Spring Newsletter
Volume 7, Issue 2 - April, 2001
From Your President,
Dr. Hayden Brown:
This newsletter will probably find you bringing your academic and Block and
Bridle activities to a closure for the 2000 - 2001 school year. For some this
closure will involve recognition programs and awards banquets. Let me encourage
you to make a special effort to recognize those that support your B and B local
activities. Especially, you want to recognize the time and effort of local club
advisor and academic department head. Often it is their support behind the scenes
that makes the difference in your success.
Now is the time that your local clubs should be working on nominations for the various awards supported at the National level by Block and Bridle. Although we have experienced an increase in nominations for the individual student awards, we would like to increase the number of clubs competing for the chapter awards. Many chapters could be participating in the new web page competition. Deadlines and instructions for preparing the nominations of students and instructions for preparing materials for chapter competitions are found on the Block & Bridle web site (see top of this page for the web address).
Congratulations to all of you that received recognition at the 2000 Convention in St. Louis. The Sophomore Scholarship Award winner was Kelly Ann Stephens from Pratt Community College; the Junior Scholarship winner was Kevin Harvatine from The Pennsylvania State University; and the Senior Scholarship winner was Jameson Paul Walker from The Pennsylvania State University. Congratulations to the following schools for placing first: Kansas State University, Chapter Activities report; University of Florida, Scrapbook, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Chapter Web Page, and Virginia Tech, Yearbook. Ten students for the 2001 Collegiate Livestock Leaders Institute were chosen and announced at the St. Louis convention. They are (in alphabetical order): T. J. Barclay, West Texas A&M; Rene Brewer, CalPoly-SLO; Nicole Harris, Kansas State University; Carol Hicks, University of Georgia; Nate Jaeger, Texas A&M; Natalie Lamneck, University of Florida; Kristina Seybold, University of Minnesota; Lori Thompson, University of Missouri; Nick Thompson, Michigan State University; and Scott Updike, Virginia Tech.
We owe Dr. Nevil Speer, Western Kentucky University, a great deal of gratitude for his untiring effort in managing the 2001 Collegiate Livestock Leadership Institute. We also thank him for agreeing to continue his leadership in extending the institute to include other livestock species.
Gratitude is express to Drs. Jim Spain and Marcia Carlson, other faculty, students, and industry in Missouri for making the 2000 Convention a big success. Over 600 students representing 44 chapters participated. The hotel, program, tours, and everything about the convention were excellent. Thanks also to Southern Illinois University and the sponsors they provided (Elanco, Illinois Pork Producers, National Pork Producers, Kinze Manufacturing, Cargill, Growmark, and Hardees), which were inadvertently not mentioned at the banquet.
I look forward to seeing everyone in Kentucky at the next national Block & Bridle convention, which is in November. Check the B&B web page and elsewhere in this newsletter for more information.
I would also like to thank the national officers for all their effort and
cooperation during 2000.
- Hayden Brown, President
Pioneering Tomorrow's Agriculture was the theme for the 2001
National Block and Bridle Convention. The convention was hosted by the Mizzou
chapter of Block and Bridle at the Adam's Mark Hotel. The more than 600 students
arriving in the Gateway City represented forty-four chapters from across the
nation. It was in the shadow of the Gateway Arch, that the national convention
was convened. A career fair preceded the opening session. The
ten companies represented were excited to interact with students and support
the national convention. The official start began with the opening session
and a welcome by Vice Chancellor and Dean Tom Payne ('Work Hard and Play Hard'
). The evening keynote speaker Andrew McCrea reminded us o
the important things and important people that help us achieve our dreams. Friday
featured a new approach to the traditional educational tours. Species
tours were used to allow those attending the conference to close to
see the farms or agribusinesses they were most interested in. The swine tour
was the first to leave and spent the day touring Premium Standard Farms. The
beef tour made several stops including Sydenstricker Angus, Show-Me Shorthorns,
and Circle A Angus. The dairy interest tour made stops at Champ-Goodwood, Heartland
Dairy and Moorman Manufacturing. The Equine tour was able to make stops including
Barefoot Arabians, Equine Medical Services and Glenn Farms. Special arrangements
allowed a tour group to tour Excel, Tyson, and Burger's Country Hams. A number
of attendees chose to tour agribusinesses in the St. Louis area including Monsanto,
Purina Mills, Stemme Farms, and the St. Louis home of Budweiser. We greatly
appreciate each of the tour stops for hosting our national convention tours.
Their efforts made for an interesting, educational, and fun tour day.
Friday night was comedy night! A fantastic meal proceeded a night of
gut-busting, tear-wrenching laughter and fun. The cowboy comedian and a kinky
duck (uh-oh) kept the crowd entertained and roaring with their approval (maybe
they knew the duck) and laughter.
For those attending the leadership breakfast, Saturday morning
started early. Dr. Paul Vaughn, Associate Dean for Academic Programs at MU,
discussed the key elements of effective leadership. This session lead to the
opening session where Dr. Vaughn addressed the convention.
His focus on change and opportunities represented in change were a perfect fit
for the remainder of the morning. Following the opening session, students were
able to pick two of four concurrent sessions. Nationally and
internationally recognized experts were on hand to discuss the real issues of
animal welfare, animal rights, and animal well-being; shaping ag policy, ag
biotechnology, and the conflict between family and corporate farms. These topics
represented the "new frontiers" of tomorrow's animal agriculture. The consensus
was the speakers were effective in getting students to think about the issues
and the different dimensions that each of the issues entail.
Saturday afternoon allowed free time to explore the Gate-way city-shops, sites,
sounds, and tour stops. The convention culminated in the awards banquet,
ceremony and a moving speech by Gus Gustaphason, Always remember - You Can Too!
Have you processed any garbage? Did you use it to turn things green? Most would
agree, we had a chance to hear a remarkable story from an even more remarkable
man! The last dance was bittersweet as it brought the 2001
National Convention to a close, but it meant we were ready to head home and
share our experiences with those who could not attend.
New highlights included the species-specific tours, contemporary issue breakout
sessions and career fair. These new approaches were very well received and could
be expanded to make for an even better experience.
Special Kudos: We really enjoyed hosting and your cooperation,
enthusiasm, and positive feedback made it all worthwhile for the Mizzou club!
Southern Illinois University rounded up excellent gifts that
we were able to use as prizes for the tours and breakout sessions. They collected
these gifts to use on their tour, which was cancelled and very graciously shared
them to use as door prizes! Thanks to the SIU B&B club and advisors as well
as the donors!!!
Director John Saunders (a former MU B&B member) and the Missouri Department
of Agriculture supported the convention by providing gift baskets for tour hosts
and by welcoming the national convention during the final banquet. All of our
speakers gave us 100% in making issues real life for us! Without their generous
contribution, our convention would not have been as significant as it was for
those attending. Looking back, we did take Dean Payne's advice
- we worked hard and we played hard! We learned new things, met new people,
and created special memories!
Thank you for making this a special event and for being such splendid
guests!! We hope you will return to Missouri to see more of the things the Show-Me
State has to offer!
1. If you haven't already, then mail a list of all new
members to Dr. Wood with $10.00 per person lifetime dues. A membership
certificate will be returned for each new member. The form with all pertinent
information can be found on the national Block and Bridle web page. Remember
that membership in the national organization is required for students to be
eligible for any of the national awards, and for attending the national convention.
In addition, chapters that are not up to date in memberships are not eligible
for any of the chapter awards.
2. BY JUNE 1: Send three copies of nomination credentials for
Outstanding Senior Award (4-year schools) to Dr. Brown.
3. BY JUNE 15: Send three copies of nomination credentials
for Junior Scholarship Award (4-year schools) or Sophomore Scholarship Award
(2-year schools) to Dr. Harpster.
4. BY JUNE 15: Send three copies of Activities Form to Dr.
Harpster for judging.
5. BY JUNE 15: Send three copies of your Chapter Yearbook
to Dr. Moore for judging.
6. BY JUNE 15: Send three copies of your Chapter web page
(on a zip disk or CD along with a statement saying no one was hired to do your
web page) to Dr. Moore for judging.
7. BY JUNE 15: E-mail Abstract of yearly club activities to
Dr. Moore. Abstracts must be received via e-mail or on IBM-compatible disk (in
text or ASCII format).
8. BY JUNE 15: E-mail names of the new advisors and new officers
to Dr. Brown, Dr. Moore, and Dr. Wood. List mailing addresses, phone numbers,
and e-mail of advisors.
ADVISORS should plan to attend the Summer Advisors' Meeting
that is held at the American Society of Animal Science national meeting. This
year the meeting will be July 24 - 27, 2001, in Indianapolis. The Block &
Bridle advisors' luncheon will be Friday, July 27th, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
in the Westin Hotel. Check your program on arrival to see if there have been
any changes.
Thursday, November 8
Registration. Host Hotel = Holiday Inn-South, 3317 Fern Valley
Road, Louisville, KY 40213
Phone: (502) 964-3311. Rooms are $83.15 (includes
tax).
Friday, November 9
7:00 a.m. buses depart to tour beef and horse farms in central
Kentucky. Buses return at 5:00 p.m., and at 6:00 p.m. we travel to the Ohio
River for a 3-hour dinner cruise.
Saturday, November 10
Workshops (attendance required) will be held in the morning
at the fairgrounds. The afternoon is reserved for fun at Churchill Downs, and
Saturday evening there will be a rodeo and a dance.
Sunday, November 11
The
Block & Bridle business meeting and awards ceremony will be held in conjunction
with a buffet breakfast (attendance required). The convention concludes at noon,
and we wish you a safe trip home.
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Dr. A. Hayden Brown President 2000 - 2002 Animal Science Department University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701 Phone: (501) 575-4855 Fax: (501) 575-7294 E-mail: hbrown@comp.uark.edu |
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Dr. Harold Harpster Vice President 2000 - 2002 Department of Dairy and Animal Science Pennsylvania State University 350 Ag Science and Industry Building University Park PA 16802 Phone: (814) 863-0734 Fax: (814) 863-6042 E-mail: HHarpster@das.psu.edu |
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Dr. Cindy Wood Secretary-Treasurer 2000 - 2004 Department of Animal & Poultry Sciences Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech 0306) 3400 Litton Reaves Blacksburg, VA 24061 Phone: (540) 231-6936 Fax: (540) 231-3010 E-mail: piglady@vt.edu |
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Dr. Jeannette A. Moore Editor 1998 - 2002 Department of Animal Science North Carolina State University Box 7621, 102 Polk Hall Raleigh, NC 27695-7621 Phone: (919) 515-4010 Fax: (919) 515-8753 E-mail: Jeannette_Moore@ncsu.edu |
