You’d be hard-pressed to find part of Anne Lampe’s life that doesn’t have an Angus connection in it, and that’s exactly how she likes it.

“It’s my life,” she says.

And, it is.

Ranch life? She’s an active Angus breeder.

Volunteer life? She’s a devoted American Angus Auxiliary member.

Personal life? Many of her friends have Angus ties.

Work life? She’s the Kansas Angus Association (KAA) manager.

Family life? She’s a grandmother encouraging her grandchildren with their Angus projects.

All of those qualities came together as Lampe received the inaugural Angus Ambassador award at the 2023 American Angus Association Awards Reception and Dinner in Orlando, Fla. The recognition was created to honor someone who goes above and beyond to promote or aid Angus efforts and broaden Angus influence in the beef industry.

“The Angus family encompasses so many people who live and breathe the breed,” says Mark McCully, Association CEO. “But Anne exemplifies Angus in everything she does.”

From her childhood Angus operation in Louisiana, to her cow herd today in Scott City, Kan., and everywhere in between, The Business Breed is woven into her life. Most recognize Lampe as one of the “Annes” who make the wheels go round on the American Angus Auxiliary-sponsored All-American Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Cook-Off Contest. Lampe, along with Anne Patton Schubert, are beef education committee co-chairs.

“I really enjoy working with the kids,” Lampe says. “And I am really proud of how the Cook-Off has taken the direction we’ve taken in the 40 years it’s been there.”

Lampe participated in the first contest all those years ago as a junior, and since that time, National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) members across the country have tested their knowledge of the beef industry and skills in the kitchen.

“Without a doubt, hundreds of kids that have went through [the contest] can quote the CAB specs,” she says.

She points out that’s more than most ranchers can do, which is exactly why she believes the contest so important.

Through the years, Patton Schubert has witnessed the effect Lampe’s passion has instilled in the youth.

“She’s just such a wonderful asset to the Angus breed,” Patton Schubert says. “She cares so much.”

The third generation of Angus enthusiasts in Lampe’s family are just beginning to compete, but she says she looks forward to seeing her grandkids compete very soon.

“That’s always been the focus, the family,” she says.

Lampe and her husband, Mark, have two sons, Garrett and Clayton. As a young family, they purchased cows, and it really wasn’t a choice what breed they would buy, Lampe says.

“It’s always been registered Angus,” she says. “My sons really tease me about that sometimes, but I’m through and through.”

The family raised show cattle and bulls to sell, building their herd to 150 cows at one point. The boys were active in NJAA, showing cattle and developing their own taste for the Angus breed.

Angus from the start

It’s how Lampe was raised. Growing up in Louisiana, Lampe came from an Angus family. Her father, Paul St. Blanc, served as an Association delegate, and her mother, Vicki, was an Auxiliary member. Together, the couple served as junior advisors. Lampe attended her first National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) in 1974 and has missed only a handful since.

“I first joined the Angus Auxiliary when I was a senior in high school,” Lampe says. She was a Miss American Angus contestant, and is still good friends with the others she competed against.

Angus connections also led her to Kansas, where she competed on the livestock judging team at Hutchinson Community college and met her husband.

When Lampe clocks into work, it’s on behalf of Angus breeders as the Kansas Angus Association manager since 2003. In that role, Lampe coordinates events and works with members, always trying to find something new to bring in more people to the state and national associations. Kansas Angus Association member Jerry Theis describes Lampe as glue that holds the KAA together.

“She’s enthusiastic and always passionate about Angus,” he says, especially complimenting her work with the juniors. “She really cares about those kids.”

American Angus Association regional manager for Kansas, Jeff Mafi, agrees.

“She’s always working on behalf of Angus,” he says. “You can see her passion for the breed no matter whether she’s working for Kansas Angus or any of the other things she participates in.”

Perhaps the achievement Lampe is most proud of is the creation of the Women Connected Conference. As 2012 president of the Auxiliary, Lampe and others created the event as a way for women within the Angus breed to learn more about the beef industry.

“It allows them to form a network and experience educational workshops while feeling engaged and empowered,” she says.

The Angus Foundation-sponsored conference is hosted every other year for 30 women.

“I thought it was going to be a one-year thing, but it took off,” Lampe says, who continues to chair the event for the Auxiliary. She is currently planning the seventh conference for spring 2024.

Volunteerism runs deep for Lampe, who has chaired two National Junior Angus Shows and served on the committee of several others. She’s involved in her community, as well, helping run a four-species spring livestock show and volunteering at her county fair.

“My dad just always instilled that passion for Angus cattle in me,” Lampe says.

She knows it’s been passed to her two sons who are both involved in the breed, and she hopes to see it in her grandchildren, too.

“I guess that’s the part of this award that I’m the most proud of — just literally thousands of people in the American Angus Association that I’ve come across,” Lampe says. “I call ’em friends.”