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Hopefully all of you have made plans
to attend this wonderful three day event. In recent years these
accommodations have filled up early so if you haven’t made your
room reservations at show headquarters (John Ascuaga’s Nugget) I
suggest you do so soon.
The Juniors are in the spotlight
on Saturday and they all have one common goal and that is to be as
competitive as possible while showing their Angus Cattle. These
boys and girls have varied personalities, interests and talents
and this is their time to shine.
Before the owned Champion Heifer
is selected the 2008 WSAA Queen will receive her crown. These
attractive and talented young ladies are great ambassadors for the
Angus breed.
Jason Hoffman of McArthur, California will serve as the Judge.
Like me, many of you have watched Jason grow up in the purebred
cattle business and I believe Jason is a good fit for the juniors.
Though young in age he has already selected, fed, fitted and shown
several champions at National and major shows and has also
developed a keen eye in appraising cattle. Jason is encouraging,
helpful and has an understanding level with these young
exhibitors.
As parents, if you don’t have
juniors showing at Reno this year I urge you to bring your
children so that they can enjoy this fun-filled family occasion.
There are always juniors and adults that are more than willing to
help interested juniors get involved.
Sunday is the Super ROV Female
show, and Super they will be, on this distaff day you will have
the opportunity to see some of the finest young females in the
Angus breed.
Ernie Wallace of Stotts City,
Missouri will be the open show judge. Ernie comes to Reno a highly
qualified avid cattleman who has been an extremely successful
Angus breeder at all levels of the seed stock business.
Experienced and well-respected he has judged several major shows
over the years. Turning back time, I recall my first meeting of
Ernie at a large dispersal we were having and as a teenager Ernie
came to Montana to help out with the sale. It only took me a few
days to realize that with his work ethic and talent, he would be
very successful in his chosen field.
Prior to the selection of the
Grand Champion female, you won’t want to miss the WNAF dedication
in honor of Hal and Lois Schudel. A wonderful story about the
Schudels is in the January issue of Angus the Magazine. Regardless
of the occasion they were always helpful and giving and always
with class and dignity. Surely we can all be thankful for the
opportunity to know Hal and Lois.
Shortly after the female show will be the Show Girl Revue sale.
Our new sale managers are Jake Parnell and John Dickenson. Both
young men are knowledgeable and familiar in the Angus circles as
well as experienced in promoting and merchandising Angus cattle.
Jake manages the Cattlemen’s Livestock Market in Galt, California
where he continues to carry on the Parnell family tradition of
merchandising cattle. As most of you know, John represented the
American Angus Association in the Western states for several years
and his numerous contacts with Angus breeders will be a great
asset. I’m confident that they will both work very aggressively
for each consigned lot to make a successful sale. I encourage you
to contact Jake or John regarding consignments or purchases.
Monday the Bulls, Cows-Calves and
Groups show will take place. This is a great opportunity to see
these outstanding herd bull prospects and their genetics for the
future.
Also on Monday the Big Draw down
will be announced during the show breaks. For those of you selling
tickets I urge you to sell as many as possible in your home area
as it is very important to sell all the tickets to help cover
operating expenses.
With each New Year the WNAF
committee and WSAA Board of Directors are confronted with one
primary issue: funding. With escalating operating expenses we are
clearly in a critical situation. I’m of the opinion that it’s
imperative that we identify additional funding for the Futurity to
continue as we know it today. At recent board meetings identifying
corporate sponsors has been discussed as a possibility and I would
like to take this opportunity to welcome any suggestions from the
WSAA members.
Looking forward to seeing you in
Reno.
Dick Hubman
WSAA Director
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