April 24, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Carrie Gilliam, communications
coordinator, at 816-383-5100 or cgilliam@angus.org
Women Connect
during Angus Conference
The
American Angus Auxiliary hosts an educational event for women across the
nation.
In celebration of its
60th anniversary, the American Angus Auxiliary recently held the
“Women Connected” Conference in Saint Joseph, Mo. Women involved in the cattle business, from
throughout the country, joined together to engage with one another, empower
leadership abilities and educate themselves about current industry topics.
“We brought together such a
diverse group of women involved in not only the Angus industry, but also the
entire agriculture sector,” says Anne Lampe, Auxiliary president. “The
conference gave these women the chance to learn more about agriculture,
themselves and their abilities to be advocates for the industry.”
Twenty-nine women from
15 states traveled to the Midwest for the weekend, April 14-16. They heard from
a variety of speakers, participated in interactive workshops, and further
developed leadership and teambuilding skills.
Opening keynote speaker
Suzy Graven, life and business strategy
coach, spoke with participants about women’s influence on the American West.
They also heard from Lampe about the history and mission of the American Angus
Auxiliary and the Angus Foundation, and their common goals of supporting Angus education, youth and research.
Debbie Lyons-Blythe, Angus
rancher from White City, Kan., shared advocacy tips for connecting with
consumers and other women outside of the industry. The American Angus
Association®’s public realtions department also presented on how to
nativgate social media and take powerful photos for farm and ranch marketing.
Participant Danyal Coon,
Rockport, Mo., is a member of the National Beef Speakers Bureau and says the
social media advocacy portion of the conference better equipped her to share
agriculture’s story.
“There is so much knowledge floating around
out there, and with the information I was able to learn during the conference,
I will be able to dig a lot deeper into my ag-advocacy blog and really be able
to tell agriculture’s real story,” Coon says. “Ranching is not just a job, it’s
a lifestyle, and the only way we can connect is to put a face to the industry.”
Later in the conference, Marcy
Heim, founder of The Artful Asker, shared techniques to empower
participants as leaders in the beef industry. Heim also presented methods to
encourage others to invest in organizational development.
Participant Carla
Malson of Parma, Idaho, says the information she received from the conference
won’t just stay in St. Joseph: “No
matter what region the participants were from in the United States, we had more
similarities than differences,” Malson says. “I am really fired up to take new
ideas from the speakers and other attendees back and fine tune them for my
region and organizations.”
The conference
concluded April 16 with a tour and informative breakout sessions of the
Association and Angus Productions Inc.
“At the end of the day,
we were all excited about the knowledge everyone was walking away with,” Lampe
says. “We are excited to see the impact these women will bring to the
industry.”
Visit www.angusauxiliary.com for more
information or to join the American Angus Auxiliary. A full list of
participants follows.
The American
Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef organization, serving more than
30,000 members across the United States and Canada. It provides programs and
services to farmers, ranchers and others who rely on the power of 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’s programs
and services, visit www.angus.org.
2012 “Women Connected” Participants:
Heather
Bear – Aurora, IN
Judy
Brown – Greenfield, IN
Sandy Carmichael – Bloomington, IN
Marsha
Corbin – Dover, MO
Danyal Coon –
Rock Port, MO
Beverly
Figge – Onaga, KS
Rachel
Frost – Tallulah, IL
Lezlie Halladay – Maple, WI
Suzy
Hebbert – Ashby, NE
Carla
Jurgenson – Atlanta, IL
Iva
Maier – Natoma, KS
Carla
Malson – Parma, ID
Sam
McDonnell – Columbus, MT
Chris McGarraugh –
Perryton, TX
Susan
Pelton – Paradise, KS
Christy
Perdue – Louisburg, NC
Myrna
Sharpe – Arlington, MN
Anne
Patton Schubert – Taylorsville, KY
Sheyna Strommen –
Fort Rice, ND
Emily Tennant – Greensboro, NC
American Angus Auxiliary Executive
Committee
Cortney Holshouser – Castilia, N.C.
Martha
Holshouser – Gold Hill, N.C.
Mary
K Vejraska – Omak, WA
Lynne
Hinrichsen – Westmoreland, KS
Barbara
Etteredge – Pilot Point, TX
Cortney Hill-Dukehart Cates – Modoc, IN
Marlene
Dukehart – Sykesville, MD
Anne Lampe – Scott City, KS
Leslie Mindemann – Sullivan, WI
Photo courtesy the American Angus Association®
Cutline, left to right: Seated – Susan Pelton, Sam McDonnell, Chris McGarraugh, Carla Malson, Danyal
Coon, Rachel Frost, Sheyna Strommen, Barbara
Etteredge. Second Row – Mary K Vejraska, Lynne
Hinrichsen, Heather Bear, Sandy Carmichael, Suzy Hebbert,
Martha Holshouser, Marlene Dukehart, Cortney Holshouser, Anne Patton Schubert. Third Row – Anne Lampe, Emily Tennant,
Marsha Corbin, Judy Brown, Carla Jurgenson, Christy Perdue, Beverly Figge,
Cortney Hill-Dukehart Cates. Fourth Row – Leslie Mindemann, Lezlie Halladay, Suzy Graven, Myrna Sharpe, Iva Maier.
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