YCC: Life Changing Experience

Ok, so one week ago I wrote about the first three days of the Young Cattlemen's Conference (YCC) conference that I was attending.
Little did I know that the best was yet to come.



The trip was intense. We slept a little, traveled a lot, experienced much and made friendships to last a lifetime. We toured feedlots in our shit kickin' boots, and made our way to Capitol Hill in business suits to talk to our respective state congressmen and senators to be a voice for the beef industry. We toured the plant where McDonald's hamburger patties are formed and we watched as the Chicago Board of Trade opened on Monday morning. We drank beer. We danced. We tried tongue, and other cuts of meat that are usually exported.

We exchanged ideas and shared information. We rode in buses, airplanes, and even crammed 22 of us in a 12 passenger van. We shared cabs and we shared rooms. And, in the end we are stronger in our beef industry knowledge, leadership and communications skills. We heard from people who work at NCBA, USDA, FAS, USMEF, JBS, OSI and CAB. We supported the PAC--oh man did I support the PAC! We graduated with our MBAs (Masters of Beef Advocacy) and we survived YCC.

I wish I could give a day-by-day and play-by-play account of this trip. I could talk about it for days, and I will, so don't get me started unless you really care and have a lot of time. I would encourage any of you involved in the beef business to GET INVOLVED. Join NCBA. Apply with your state affilliate or the Angus Foundation to attend YCC. It is an experience that will change your life. I know it did mine.



This entry is dedicated to my classmates: 2010 YCC, you are the best and brightest in the beef industry. Thanks for sharing 10 days and many memories with me!

My wish for you. . .

For the past 11 years, during the National Western, I drive by the Denver Rescue Mission each day enroute between my comfortable downtown Denver hotel and the NWSS Complex. Each morning and evening, I witness homeless people lined up for meals and even worse sleeping huddled up next to each other on the cold concrete with a thin blanket and their possessions in a grocery bag next to them. And, each time I think to myself, "How do these people end up with no one to love them and no where to go?"

I know some year I WILL break down, buy some blankets or even contact the Rescue Mission before I come to Denver to see how I can make a difference. I just can't imagine that these people have no one in their lives. I am definitely blessed to have family and friends across the country and around the world that I could call in a time of need, and crash on their couch or floor. I would be happy if a friend would offer me a bread and butter sandwich. These people are sleeping on concrete in sub-zero temperatures!

So, my wish for you friends, is this: if your life is ever so bad that you have no place to go or no where to turn, call me! I am here for you. I have room, beds, blankets, food. I may not be wealthy, but I pray I always have a roof in some form over my head and as long as I do, my house is open to you. And, when you are under my roof, there is nothing that you, me and God can't handle.