April 6, 2018
CLEVELAND – All 12 members of the National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) board of directors attended the 2018 Youth Beef Industry Congress (YBIC) April 5-7, 2018, in Cleveland. The event is hosted every other year …
CLEVELAND – All 12 members of the National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) board of directors attended the 2018 Youth Beef Industry Congress (YBIC) April 5-7, 2018, in Cleveland. The event is hosted every other year and attendees include youth members of national beef breed associations and state cattlemen’s organizations.
“YBIC allows me to meet new people and network with future leaders of the industry,” says Brandt Downing, NJHA director from Culver, Ore.
Through the duration of the event, participants attended multiple tours, workshops and educational sessions, and interacted with motivational speakers. Highlights of this year’s event included a tour at Weaver Leather Livestock, hearing from motivational speaker, A’ric Jackson and a tour at Certified Angus Beef.
A large portion of the conference is focused on leadership and character development. Jackson’s workshop was focused on identifying personal leadership styles by using the Personality Matrix as well as learning how to work with differing styles.
“As a returning board member to the YBIC, I look back and think about all of the leadership characteristics I learned at the last YBIC, as well as the skills that I have obtained while on the board,” says Mason Blinson, NJHA fundraising chair from Buies Creed, N.C. “At the 2018 YBIC, I developed new qualities that will help to prepare me for my future as I go off of the junior board and into the beef cattle industry.”
Junior board members participating in the event included: Steven Green, Mundfordville, Ky., Chairman; Brooke Jensen, Courtland, Kan., vice chairman; Bailey McKay, Marysville, Kan., communications chair: Mason Blinson, Buies Creek, N.C.,fundraising chair; Brooke Hinojosa-Sidwell, Carr, Colo., leadership chair; Austin Matheny, Mays Lick, Ky., membership chair; Nathan Hopkins, Winchester, Tenn., director; Bailey Jones, Darlington, Wis., director; Brandt Downing, Culver, Ore., director; Hannah Williams, Kearney, Neb., director; Rylee Barber, Channing, Texas, director, and Taylor Belle Matheny, Mays Lick, Ky., director.
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The National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) is one of the largest, strongest and most active junior cattle programs in the country. Over the years, members of this association have gone on to earn international and domestic respect as models for youth organizational success.
The NJHA, through its extensive educational programs, continues to lay the foundation for the beef industry’s future leaders. The traditions of the past coupled with the energy of today’s board of directors have created a progressive approach to further develop a meaningful and educational association focus.
The NJHA is governed by a 12-member board of directors who serve as ambassadors for the Hereford breed.
The National Junior Hereford Association creates and promotes enthusiasm for the Hereford breed while providing opportunities through leadership, education and teamwork thus ensuring a brighter future for youth and the cattle industry.
