Nov. 7, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Angus Heritage Foundation Inducts Four New Members
Angus breeders and supporters honor industry leaders.
The American Angus Association® celebrates innovators and visionaries by selecting individuals for induction into the Angus Heritage Foundation each year. Over the past 130 years, the Angus breed has established itself as industry leader for quality and advancement. This reputation was built by innovators and visionaries who possess drive and wise decision-making skills to better the breed and the industry.
On Nov. 4, four Angus industry leaders were added to this prestigious group during the 2019 Angus Convention in Reno, Nevada. The 2019 inductees are Jarold Callahan, Oklahoma; Cannon Brothers – Charles and Jere Cannon, Kentucky; Jim Bradford, Iowa; and Paul St. Blanc, posthumously, Louisiana.
Jarold Callahan, Edmond, Oklahoma
Jarold Callahan was born on a farm and ranch in Welch, Oklahoma, and graduated one of the top ten students in the College of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. Upon graduation, he was an instructor at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, and while at NEO, he received his master’s degree in agriculture from the University of Arkansas. In 1981, he joined the faculty at Oklahoma State University and was an assistant professor in the animal science department, was in charge of the purebred beef herds and coached the livestock judging teams.
In 1991, Callahan became the executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, and in 1996, he joined Express Ranches initially as chief operations officer and then became president.
Callahan also was elected to the American Angus Association board of directors in 2005 and served as president in 2011 to 2012.
Cannon Brothers – Charles and Jere Cannon, Flemingsburg, Kentucky
Charles and Jere Cannon joined the Association in 1953 as Cannon Brothers, which later became Stone Gate Farms. Stone Gate Farms was selected as the Kentucky Angus Association Breeder of the Year in 2006 and received the Kentucky Association Historic Herd Award in 2008. They have two sales per year: a bull and commercial female sale in the fall and a spring sale of registered cattle.
Jere is a graduate of Morehead State University with a degree in agriculture. He began buying Angus heifers with his brother, Charles, and showing steers for a 4-H project. He was a member of FFA and served in the State Office of Secretary in 1961. Jere was a founding member of the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and a member of the Fleming County Cattlemen's Association, as well as the Beef Improvement Federation Board. He has been a member of Fleming County Farm Bureau for 40 years, where he served as president and has served on the local beef committee and the State Beef Committee. He is also a member of the Kentucky Angus Association and a lifetime member of the American Angus Association.
Charles served as director and president of the Kentucky Angus Association and director and president of the American Angus Association, as well as a member of the Certified Angus Beef board and member of the Angus Media board.
Jim Bradford, Guthrie Center, Iowa
Jim Bradford, owner of Brad Z Ranch near Guthrie Center, Iowa, has been raising Angus cattle since a few years after his 1956 Iowa State University graduation. While at Iowa State, he was a member of the 1955 national champion collegiate livestock judging team at the Chicago International Live Stock Exposition.
By 1970, Bradford shared ownership of two bulls that would help him begin to build his reputation as a producer of quality cattle: Big John and Atlas Marshall. Jim and his wife, Mary, bought a farm in Guthrie County, Iowa, moving there in 1970. They raised their nine children there.
Initially known as Bradford Brothers Angus, the farm was renamed Brad Z Ranch in a show of gratitude to Walt Zimmerer, who bought a major interest in the farm during the 1980s farm crisis. In the 1970s and 1980s, Bradford served on the Iowa Beef Industry Board, the National Beef Board and the American Angus Association board. He judged many national and state cattle shows, as well as some international, including an Australian show.
In 2002, Jim and Mary were recognized by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as regional Environmental Stewardship Award winners. In 2008, Bradford was recognized with an alumni of merit award from Iowa State University's Gamma Sigma Delta, an honor society of agriculture. And, in 2011, Wallaces Farmer recognized Bradford with an Iowa Master Farmer Award. Today, the Bradfords continue to raise Angus cattle with a few Angus/Simmental composites.
Paul St. Blanc, posthumously, Mississippi
Paul St. Blanc (1941-1999) became a member of the American Angus Association in his youth and began purchasing Angus cattle for 4-H projects adding Angus to the family’s south Louisiana Brahman based herd. In 1953, St. Blanc along with his grandfather, father and brothers started Bar S Angus in Charenton, Louisiana.
St. Blanc attended Louisiana State University (LSU) and received a Bachelor of Science in animal husbandry and was a member of the LSU football team and Block and Bridle Club. He later received his teaching certificate from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and taught vocational agriculture in Franklin, Louisiana, for 25 years while maintaining the Bar S Angus herd with his wife, Vicki, and children Anne, Casey and Melanie. After retiring from teaching, he went on to manage Del River Angus Farm in New Iberia, Louisiana, and later Lena Farms in Lena, Mississippi.
Paul was a lifetime member of the American Angus Association and served on the board of directors of the Louisiana and Mississippi Angus Associations, serving as president of both organizations. He served as a delegate to the American Angus Association’s annual meeting for several years and worked with the American Angus Association to promote Angus whenever he was asked. In 1984, during the World’s Fair in New Orleans, Paul and his family manned the American Angus Association booth for a week. Paul and Vicki served on the executive committee for the 1977 Eastern Regional Junior Angus Show in Shreveport, Louisiana, and chaired the National Junior Angus Louisiana Regional Preview Show in Baton Rouge in 1985.
Paul and Vicki were named National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) Advisors of the Year in 1982 and later received the Angus Foundation’s Honorary Angus Foundation award. Bar S Angus was recognized as a Historic Angus Herd during the American Angus Association’s centennial year in 1983. Paul was honored to serve as a judge for the 1995 National Junior Angus Showmanship Contest in Louisville, Kentucky.
— Written by Rachel Robinson, Angus Communications
ANGUS MEANS BUSINESS. 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. It’s home to an extensive breed registry that grows by nearly 300,000 animals each year. The Association also provides programs and services to farmers, ranchers and others who rely on 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, visit www.angus.org.
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