From Your President, Harold Harpster:

Achievement so often occurs in small, progressive steps that it is easy for the dream to be lost in the shuffle. Nothing will stall the march toward a goal so quickly as forgetting the thing one is working toward in the first place, most of us will stick it out and do all the little, tedious things so long as we remember what it all adds up to in the end. - Charles Conn, Making It Happen

I hope all Block and Bridle Club members enjoyed a relaxing and blessed holiday season and have returned to campus with renewed enthusiasm! Certainly spring semester is an extremely busy but rewarding time for club members at both the national and local level.

We are looking forward with much anticipation to our next convention, the 84th annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, February 19 - 21, 2004. Dr. Jodi Sterle and the students of the Texas A&M Chapter have planned an outstanding educational experience for all members. The list of speakers, seminars, and tours truly offers something of interest to everyone. Headquarters will be the first-rate Adam’s Mark Hotel on the Riverwalk. Hopefully your chapter is registered and is planning to send a strong delegation to this highlight of the B&B year! Please remember that each chapter delegation must be accompanied by a faculty advisor!

Uncertain economic times and an even more uncertain future of check-off funding for livestock promotion have unfortunately put a hold on our highly successful Collegiate Livestock Leader’s Institute program. We are extremely proud of this program which has been so ably led by our National Editor Dr. Nevil Speer and more recently Dr. Jessica Gentry of Middle Tennessee State University. I sincerely hope that the program interruption is brief and that alternative funding can be found. An endowment of some type that would ensure the long-term survival of the program would be great. We welcome any and all ideas from students and faculty alike!

Please remember that a number of important deadlines will be coming up later in the semester. Applications for many of our competitive events must be submitted in June, typically after classes have ended and students begin their summer activities. Make sure your chapter has completed this work before dispersing for the summer. The number of nominations for our various awards has been declining in recent years and I know it is NOT because of a lack of worthy candidates! Why not start planning ahead now to make sure your chapter and your members receive the recognition they deserve. The national web site is a great source of information that contains all the details needed to be up to date!

A special note to advisors. If you will be attending the ASAS / ADSA meetings in Saint Louis this summer (July 25 - 29,2004) please remember to register for the B&B Advisor’s Meeting. Watch for details from the parent society as they become available.

As always, a personal thank-you to our national officers, Drs. Moore, Wood, and Speer for their unselfish dedication to Block and Bridle. Each has made an eight-year commitment to the organization and deserves our thanks.

Finally, I also wish to thank all club members for the opportunity to serve you as a national officer over these last eight years; the time has gone unbelievably fast! The office of President will pass to Dr. Moore, our current Vice-President, at the conclusion of our convention in February. I know she will do an outstanding job of moving the organization forward! Hope to see you in San Antonio!!

2003 marked Block and Bridle’s 4th class that participated in the Collegiate Livestock Leaders Institute. Once again, last summer’s program proved to be yet another successful endeavor. Recipients of this special honor included the following students:

Jaime Bard, Ohio State University
Malinda Burkhard, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Ryan Conway, Kansas State University
Cade Davis , Utah State University
Shanna Hutchison, University of Arkansas
McKenzie Keedy, University of Missouri-Columbia
Bart Kite, Virginia Tech University
Jesse Savell, University of Florida
Nicholas Urbanek, Penn State University

These students, in accord with previous years, attended the American Society of Animal Science in which they had the opportunity to sit through sessions keyed towards pertinent and cutting edge issues, research, and perspectives within the beef industry. Simultaneously, the participants were also able to take in various ongoing sessions at the Annual Meeting. Subsequent to Animal Science meetings, the recipients traveled to Dallas in which they were hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Summer Convention. The Summer Convention allowed for observation of debate and development of policy surrounding a variety of issues.

Typically, at this time of the year, advisors have already received CLLI nomination forms and application packets. Those have not been forwarded to advisors. Unfortunately, funding shortfalls have caused us to suspend the program. That suspension is dependent upon a variety of factors and will likely be in place for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, we are in discussion about identifying and procuring some private sources of funding for the program. I’m hopeful that we can jump start the program either with new funding and/or some transition into an alternative form.

Meanwhile, special appreciation needs to be expressed to Dr. Jessica Gentry, Middle Tennessee State University, for all of her efforts in 2003. She oversaw the program and hosted the students at the Animal Science meetings; her inclusion into the program proves to be very valuable. Thanks Jessica!!!!

The National Block and Bridle web page has a new look!!

Be certain to check out revisions to B and B’s website: http://www.blockandbridle.org

The website will look somewhat different than what you may be previously accustomed to. We’re hopeful that it’s organized in an increasingly user-friendly manner that makes navigation through its material more efficient. Please feel free to pass along any suggestions and/or comments. Our goal is to make this a valuable source of information and communication hub for National B and B business.

We are fortunate to have a talented and creative person that assists with the website, Mrs. Tricia Harper. She has made a sincere commitment in transforming the website and wouldn’t have been possible without her wonderful attention to detail.

As a reminder, we’ve included the following items from the yearly checklist; if your club hasn’t taken care of these details which are past due, please do so as soon as possible. Additionally, there are some items included which are upcoming in the early part of the spring semester.

Complete the Chapter New Member Report listing all of the new members to your club and submit it to the National Secretary with a check made out to the National Block and Bridle Club

at $10.00 per member for lifetime dues as soon as you induct them into the local club. A

membership certificate will be returned for each new member. Additionally, please be certain that information regarding your chapter’s officers, advisors, and contact information are up-to-date. If they are not, please contact Nevil Speer, National Editor so those can be updated.

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