The National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) Board of Directors takes great pride in the caliber of judges selected to sift the prestigious Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE) each summer. For more information about the JNHE and additional details about “Live from Louisville”, follow the link below.
Cody Sankey owns and operates Sankey Angus alongside his wife, Lindsay, and children, Caroline and Cyrus, in Economy, Ind. He holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in ruminant nutrition from Oklahoma State University (OSU), where he was also a member of their 2001 national champion livestock judging team.
Cody serves as the senior director of beef programs at GENEX Beef and formerly managed the Michigan State University (MSU) Beef Cattle Center for eight years. He also spent two years coaching the MSU livestock judging team.
A fifth-generation cattleman, he grew up on Sankey’s 6N Ranch in Council Grove, Kan., home to the second oldest Angus herd in the U.S., representing more than 125 years in the Angus breed. Off the farm, Cody has held leadership positions with the Indiana Beef Cattle Association and Indiana Angus Association. He enjoys spending time with his wife and children, attending livestock shows and coaching their children’s baseball and softball teams.
Cody has sorted stock at the Cattlemen’s Congress, National Western Stock Show (NWSS), North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE), American Royal, Dixie National Stock Show, San Antonio Stock
Show, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and various national junior shows and state fairs. He’s judged in more than 27 states and Mexico and Canada.
Born and raised near Hutchinson, Kan., John McCurry is a fifth generation Angus breeder and lifetime member of the American Angus Association. He grew up competing at Angus shows on all levels and was on the National Junior Angus Association board.
John attended Butler Community College and was a member of the livestock judging team. He completed his education at Kansas State University, where he was a member of the national reserve champion livestock judging team.
He returned home to the McCurry Angus Ranch and has since expanded the operation. Early on, McCurry Angus Ranch utilized junior and open shows from coast to coast to market and promote their herd. Now, John and his wife, Melody, and children, Aubree, Molly and Drew, own and operate McCurry Angus Ranch and have hosted 12 annual bull sales, marketing 200 bulls each year.
McCurry is passionate about evaluating and sorting cattle along with encouraging the next generation of agricultural enthusiasts to find their home within the livestock industry. He has judged multiple national junior shows as well as the American Royal, NAILE, NWSS, Fort Worth Stock Show and San Antonio Stock Show. He is thankful to the junior board, the American Hereford Association Board and Hereford enthusiasts for the opportunity to help evaluate the owned females during JNHE.
Charlie Boyd Jr. owns and operates Boyd Beef Cattle, Mays Lick, Ky., with his wife, Paula, and their two sons, Blake and Logan. The Boyd family has raised Hereford cattle for more than 120 years; Blake and Logan represent the fifth generation on their Kentucky ranch. Charlie attended the University of Kentucky and received his degree in agricultural economics.
He has held leadership roles in many organizations. Charlie has judged almost every national show and state fair in the country, along with shows in three foreign countries. Charlie has spent a lifetime immersed in the Hereford breed and is a past president of the National Junior Polled Hereford Council.
Blake Boyd resides in Mays Lick, Ky., with his wife, Grace. They, along with Blake’s family, operate a Hereford and Angus seedstock operation that has been in business for more than 120 years. Boyd Beef Cattle annually hosts three production sales, selling more than 200 head of bulls and females to progressive commercial cattlemen and seedstock producers across the country.
Blake attended Butler Community College and OSU, where he was a member of both nationally competitive livestock judging teams. As a fifth-generation Hereford breeder, Blake is excited about the progress the breed has made in recent years and believes the future of the breed is bright. He says the Hereford breed’s greatest asset is its outstanding people.
Chan Phillips was born and raised in Maysville, Ky., on a commercial cattle operation. Chan and his brother, Keith, currently operate a Simmental-influenced cow-calf herd where they utilize AI and embryo transfer extensively. Chan got his start in the Simmental breed at the ripe age of 6 years old in 1972, when he bought his first Simmental heifer. Chan previously owned and operated Phillips Cattle Co. for 16 years — their crew exhibited multiple national champions at all major expositions. The Phillips family founded Rocking P Livestock in Kentucky, and Chan remains a partner in Rocking P today. Currently, he works as the manager of Circle M Farms in Rockwall, Texas, and Mt. Vernon, Mo.
Chan has judged numerous national breed shows, national junior shows and showmanship competitions across the U.S. and Canada. Chan and his wife, Tonya, have two children, Morgan (Wallace) and A.K., who both remain actively involved in the Simmental, SimAngus and Angus breeds.
Brother and sister, Ty Bayer, Ringle, Wis., and Calli Spengler, Cascade, Iowa, operate TC Reds, an Angus and Red Angus program in central Wisconsin alongside their family. Together, they focus on producing elite show heifers and host an annual bull sale every February. With a 150-head herd, TC Reds has bred and exhibited champions at the local, state and national levels.
Ty returned to the family farm after earning a degree in animal science from Colorado State University, where he was a member of the nationally competitive livestock judging team. His judging career has taken him across the U.S. and Canada, with highlights including the American Royal, Charolais Junior Nationals and the West Texas State Fair.
Calli graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in agricultural communications. She currently serves as the director of business development for Prime Ag. With her husband, Kale, and daughter, Paislee, they own and operate Spengler Cattle in Cascade, where they raise and market high-quality show cattle. Calli remains involved with TC Reds and has judged numerous showmanship competitions at state and national levels, including the National Junior Angus Show.
Father-daughter duo, Bob and Lauren May, work together on the family’s show cattle operation May Cattle Co., in Mineral Point, Wis. They raise and market high-caliber show steers and breeding cattle of all breeds, which compete across the nation at all levels. The family has often exhibited cattle on the national stage, and Lauren has shown Hereford heifers at the JNHE many times during her junior career.
Today, Lauren resides in Stillwater, Okla., where she works as the event coordinator for the Tulsa State Fair. Her passion for cattle exhibition and the showring led her to this position after participating in several junior nationals, interning with JG Cattle and Coaching and participating in countless showmanship contests.
Bob lives on the family’s Mineral Point property, where he oversees the day-to-day operations of May Cattle Co., while also serving as a Purina Honor Show Chow and Weaver Leather Show Product ambassador.
Bob and Lauren are honored to stand alongside one another in the showring to evaluate young people who have the same opportunities to develop the skills, confidence and love for the Hereford breed that they have.
Kari Brumley, Orovada, Nev., owns and operates Brumley Farms, a registered Hereford and hay operation, alongside her family. They run approximately 100 registered Hereford females and an aggressive ET and in-vitro fertilization program. She has a passion for good livestock and is involved in all day-to-day operations around the ranch, from breeding decisions to preparing heifer calves for their annual spring and fall sales, to spending long hours in the barn working on show and sale cattle.
Kari is a second-generation Hereford breeder, but her passion for the breed really started when she showed her first Hereford at 7 years old. Kari exhibited Hereford cattle at state, regional and national shows throughout her time as a National Junior Hereford Association member. One of her fondest memories is being the first person to win all four age divisions of showmanship at the JNHE.
Kari and her family are proud to have raised several national champion bulls and females over the years. She is pleased to have exhibited previous show heifers and bulls of the year and to have been named premier breeder and premier exhibitor at numerous national shows. Brumley Farms continues to exhibit cattle at many national shows across the country, including the American Royal, Western States Hereford Show and NWSS. Kari considers herself fortunate to have had many mentors growing up, and she enjoys giving back by mentoring junior exhibitors each summer in preparation for the JNHE.
The 2025 Hereford Herdsman of the Year, Kari teaches elementary school near her hometown, driven by her passion for educating youth. Kari has a strong passion for education and the cattle industry and is honored to be a part of the Hereford family.
