AJSA Hotwire, April 2019

2019 AJSA Events 2018 Early April – AJSA Classic Entries Open – Watch website and social media April 15 – Hotel scholarship deadline. Application available at juniorsimmental.org May 8 – Regional Classic entry deadline, 4:30 pm.

Event registration fees double between May 8, 2019, 4:31 pm, and May 15, 4:30 pm.

May 15 – Regional Classic final entry deadline, 4:30 pm.

May 22 – National Classic entry deadline, 4:30 pm.

Event registration fees double between May 22, 4:31 pm, and May 29, 4:30 pm.

May 29 – National Classic final entry deadline, 4:30 pm.

June 1 – Silver and Gold Merit Award Applications, Photography Contest, Interview Contest, Trustee Applications Due. June 11-15 – AJSA North Central Regional Classic, West Fargo, ND June 19-22 – AJSA South Central Regional Classic, Stillwater, OK June 19-22 – AJSA Eastern Regional Classic, Lewisburg, WV June 26-29 – AJSA Western Regional Classic, Logan, Utah July 22-28 – AJSA National Classic, Louisville, KY

September 27 – AJSA Steer Profitabliity Competition entry deadline. *All deadlines are Mountain Daylight Time

AJSA 2018-2019 Board of Directors President Kiersten Jass 515-408-4918 KierstenJass@gmail.com Vice President of Communications Jordan Cowger 816-916-3329 jordancowger@gmail.com Vice President of Leadership Clay Sundberg 815-878-6758 csundberg@live.com Vice President of Finance Garrett Stanfield 606-375-2794 stanfield40@buckeyemail.osu.edu Vice President of Marketing Teegan Mackey 512-718-3165 tteeeeegan@gmail.com Eastern Regional Trustees Rachel Dickson 740-915-1160 dicksonfarms21@gmail.com Olivia Branum 601-466-3733 oliviabranum92@gmail.com Emily Ivey 865-254-2998 showcattle13@gmail.com South Central Region Trustees Kara Cloud 417-793-1414 kara.cloud0820@gmail.com Cody Smith 405-756-6905 codys7022@gmail.com

2019 National Classic HOTELS Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport Hotel Group Name: AJSA 2019 National Classic PH: 1-888-233-9527 / $122/rate 830 Phillips Ln., Louisville, KY 40209 Make Reservation La Quinta Inn & Suites Louisville Airport & Expo PH: 1-502-368-000 / $116/rate 4125 Preston Hwy., Louisville, KY 40213 Make Reservation

CAMPING Please make your camping reservations by calling the Kentucky Exposition Center RV Department PH: 502-367-5380 Reservations can be made up to a year in advance.

North Central Region Trustees Hunter Aggen 507-923-0815 hma2017@hotmail.com Grace Greiman 641-512-1662 grace.greiman@gmail.com

PTP Show Recap April 2019

By Grace Greiman North Central Trustee As we are starting to get well into 2019, it is already time to recap the PTP shows! In October, the American Royal was held in Kansas City, Missouri. Trustees Emily Ivey and Cody Smith were present at this show and represented the Simmental breed. We had Brandon Callis evaluate the cattle for our PTP show and Tyler Cates evaluate the junior show. Thank you to these two judges for taking the time to evaluate Simmental cattle. It was a great weekend full of Simmental cattle and breeders!

In no-time, it was November and time for the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky! We had five trustees present, which consisted of Kiersten Jass, Rachel Dickson, Bentley McCullough, Kara Cloud, and myself. The Eastern Region held a fundraising auction for the Eastern Regional Classic, which was where we were able to carry around each auction item. The ASA also held a meet and greet in the main aisle for all Simmental exhibitors and breeders to attend. There breeders had the chance to vote on herdsman of the year. Congratulations to Anthony Walton of Gerdes Show Cattle for winning this honor! On Tuesday and Wednesday, we held the PTP shows for the percentage and purebred bulls and females. We were pleased to have Jake Scott evaluate our cattle and were very happy to work with him on the green shavings. Also, thank you to Tyler Winegardner for evaluating the junior Simmental females.

As soon as 2019 kicked off, five trustees were off to Denver to represent the Simmental breed at the National Western Stock Show. Emily Ivey, Kiersten Jass, Teegan Mackey, Clay Sundberg, and myself had a great time in the yards and on the hill representing the AJSA Board of Trustees. We kicked off the week by having a meet and greet in the yards with Simmental breeders and exhibitors. It was a great way to catch up with fellow Simmental enthusiasts and meet new people. The next day brought the bull pen show, which was held in the yards. We had Jack and Carter Ward evaluate our pen cattle. The pen show allows breeders to showcase either three or five of their best bulls. It was a very successful event and we thank everyone who exhibited cattle! That night the ASA Foundation Gala was held at the DoubleTree hotel. It was a very successful event and many thanks go out to anyone who donated or purchased an item to support the ASA Foundation. On Monday, the female pen show took place as well as “The One” sale.

Thank you to Rocking P Livestock for providing the donation lot! Tuesday was the start of the shows on the hill. Barry Wesner evaluated the junior show females. Lead judge Greg McCurry and associate Frank Jackson evaluated all open cattle for the PTP show.

The AJSA Trustees would like to thank our judges for evaluating the cattle and everyone who took part to make the 2019 NWSS successful!

In January, Trustees Rachel Dickson, Hunter Aggen, Keanna Smith, and Garrett Stanfield traveled to Texas for the Fort Worth Stock Show. These Trustees sold popsockets and hats as well as helped with the Cowtown Classic sale. Matt Aggen judged the PTP show and we are honored to thank him for taking the time to evaluate the Simmental cattle.

Congratulations to all exhibitors on a successful run at the majors! Thank you to everyone that made each show successful and run smoothly. The AJSA Trustees are excited and looking forward to seeing everyone at our classics this summer!

Western Region Trustees Bentley McCullough 406-788-1669 bentley383@yahoo.com Zach Wilson 360-941-8020 Zach.Wilson1211@gmail.com Western Region Executive Committee Representative Keanna Smith 970-769-0357 keannasmith2@gmail.com

“Funded in part by the American Simmental-Simbrah Foundation”

President’s Update Kiersten Jass, AJSA President As the majors start to wrap up and spring calving season is in full swing, I hope it has been treating everyone well. The AJSA is extremely excited to be working with our new Youth Coordinator, Darla Aegerter. We are looking forward to everything we can accomplish with her in the upcoming years. We would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us in Denver with the Foundation Gala and the donation heifer in the sale. A huge thank-you goes out to Rocking P for donating the heifer and to all the people that donated money. We greatly appreciate all the support to the junior program.

Here at the end of the month, our entire AJSA Board will be going to Bozeman for a strategic planning meeting. We will be working on planning the National and Regional Classics, along with many other exciting events. We are going to be doing a Facebook Live where we will discuss some of the things we are working on along with taking questions. Watch our Facebook page for more updates on the exact time for the exciting opportunity to get on and interact with the AJSA Board.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments feel free to reach out to myself or any other Trustee.

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What’s Inside

Kiersten Jass

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Rendezvous in the Mountains Western Regional Classic Y2019 AJSA National Classic Service Project Eastern Regional Preview South Central Regional Preview

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Baseball Bats, Pony Races, and Cow Shows, National Classic

Foundation Gala

2019 North Central Regional

Editor’s Note: Check out the American Simmental Association’s SimmAPP to stay up-to-date on the latest ASA, AJSA, and beef cattle industry news. SimmAPP is available on Google Play, Apple store, and Amazon apps.

PTP Show Recap

Rendezvous in the Mountains

By Rachel Dickson Eastern Trustee

By Bentely McCullough Western Trustee It’s time to start thinking about the 2019 AJSA Regionals.

The Western Regional will be held in Logan, Utah, June 26 through 29, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Logan is about 20 miles south of the Idaho border in the Cache Valley and just a short drive from Bear Lake, which is known as the bluest and prettiest lake around. Logan is also home to Utah State University.

Baseball Races, and Cow Shows SummitBats, Tour:Pony UNL Football Stadium

Eastern Regional Preview

The last time the Western Regional Class was held in Logan was 2013. The fairgrounds is a beautiful, wellvegetated area with mature shade trees, grass, and a creek that runs right by the cattle barn.

Campers are welcome, but there is limited electricity in the cattle barn so I suggest bringing a generator.

Everyone leave your calendars open June 26-29, and come Rendezvous in the Mountains!

2019 AJSA National Classice Service Project

By Olivia Branum Eastern Trustee

Each year during the AJSA summer events, contestants partake in the service project for that year. We do this to help give back to the host community that is providing us a place to compete and reunite for the week. In the past, some of our service projects have provided books to children’s hospitals, hats to cancer patients, and raised money for specific organizations. This year, the AJSA Board of Trustees has chosen Kentucky Harvest as our service project for the summer events.

Kentucky Harvest is a non-profit organization that has been serving Kentucky and Southern Indiana since 1987. The organization delivers perishable and non-perishable food items to those in need. Kentucky Harvest is actually the only organization in Kentucky that transports both types of food items. They heavily rely on volunteer work, financial gifts, and donations of food in order to complete their mission “to ensure food finds its way to those in need.” Kentucky Harvest is proud to say that their organization delivers over two million pounds of donated food annually to 84 recipient organizations in Louisville and Southern Indiana.

As active competing members of the American Junior Simmental Association, you have the opportunity to assist Kentucky Harvest fulfil their mission to bring food to those in need. All you have to do is bring as many canned food items as you can to the Opening Ceremonies at the 2019 National Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. It is a tradition to have a state competition to see which state can bring the most items requested. I hope this motivates you to give back to the host community of Louisville as a thank you for allowing us to come compete and fellowship in their city.

By Keanna Smith Western Region Executive Committee Rrepresentative

On June 19-22, the West Virginia Junior Simmental Association (WVJSA) will be hosting the 2019 AJSA Eastern Regional Classic at the West Virginia State Fairgrounds in Lewisburg. This is an exciting opportunity for the WVJSA as their association is newly founded and steadily growing in numbers. A majority of the WVJSA members have always been a part of the Ohio Junior Simmental Association and will be working closely with Ohio to put on this event. Kellee Brown, the main coordinator for the Classic, has tremendous plans for this event and has been planning and fundraising for the past two years.

For those who have never attended an Eastern Regional, this event is a great opportunity to prepare for the National Classic in July. Just like the National Classic, to exhibit cattle, all exhibitors must compete in four out of the five educational contests which include sales talk, public speaking, cattle judging, cattlemen’s quiz, and the genetic evaluation quiz. In addition, all exhibitors get the opportunity to compete in showmanship, but it does not count toward the educational contest requirement. Points from the five educational contests, showmanship, and the cattle show are combined to calculate overall points to crown the top 10 in both the junior and senior division.

On a different note, Eastern Regionals have a slightly different rule in the cattle show compared to the National Classic. At the National Classic, if an exhibitor has a bred and owned animal, he or she can choose to dual enter the animal in both the bred and owned show as well as the owned show. At the Eastern Regional, and all other regional classics, each animal can only be entered in either the bred and owned show or the owned show; not both. The exhibitor must choose which division of the show the bred and owned animal will show in.

On behalf of all of the West Virginia Juniors and the Eastern Region Trustees, we invite you to join us in June in West Virginia for the 2019 AJSA Eastern Regional Classic! Contact the event coordinators or any of the AJSA Eastern Region Trustees for more information!

South Central Regional Preview

By Kara Cloud South Central Trustee The South Central regional will be held in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on June 19th-22nd at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. We are so excited to be back in Stillwater for another successful Regional Classic!

Stillwater is known for being home to Oklahoma State University (OSU) and being in a central location that is ideal for exhibitors from the following states to attend (depending on the part of the state): Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas. Regionals are great to attend if you can or can’t make the National Classic. Exhibitors are able to get their cattle out beforehand, but are also able to prepare for contests. If you can’t make the National Classic, then you are still able

to compete in a Classic, but not at as large of a scale.

Since Stillwater is a college town, there are usually a lot of fun restaurants.

Eskimo Joe’s is the restaurant that is most popular with visitors and students.

It’s known for being the one-and-only “Jumpin’ Little Juke Joint”. If you are wanting to do some sight-seeing, it’s definitely recommended to check out the OSU campus and Boone Pickens Stadium. The campus is one of the most popular in the nation.

The last time a regional was held in Oklahoma was in 2016. The facilities were nice, the event was well-run, and everyone had a great time! To say that we are excited Oklahoma is hosting again is an understatement! We know it’ll be a good one!

When most people think of Kentucky, and more specifically Louisville, they think of horse racing. Louisville, Kentucky, was founded in 1778 and named after King Louis XVI after his assistance during the Revolutionary War. Louisville has been home to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs since 1875. Churchill Downs was founded and constructed by Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark who was introduced to horse racing as a young child in England. When he came to the United States in 1872 his passion for horse racing drove him to introduce the sport to America by constructing a track to showcase the Kentucky breeding industry. Since 1875 there have been 13 Triple Crown horses that won their first title at Churchill Downs and 2,680 horses have competed on that track over 143 years.

There are many things to do in Louisville, it is home to the Slugger Factory and Museum that makes all bats for the Major Leagues in America. The slugger factory holds many pieces of MLB history inside the museum such as: the bat that Babe Ruth carved his home runs into and bats that Derek Jeter and other professional baseball players used during their career. Along with the tour of the factory and the museum, you can also make a custom bat to remember your experience in Louisville. Along with the Slugger Factory and Museum there is a brandy distillery for moms and dads to visit while the kids are in educational contests, or as a fun relaxing family afternoon or evening

your family could go visit The Comfy Cow ice cream shop and cool off. When looking for something fun to do with your friends that you haven’t seen in a year or so or the new ones you meet during opening ceremonies, there is an arcade bar and escape rooms that could be fun as a relaxing activity one evening.

As the livestock industry is concerned, Louisville is home to one of the most prestigious livestock shows and cattle shows in America.

Louisville, Kentucky, has been home to the North American International Livestock Exposition since 1974, where the first species that was ever allowed to be exhibited there was cattle. One year later, they added a sheep division where they had 1,443 head entered that made up twelve breed divisions. In 1977, the Exposition became known as the NAILE, and they also added swine and breeding cattle divisions to the show. In 1978, the National Quarter Horse Show was added, and has gone on to become one of the top Quarter Horse shows in America. From 1979 to 2007, numerous different species, divisions, and events were added to the NAILE such as: the championship rodeo that competed in Freedom Hall, the draft horse division, the dairy goat show, the llama and alpaca show, and the Boer goat division. In 2015, the NAILE experienced a record setting year with 29,181 entries and $110,000 raised during the Sale of Champions. To say the least, between livestock shows and horse races, Louisville has been home to many champions and will continue to be a homerun for many of America’s finest competitors.

The American Junior Simmental Association and the AJSA Board of Trustees are excited to welcome our junior members to Louisville, KY, for the National Classic, July 2128 in conjunction with the Simmental Breeder Sweepstakes.

2019 North Central Regional

By Clay Sundberg Vice President of Leadership We are excited that North Dakota has stepped up to host this year’s AJSA North Central Regional Classic at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in West Fargo, North Dakota. With the theme “Discover the Thunder”, it will no doubt be a fun and eventful week for everyone in Bison Country. Just as the Simmental breed has become more and

more competitive throughout the years, the city of Fargo knows quite a bit about being competitive as well. North Dakota State University’s football team has won the FCS title 7 out of the last 8 years! But aside from sports, they are ready for an action-packed week of contests and shows. For more information on hotels and other activities to

look forward to that week, head on over to Facebook and like the 2019 North Central Regional page. Make sure to mark your calendars and stampede to North Dakota June 11-15, and “Discover the Thunder” with North Dakota and the AJSA.