Macie McCollum

Steve Jobs once said, "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." Well I can honestly say that I love what I do and that is showing cattle. I am Macie McCollum and I live in the country outside of a small North Texas town with a population of 330 people. I attend the First United Methodist Church there and we have a membership of 23. I am definitely a small town Texas girl and I love it! My family has always been involved in agriculture from showing livestock to working with youth as County Agricultural Extension Agents. As a result, my parents have fostered this love for me and my 6 year old sister, Maddax. My dad now manages insurance offices and my mom is an adult probation officer; as a family we raise show cattle and are very passionate about what we do.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to show cattle since I was five years old. My love for cattle began when my dad got me my first show heifer "Cookie." Cookie was a super sweet bottle calf that was just my size. I can honestly say that my interest in showing grew from there.

About 10 years ago my dad and I decided that we wanted to buy and show Maine-Anjou cattle. I remember when my mom told me I was going to have my own cattle business. I was so excited and I told her, “That’s great, but where is my store going to be?” Well, I don’t have my own store, but I do have my own cattle business called Macie’s Maines and I have been very successful with it. Over the years I have been able to raise high quality show heifers. Some of these heifers have gone on to be Champion Maine-Anjou Heifer at the State Fair of Texas, Reserve Champion Maine-Anjou Heifer at Houston and Fort Worth, and Division Champion at the Junior National

Maine-Anjou Show.

In the beginning of my show career I also showed sheep and goats. My mom grew up showing them and my grandfather raised sheep, so it was a natural progression. I was able to exhibit sheep and goats throughout Texas for four years and had a lot of success at major shows. Eventually we decided showing four species was too much so we placed our focused on cattle.

For the past 8 years I have been fortunate enough to show steers and heifers all over Texas and throughout the U.S. at national shows. I love my show steers and have been blessed with division and breed champions at major shows and being in the top sale slots

My first big win showing heifers came as a first year 4-H'er. I was showing a young heifer, Xaria, who was not easy to show. Xaria had a BIG attitude and since I was little we finally had to resort to putting a nose ring in her. Everyone, including my dad, said we couldn't win with a nose ring…it just wasn't feminine. Well, Xaria and I went into the biggest Maine-Anjou class of the day at the San Antonio Livestock Show. My mom was nervous and told my dad that it was going to be a tough class to win. My dad responded, "Well, we came to beat them all so we might as well start in class." And beat them all we did… I won the Maine's and went on to win Reserve Supreme Champion of the show out of 1600 head. We were ecstatic with the win and the $12,000 college scholarship. We were also thrilled that I got her shown. Over the next year

Xaria went on to reserve her division at the National Junior Maine-Anjou Show, win the Fort Worth Junior Maine- Anjou Show, and win the National Maine-Anjou Open Show. She then went back to San Antonio as a bred heifer, and won Supreme Champion out of 1500 head bumping my scholarship to $14,000!

After having Xaria we figured that another show heifer of that caliber would be hard to find, but Zulu came along and not only won the Maines at Houston, her division at Junior Nationals, and the National Maine-Anjou Open show, but was named the National Maine-Anjou Show Heifer of the Year! Things literally just kept getting better.

I have been fortunate enough to have continued success in my show program having breed champions at Houston, Fort Worth, and San Angelo. Last year I exhibited the

Reserve Champion High Maine Heifer at the Junior National Maine-Anjou Show... bucket list checked right there. I mean things could not get much better than this. We had been working toeckls a top win at this national show for 6 years. Well they did get better. I was able to exhibit the Reserve Champion Chianina Heifer at the Junior National Chianina Show in June! Talk about seeing your 5:15 a.m. barn commitments really paying off! All of a sudden the two and a half months of rinsing twice a day, even on school days, was a great plan.

Throughout this process I have been very involved in sports, 4-H, and FFA activities. These activities have taught me so much about myself and others. Basketball was my passion for years and we spent endless hours in private lessons and traveling two hours one way to practices two to three times a week. I was able to play with

an elite select team that participated in tournaments all over Texas, Oklahoma, and even national tournaments in Florida. These experiences enabled me to interact with city kids from very different backgrounds than mine and really showed me the meaning of team work. Over the years I have developed a passion for running. I know it sounds crazy, but I love to run and I love the challenge that it provides to me. This past year I advanced to Regionals in Cross Country and missed going to state by 4 spots. I intend for that not to be the case this fall.

I have been actively involved in 4-H for the past 8 years at the county, district, and state levels. I have done more than show cattle; I have spent tireless hours performing community service projects both locally and throughout the state. I have been active in my leadership activities as well, and I have participated in speaking contests that have enabled me to win at county, district, and state competitions. I have learned so much through my 4-H endeavors and have really developed into a community conscious individual.

Two years ago I became a FFA member and there has been no slowing down for me. I have competed at state in the FFA Creed Speaking and with my Beef Prepared Speeches.

I received top honors in my chapter, at the district level, and at the area and state levels. I am currently the president of my FFA chapter and was elected as the first president of the Red River FFA District this Spring.

All of my 4-H and FFA involvement has taught me the value of working hard and see things through to the end. This has carried over into my studies as well. Presently I am 1st in my class with a GPA of 102. I am making plans for my future and intend on pursuing a career in the agricultural industry.

All my victories could not be possible without my faith in God. I can honestly say that from the time that I began showing I have been blessed beyond measure. I have been blessed by parents and grandparents that work alongside me and support me one hundred percent. I have been blessed with great show cattle and even better people like John Choate, Nick Fitzsimmons, Jeff Graham, Tony Jeffs, Matt Scasta, and Michael Schertz that have guided me along the way. I am so thankful for all the wonderful experiences and success that I have had. I cannot wait to see where the next few years take me because the first 16 have been pretty amazing! •