Thank you, Thank you!

Our queen program is an excellent opportunity for young women of our industry. It allows them to improve their communication skills as well as knowledge of the Hereford and beef cattle industries. This program could not be what it is today with out our sponsors. I would like to thank you for donating to our program. Below is a list of the current queen program donors:

• Mohican Farms-Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Stitzlein
• Andy and Betsy Beck
• Frank Thomas
• McKown Polled Herefords
• Lynn and Stephen Sumner
• Truman and Starr Whaley
• Georgia Poll-Ettes
• Kevin and Barbara Gregory
• Nelson Land and Cattle Co
• National Cattle Services
• Mehaffey/Phelps Family
• Sandy Meyer-Classic Leather Designs
• Paula Tracy
• Splitt Butte Ranch
• MAP Farm
• Fulton Bank Atten: Agriculture Department
• Beacon Hill Ranch-Gebhart Family

I would also like to thank the National Hereford Women for all of their support and dedication to the program. Your commitment is truly valued.

A few firsts

On Sunday, November 1, 2009 at the conclusion of the Hereford bull show our first National Hereford Queen was crowned. Due to the change in our queen's title there was a new banner made and donated by Sandy Meyer of Classic Leather Designs. The new banner is made of a Hereford hide and white leather with red and white grommets. The retired National Polled Hereford Queen banner will be placed in the Gammon Barn in Iowa at the conclusion of our current queen, Kirbie Day's reign after Denver. Beacon Hill Ranch and the Mehaffey/Phelps family donated the crown box which was hand tooled by Classic Leather Designs. The crown was donated by the Georgia Poll-Ettes and Whaley Herefords. Miss Congeniality and the national queen will both receive a pair of boots of their choice donated by Double H Boot Company.

All of our state queens did an excellent job handing out awards during the junior and open show. The results of the competition were as followed: Miss Congeniality and 2nd Runner-Up, Kara Bielema from Michigan, 1st Runner-Up, Courtney Tribble from Washington, and the new queen is Katie Killian from Texas.

Kirbie Day, the 2009 National Polled Hereford Queen will continue her reign through the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Co. Katie and Kirbie will both be attending the North American Livestock Expo in Louisville, KY, Western Nugget in Reno, NV and the National Western.

Kansas City Queen Orienation Fun!

This year our queen committee decided to have a few fun activities for our queens to participate in before the competition. That way the girls could get to know each other and have the opportunity to see a little bit of Kansas City as well. Friday morning the queens picked up welcome packages from the Hotel President lobby which contained donations from Seltzers's Bologna, M&M Mars, Brooks Brothers and Morgan Allyse Jewelry Designs. The girls also received pink queen t-shirts donated by Fulton Bank. On Friday afternoon all of the queens, parents and the committee met in the Hilton President lobby for cookies, cocoa, and socializing. The parade of pink and green then made an appearance at Lucky Strikes Bowling alley on Baltimore Ave in Kansas City. The staff at Lucky Strikes were awesome and everyone showed off their impressive bowling skills!

Later that evening the queens attended the CBR rodeo held at the American Royal. Jim McNair, CEO of the American Royal graciously donated the tickets. The queens had fabulous seats and had a great time watching some of the top rodeo competitors in the nation as well as socializing with the fans! During the show they were introduced to the audience. Local news channels as well as the cable television channel featuring the rodeo spotlighted the queens. The biggest surprise of the evening was the calf scramble. Hundreds of 4-H-ers competed for their new steer calves. It was an amazing site!

And so it begins...

Hello and welcome. I believe that a great introduction is key to any situation. My name is Margeaux and I am currently the chairman for the National Hereford Women's National Hereford Queen program. I was asked to start this blog in response to increased interest in this program and the need to provide accurate up to date information. I will update frequently with events in our program. Our National Hereford Queen, Katie Killian will also provide us with some comments. Please stay tuned for more info!