In tribute to the late Jim Baldridge and his devotion to helping the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) and Angus youth succeed, close friends Bill and Betty Werner of Werner Angus, Cordova, Illinois, donated $50,000 to the Angus Foundation in 2013 to establish a permanent endowment fund that will provide for a $5,000 scholarship in Jim's memory to the winner of the NJAA's prestigious Outstanding Leadership Award. Renamed the Jim Baldridge Outstanding Leadership Award, this award will continue to recognize one outstanding NJAA member each year to be announced at the National Junior Angus Show with the formal presentation of this award made at the American Angus Association Annual Banquet as designed when the award was started in 1998. The award is based on leadership exhibited by the member in Angus and other activities.

Application deadline is May 1.

Access the nomination form

With a long-standing commitment to the Angus breed, Dr. Curtis and Ann Long of Briarwood Angus Farms of Butler, Missouri, generously funded a permanent endowment in the Angus Foundation. The Longs have always placed significance on the value of pertinent carcass information within their own herd, so it is only appropriate that their endowment will permanently support the National Junior Angus Association’s (NJAA) Carcass Steer Contest awards at the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). The 2008 Carcass Steer Contest awards at the National Junior Angus Show in Des Moines, Iowa, was the first year the Longs' gift was used to provide cash awards to the top 10 entries and other premiums to all other qualifying entries. It is the Longs' hope that by providing this permanent endowment, Angus youth will understand the additional economic benefits from producing outstanding beef carcasses.

In honor of his accomplishments in the Angus breed, friends and family of the late Gary Brost of Harrodsburg, Indiana, have created the Gary Brost Leaders Engaged in Angus Development (LEAD) Award Endowment Fund. Gary, an Angus breeder for many years, was a pioneer in the Angus business. In addition to raising two national champion Angus bulls, he was named a Master Breeder at the All-American Angus Breeders’ Futurity. This Fund will annually award two NJAA members with funds necessary to defray registration costs to attend the LEAD conference. Preference will be given to applicants with a farm/ranch background from the states of Indiana and Illinois. The Angus Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship Program application will be used to select the Gary Brost (LEAD) Award recipients.

In 2017, Tom Burke of Smithville, Missouri, was selected as the inductee into the Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery, largely considered the highest honor in the livestock industry. Burke, a fourth-generation cattleman, was raised on his family’s registered Angus operation in southeast Minnesota. He has spent more than 50 years of his life traveling the country as a sale manager for the American Angus Hall of Fame. Burke served on the American Angus Association Board of Directors from 2013-2016. Funded by gifts in Burke’s honor from friends in the livestock industry and Angus breed, the Tom Burke Young Angus Achievement Awards Endowment Fund will support two awards of $1,250, presented annually at the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) to one young boy and girl, 8-13 years of age. The winners will be selected for the award by a point system cumulating from their involvement in the National Junior Angus Association’s officially sanctioned and competitive show ring.

Established in 2023 by Joseph R. Bush III of Hamilton, Texas, to award an Angus youth to advance their leadership skills through attending the Leaders Engaged in Angus Development Conference. The award will cover one NJAA member with funds necessary to defray registration costs to attend the LEAD Conference. The recipient will be selected by random drawing from Mississippi or Texas youth who registered for the LEAD conference by the early registration deadline.

In 1996, Thomas and Catherine Chambers of Chambers Angus, Ontario, Ore., informed the American Angus Association their intentions to donate their entire estate to the Angus Foundation. Becoming members of the organization’s planned giving program Angus Legacy Society in 2006, the Chambers formalized their estate plans in their will documents naming the Angus Foundation as the sole charitable beneficiary. During the Angus breed’s Vision of Value: Campaign for Angus, the couple began funding their Chambers Angus Endowment Fund that when combined with their estate proceeds, totaled more than $800,000. Only the investment earnings from this permanent endowment will be used to support Angus youth activities conducted by the National Junior Angus Association. Additionally, two $500 cash awards will be given to attendees of the LEAD Conference to cover registration fees and travel. Preference will be given to applicants from Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Selection of the Chambers LEAD Award recipients will be made by the Angus Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee.

Interested applicants must submit the following form to scholarships@angus.org by June 15th.

Download the award application

Pat Grote was dedicated to the members of the Texas Junior Angus Association (TJAA) and National Junior Angus Association (NJAA). She encouraged not only her own children, but all juniors to get involved in the NJAA and even gave them rides to the National Junior Angus Show. After a fatal heart attack in February 2002, the Pat Grote Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund was established to pay the registration fee for the Leaders Engaged in Angus Development (LEAD) Conference to the overall winners in the intermediate steak division of the Auxiliary-sponsored All-American Certified Angus Beef^® Cook-Off.

The Hamilton James Memorial Endowment Fund was established by friends of Ham James to pay tribute to his years of dedication to the Angus industry. Starting with the 1983 National Junior Angus Show, this fund carries Hamilton James' legacy through an annual scholarship award given to the winner of the showmanship contest at the National Junior Angus Show.

Robert "Bob" Laflin was a consummate salesman and marketer. He sold Angus cattle throughout the United States and believed that to be successful as an Angus breeder you had to be willing to sell some of your best ones. Bob believed in family and investing in youth. He encouraged his children and grandchildren to be involved in the junior Angus programs and was always willing to help other youth who were interested in Angus cattle. Bob encouraged his grandchildren to participate in the Team Sales contest and was always at the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) to cheer them on in the competition. It is in his honor that the Laflin family sponsors a special award for the champion senior salesmanship team in the Team Sales contest held each year during the NJAS. Each member of the team will be presented with a limited print of a specially commissioned artwork done in memory of Bob. This artwork commemorates Bob's enthusiasm for sales and depicts an Angus breeder looking at show heifer prospects in the field with two young Angus exhibitors as he helps them select the next great one.

In honor of his dedication to the Angus breed, the family of the late Stan Prox, Macomb, Illinois, have created the Stan Prox Memorial LEADers Engaged in Angus Development (LEAD) Award. Contributions from friends and family in his honor will award one NJAA member with funds necessary to defray registration costs to attend the LEAD conference. The recipient will be selected by random drawing from those Illinois youth who registered for the LEAD conference by the early registration deadline. If an individual is already receiving funding through the Angus Foundation for this purpose, another name will be drawn. Stan, an Angus breeder for many years, served as Illinois Angus Association Business Manager for 16 years, chairman of the Illinois delegation to the American Angus Association’s Annual Meeting for 20 years and was inducted into the Angus Heritage Foundation in 2012.

Established with contributions from the Stoller family and friends to the Angus Foundation in-memory of the late Gary M. Stoller in 2012, this $500 cash award will be given to attendees to the LEAD Conference to cover registration fees and travel. Preference will be given to applicants from the western states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Selection of the Gary M. Stoller Jump Start Your LEADership Award recipient will be made by the Angus Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee.

Interested applicants must submit the following form to scholarships@angus.org by June 15th. 

Download the application form

The Texas Junior Showmanship Endowment Fund was established to fund costs for the top two Texas State Showmanship finalists to attend the National Showmanship Contest. The Endowment was established by J. V. and Helen Heyser of Cisco, Texas, and Jerry and Kay Williams of Lockney, Texas, who are the original founders and sponsors of the Texas Junior Angus Association.

The junior herdsman of the year award was created to honor an outstanding National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) member who displays a strong work ethic, dedication to his/her animals, and has the skill to prepare their cattle for exhibition to the best of their ability. Another quality of herdsman of the year can be the ability to work with customers and fellow junior members to help prepare their animals for exhibition.
In 2023, the family of Tom Wells established the Tom Wells Junior Herdsman Scholarship for the recipient of this award. Tom Wells was an avid junior Angus member and supporter of the National Junior Angus Program. He was very passionate for the Angus breed and caretaker of Angus cattle.

Eligibility: National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) cattle exhibitors who are in their last year of NJAA eligibility (age 20 as of January 1). All cattle exhibitors in their last year who submit entries in the NJAS will be listed on the ballot. The winner must show an entry in the current year NJAS.

Voters: All of those that have entered cattle will receive their official ballot via email through an online platform. Junior members are asked to evaluate their peers throughout the week and submit their official ballot by 12 noon on the same day as the Awards Ceremony at the National Junior Angus Show. Junior members will only be allowed to cast one ballot.

Awards Presentation: The Tom Wells Junior Herdsman of the Year will be announced at the NJAS Awards Ceremony.

The Tom Wells Junior Herdsman of the Year will be presented a belt buckle donated by the American Angus Association and a $500 scholarship.

View past award winners