus Foundation to establish the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary Scholarship Endowment Fund. The gift will contribute to the current Vision of Value: Campaign for Angus fundraising goal of $11 million by Dec. 31, 2011.

ÒMeriting the confidence and trust of a charitable outright cash gift, whether itÕs from an individual, couple, corporation, foundation or Angus-related state association such as the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary, is an honor for the Angus Foundation,Ó says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. ÒServices provided by the Angus Foundation with these types of arrangements include professional investment expertise, scholarship selection responsibilities through the Angus Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee, in addition to being recognized as a contributor to the campaign.Ó

To be considered for this scholarship, applicants must be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year in college and be a current or past member of the Arkansas Junior Angus Association. Angus youth from Arkansas wishing to apply for this scholarship will need to complete the Angus Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship Program application that is due May 1, 2012. This application and standard eligibility guidelines will be available at www.angusfoundation.org on Dec. 1, 2011. Selection of scholarship winners will be made by the Angus Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee.

Michelle Rieff of Bentonville, who was past-president of the American Angus Auxiliary and serves as the current membership director of the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary, was instrumental in encouraging her fellow members to make this donation. She says this endowment, combined with the graduating high school senior scholarships, allows Arkansas youth to receive $2,000 annually for their educational endeavors from the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary.

ÒEndowing educational funds for juniors has been a longtime goal of the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary,Ó Rieff says. ÒHaving a daughter of my own who is just finishing her master's degree, I know firsthand how costly a college education can be to a family. Our Angus youth are the future of not only our country but also of our cattle industry, whether they are directly or indirectly involved. Investing in our youth now gives promise and lasting benefits for the continuation of what we all want for the Angus breed. It is a win-win situation.Ó

Leslie Morelock-Roye of Fayetteville is the current president of the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary. She says the scholarship endowment has been decades in the making.

ÒIt came to be through the long history of the Arkansas Angus Auxiliary,Ó Morelock-Roye says. ÒThere is a long history of women in the organization who want to make sure children get an education.Ó

Indeed, funds for the scholarship endowment have been gathering since the 1960s, when the Auxiliary began. Charlene Lewis of Carlisle has been a member of the Auxiliary since 1962 and serves as the secretary/treasurer.

ÒWe felt the endowment through the Angus Foundation was a more certain way than the bank system to gather interest for our childrenÕs college education and to be there for the Angus youth to have,Ó Lewis says.

The Angus Foundation was established in 1980 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization to support Angus education, youth and research. To learn more about the Angus Foundation and the programs it supports, call the American Angus Association^¨ at 816-383-5100 or go to www.angusfoundation.org.

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