Foundation’s Focus

by Chloé Fowler

New Scholarships Give Back

Although the applications for the 2022 Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) spring scholarships closed April 1, two new scholarship opportunities were added to the generous list of youth supporters and deserve recognition.

HYFA spring scholarship winners, including the first recipients for these new scholarships, will be recognized at the 2022 Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE), in Louisville, Ky., June 16-22 at the Kentucky Expo Center. The HYFA Scholarship, Awards and Maroon Jacket Ceremony will take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 21, in Broadbent Arena.

Mead family legacy

The Mead Family Memorial Scholarship was started by Mead Cattle Enterprises, Midville, Ga. Mead Cattle Enterprises bred Hereford cattle for more than 40 years. As part of the original Pro Performance Breeders group, which supported youth raising Hereford cattle, the Mead family has been leaders in the breed and will continue to be for the next generation. Their dedication to leadership is demonstrated by owner Tommy Mead’s service on the American Hereford Association (AHA) Board of Directors, and his daughter Tommie Lynne (Mead) Jones’ time as a member of the National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) board of directors.

The tragic loss in 2020 of two influential Mead family members and prominent partners of their Hereford operation, led to the creation of the Mead Family Memorial Scholarship. In honor of Tommy’s late mother, Hazel Mead, and his late wife, Valarie Mead, this scholarship ensures their legacy lives on.

In 2021, friends, family and Hereford breeders gathered to honor these two amazing ladies, generating funds for the Mead Family Memorial Scholarship Endowment. With the start of this new annual scholarship, which will be available each spring, their legacy continues to support NJHA members’ futures. This will be a $2,000 scholarship designed to support a Hereford junior from across the country, and the award will assist him or her in future endeavors, while continuing to show the Mead family’s dedication to the Hereford breed.

NHW supports the trades

Another addition to the scholarships offered through HYFA are two, $1,500 scholarships from the National Hereford Women (NHW), called the Ostgaard-Breiner Educational Scholarships. These unconventional scholarships are specifically designed and tailored for non-traditional students wanting to pursue a technical field, graduate school, trade school, certification or other acceptable programs.

In 2022, these scholarships will be offered not once, but twice. The first round of OstgaardBreiner Educational Scholarship presentations will happen during the 2022 spring scholarships ceremony at the JNHE, and two additional OstgaardBreiner Educational Scholarship opportunities will be offered in the fall of 2022 with the winners announced at the 2022 AHA Annual Meeting. The scholarships will then continue to be among the fall scholarship offerings.

The NHW lost two beloved board members in 2019, Sandra Adams Ostgaard, Dayton, Ohio, and Callea Mae Breiner, Alma, Kan. NHW began developing this scholarship endowment to honor them. Sandra was an elementary school teacher and avid Hereford enthusiast. Callea was an advanced practice registered nurse and community 4-H leader. Both ladies valued education in all forms, and these scholarships are the perfect dedication in their memory.

President

Ray Ramsey 317-462-7122, rayramsey77@gmail.com

Vice President

George Sprague 541-465-2188, gks@bar1ranch.com

Directors

Steve Folkman 920-474-7403, cnlfarm@execp.com Nancy Keilty 231-228-6578, nancykeilty@mindspring.com Bob Norton 816-238-3326, bobnorton@biozymeinc.com Jill Bielema 616-292-7476, jbielema@comcast.net Katie Colyer 208-599-2962, katie@hereford.com Bill King 505-220-9909, bill@billkingranch.com Kathy Buchholz 214-537-1306, kathy@gkbcattle.com

Director of youth activities

Amy Cowan 816-842-3757, acowan@hereford.org

HerefordYouthFoundation.org

Chloé Fowler is the American Hereford Association’s associate director of youth marketing and education. She can be reached at cfowler@hereford.org.