INDUSTRY SERVICE AWARD
Todd Pugh
instrumental in bringing out the BEST in OCA’s youth program By Amy Beth Graves While watching his daughter compete in the Ohio Cattlemen’s BEST program, Todd Pugh took in his surroundings, making mental notes of how the program was run and how it could improve. He tracked down Elizabeth Harsh, OCA’s executive director, and shared his thoughts. Next thing he knew, he was on the BEST committee, which is appointed by the Ohio Cattlemen’s board of directors. Shortly after that, he was named chairman and has held that position for the last 10 years. “The BEST program was good for my kids, and I believe in giving back and being involved. I’m going to be active and not just sit there. I want to make a difference,” said Pugh, who lives in northeastern Ohio and is the founder and CEO of Enviroscapes, one of the largest landscaping businesses in Ohio. Being involved and giving back has long been Pugh’s mantra. He currently sits on about a dozen committees, including a community foundation that manages several millions of dollars, economic development board, bank advisory board and Pro Football Hall of Fame board. His approach to the BEST committee is the same with his company and the Stark County boards he is involved with – identify prob28 | Ohio Cattleman | Winter Issue 2022
lems, seek out the best experts to solve issues or improve things and find ways to be sustainable. “The BEST program is great – it was just a matter of fine-tuning it. I’m a small hometown kid and am around a lot of successful people and I’ve learned from them how to make decisions,” he said. Started in 1999, BEST (Beef Exhibitor Show Total) recognizes Ohio’s junior beef exhibitors for participation and placings through a series of cattle shows that have consistent and ethical regulations. Over the years, Todd has been pleased to watch as the BEST program has not only become sustainable but grown exponentially. The 2020-2021 program had more than 800 industry youth and 675 head of cattle. “The BEST program is known nationwide. People are calling all the time asking how we do it and continue to get sponsors. When you have nearly 800 people show up at a banquet and the young people are excited to be there, that’s a sign you’re doing something right. We are blessed,” Todd said. As chairman of the BEST program, Todd has helped oversee a wide variety of changes to make it run more efficiently. He tapped into his decision making skills and advocated for
cutting some rules that he described as unenforceable, investing in software to make registration and payment easier and having a dedicated person run the program. “When you have a program that large, you need to have someone to coordinate it all instead of having OCA staff do it after work hours,” he said. “I highly respect Elizabeth Harsh and the OCA board for making tough but right decisions for the kids. It’s really a kids program, and we’ve always tried to do what’s best for the kids. Other states have struggled to grow because they’ve wavered in their decisions.” Todd said OCA’s investment in software was a key component in the program’s growth. Exhibitors are now able to register and pay online instead of standing in line at the shows, waiting to pay in cash. Because registration was a few days in advance, it made it easier for OCA to prepare for how to break up the different class groups. “The software investment took the program to new levels. It was like a business in a box and made it easier for volunteers and exhibitors,” he said. “Exhibitors are our customers and you need to treat them that way.” A few years ago, the BEST committee was looking for ways to showcase Ohio bred cattle when it came up with the idea of the Buckeye Breeders
