OCA Holds Annual Meeting & Celebrates Award Winners

The Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet was held on Jan. 8, 2022 at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris. Cattlemen and women from across the state gathered to engage in important association business, hear updates from many industry affiliates and celebrate those excelling throughout the industry. The day was made possible by the following sponsoring partners: Ag Credit, Alltech, COBA/Select Sires, Heartland Feed Services, Nutrena, Ohio Angus Association and Olde Wood Ltd. Ethan Lane, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), joined members for lunch to give an update on policy issues and happenings in Washington D.C. on behalf of beef producers. A few topics Lane touched on included Biden’s newly announced American Rescue Plan, product of the U.S.A. (POTUSA) labeling, labor shortages, price disparity in the marketplace, and Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). Following lunch was OCA’s Annual Meeting where board president, Tom Karr of Meigs County, lead his first meeting as president of the association. The first order of business was awarding the association’s Top Hand members. The OCA Top Hands are awarded for recruiting five or more members throughout the year. This year’s awards were sponsored by Purina and Quality Liquid Feeds. The following were the Top Hands for 2021: Frank Phelps was the top recruiter with 15 memberships, John Ferguson followed with 11 memberships, Pam Haley, and Sarah Ison with 10 memberships, Lindsey Hall, six memberships, and Glen Feichtner, Jim Jepsen, Linde Sutherly, Becky Vincent, Kelvin Egner, Luke Vollborn, Tom Karr, Aaron Arnett, Kim Herman, Sasha Rittenhouse and Stan Smith all with five memberships. Following these awards, members received updates from industry partners including an overview of the newly planned Ohio State University (OSU) Waterman Multispecies Learning Center, information on the OSU Extension Beef Team’s upcoming programming from Steve Boyles, Extension beef specialist, and a legislative outlook for 2022 from Tony Seegers, Esq., President of 1803 Consulting. Members of the meeting then engaged in meaningful discussions and voted on association policy resolutions. The Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation (OCF) also held their annual meeting to award 24 scholarships to beef industry youth who have aspirations of pursuing careers in the beef industry. These scholarships were made possible by donors from the Cattlemen’s Gala, sales from the Ohio beef license plates, funds raised from the putt-putt booth at the Ohio State Fair and generous donors such as Saltwell Western Store, the Noah Cox memorial fund and the Ohio Cattlewomen’s Association. The following are the 2021 scholarship recipients:

Cattlemen’s Gala Scholarships

Hannah Cochran, Franklin County Megan Garrison, Belmont County Kiley Holbrook, Fairfield County Luke Jennings, Clermont County Ellie Kidwell, Knox County Meredith Oglesby, Highland County Libby Strine, Marion County Chloee Thomas, Miami County Abigail Tooill, Fairfield County Victoria Waits, Fayette County Quinton Waits, Fayette County Katelynn Wallace, Miami County

Tagged for Greatness Scholarships

Josh Dickson, Licking County Makayla Feldner, Noble County Sydney Kleman, Putnam County Autumn Scheiderer, Madison County

Cattlemen’s Country Club Scholarships

Brandon Barr, Greene County Owen Brinker, Wood County Lana Grover, Highland County Maria Mcintosh, Champaign County

Noah Cox Memorial Scholarship

Erin Pope, Gallia County

Saltwell Expo Scholarships

Shala Graham, Licking County Luke Mckee, Knox County

Cattlewomen’s Association Scholarships

Caitlin Koschnick, Crawford County Shelby Morehead, Portage County

Leading into the evening was the Awards Banquet where attendees celebrated the achievements of their fellow cattlemen. The awards presented were as follows:

Outstanding County

Fayette County Cattle Feeders Association Sponsored by Ohio Corn and Wheat

Environmental Stewardship Award

Rick, Kyle and Brett Kisling of Diven Springs Farm, Hillsboro, Ohio Sponsored by the Ohio Beef Council

Young Cattleman of the Year

Zane Gross of Buckeye Creek Angus, Ashland, Ohio Sponsored by E.R. Boliantz Co.

Commercial Cattleman of the Year

Ben, Daniel and Richard Seibert of Seibert Livestock, St. Marys, Ohio Sponsored by United Producers, Inc.

Seedstock Producer of the Year

Jones Show Cattle, Harrod, Ohio Sponsored by BioZyme, Inc. and Umbarger Show Feeds

Industry Service Award

Todd Pugh, Louisville, Ohio Sponsored by Rowe Nutrition, LLC

Industry Excellence Award John Grimes, Hillsboro, Ohio Sponsored by ST Genetics

The night ended with a social event and a live auction to raise money for OCA’s Political Action Committee (PAC) which raised over $7,200 to be used to support individuals at the state and national levels who share common values and goals as Ohio’s cattlemen to ensure representation at the State House and on Capitol Hill. Ethan Lane, VP of Government Affairs for NCBA gave a policy update to members.

Top Hand members were awarded for their recruitment efforts.

Young cattlemen were awarded with over $24,000 in scholarships from the Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation.

Thank you PAC auction donors & buyers!

Donors

Crawford County Cattlemen R&C Packing Olde Wood Limited

Buyers

Shane Riley Bill Tom Michael Bumgardner Glen Feichtner Todd Pugh Sasha Rittenhouse Fred Voge Andy & Tonya Lohr Fred Kungl Jamie Graham

Items

OSU Football Tickets Signed Mini OSU helmet CJ Brown Print Ohio Beef Expo Parking Spot (2) Whiskey Barrel Table Whiskey Barrel Shelf Orca Cooler Handmade Rocking Chair Henry 30-30 Rifle

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