Just like that, the month of May is over as quickly as the rest of this year has gone. The year 2017 is on the move, and we’re anxious to get going on a busy summer of activities, staff change-overs and beef promotion. June is sure to bring a lot of that, so keep reading to find out how we’re sending off May and welcoming the big month of June!
Membership Report
Final Statements went out in the mail and all remittances will come back to the state office.
The deadline for recruiting is June 30th,and remember, the recruiter and the person recruited both get entered in the John Deere Gator drawing! Speaking of John Deere Gator, WE HAVE RAFFLE TICKETS!! Contact us if you’d like a book to sell or purchase for your chance to win the Gator! The deadline to have money and raffle tickets turned is before or at the summer board meeting. There will be a prize for the person who sells the most raffle tickets. They come in books of 10 and Jessica can mail them out today! Email Jessica
AJCA Round-Up Registration Opens TOMORROW
With June comes the opening up of the AJCA Round-Up online 
registration! If your child interested in beef cattle, has a knack for cooking, an eye for graphic design, a competitive streak in volleyball or a love of speaking in public, you should consider signing them up for the 11th annual AJCA Round-Up. This year’s event comes with a “South of the Border” FIESTA theme and is sure to be a muy beuno time!
AJCA membership is required for entry into the Round-Up. Here’s all you need to know about this year’s event:
- AJCA Membership Sign-Up
- Rules (note rule changes effective in 2017)
- Schedule
- Director Application
- Registration (Opens June 1 at 8:30 a.m. and closes July 5 at 11:55 p.m.)
Montgomery Wellness Forum at ACA
The Montgomery Wellness Forum is meeting at the Cattlemen’s Building today to discuss healthy workplace habits. This group consists of representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Alabama Diabetes Association, American Red Cross, and several different Montgomery companies. This group gives us a chance to showcase our building and remind these groups that healthy beef recipes and research info is available at any time to help them reach their goals in wellness.
Beef for Father’s Day
Also happening today, we’ll be taking our annual trip over to the Capitol with our friends from Alabama CattleWomen’s Association to have the Beef for Father’s Day Proclamation Signing. Beef is a man’s best friend, and it’s #KingOfTheGrill this summertime. Fire up the grill and give your dad the gift of delicious beef this Father’s Day!
Culinary Fight Club- Blended Burger Battle Results
Last week, the beef checkoff funded the Culinary Fight Club competition
featuring hamburgers at Central Restaurant in downtown Montgomery. This event showcased three outstanding chefs from the restaurants Corks & Cleavers, Sundown and Hamburger King in the Montgomery area. The winning chef, Hunter Harrison of Hamburger King, created a unique blended burger with Mexican chorizo and mushrooms, topped with candied bacon and a Creole aioli. By winning the competition, Chef Harrison will now compete in the World Food Championships this fall in Gulf Shores. We look forward to sponsoring a similar contest this summer featuring steak.
Bama’s Best Beef Week #2
Bama’s Best Beef is underway and looking delicious! Following the Week #1 Photo Challenge whose winner was Old Town Stock House of Gunterville’s Asian dish, “Tteok Galbi,” the Week #2 Photo Challenge has kicked off, and the competition is fierce between our All-American and Other category finalists!
Barbecue Stop of Clay, AL “Brisket & Mac” is described as “juicy, tender, 
slow-smoked brisket over homemade, melt-in-your-mouth, mac & cheese.” Bertolone’s Italian Cafe of Clanton, AL “Cannelloni” is described as “fresh pasta shells filled with seasoned ground beef, spinach and Italian cheeses topped with bolognese and bescamela sauces.”
These two are dueling it out on Facebook this week. At this point, it’s a close race with Bertolone’s taking the lead in the contest with 191 “reactions” vs Barbecue Stop’s 155 “reactions.” If they’re from your area, be sure to spread the word to VOTE on the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Facebook page. Help us promote Alabama’s delicious and unique beef dishes!
July- Alabama Cattleman
Before we talk about the excellent advertising opportunities in the July magazine, we’d like to note that the June issue will be available online Monday, June 5. Be on the lookout for an email with a link and password this coming Monday!
Now, July. If you want the best advertising deal in town, call us today! July’s magazine reaches a circulation of over 20,000 people…that’s double our normal circulation…but advertising rates are the same! That’s twice the bang for your advertising buck, and we don’t want you to miss out. Give Nicky Bechard a call today at (334) 265-1867 or shoot her an email to learn more. Deadline is JUNE 15!!
The MOOseum
School’s out and The MOOseum is in…inside, that is! Beat the 
summertime heat and rain by bringing your kiddos, daycare or church groups to explore Alabama’s beef cattle industry. Tours are lining up left and right, and the laughter of children is filling our first floor already at the early kick off of summer vacation. The best part is that they’ll be learning without even knowing it! We are open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Come see us!
Here’s a Few Handy Links You May Enjoy:
Thanks for reading this week’s post! Until we post again next week , we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Have a great week!
Bama’s Best Beef is underway and looking delicious! The Week #1 Photo Challenge has kicked off and the competition is fierce between our Asian and Hispanic category finalists!
ntina in Auburn’s “Tex Mex Lasagna” is described as a “three-layer tortilla lasagna of seasoned ground beef, refried beans, and red chili sauce, topped with our delicious Monterey and cheddar blend cheese and finished with pico de gallo and a sprinkle of cotija cheese.”
The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association is excited to sponsor the Culinary Fight Club Alabama “Blended Burger Battle” happening Thursday night from 6-9 p.m. at Central in downtown Montgomery. We’re sponsoring the beef as area chefs go head-to-head to craft the best burger in show. Our own Erin Beasley will be serving as a guest judge while staff attends to support the beef-centric event.
MBA State Coordinator and ACA Director of Social Media & Communications Kayla Greer has been working to create a “digital took kit” for graduates of both the Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program and the Masters of Beef Advocacy program to use during the summertime. The tool kit features graphics, captions, images and ideas about how to effectively post about all that goes on around the beef cattle industry during the summer months.
We’ve got a new face in the office as Logan Strock has started his summer internship with the ACA this week! Logan is from White City in Autauga County and is a student at Mississippi State pursuing his degree in agriscience education. He’s with us this summer to help plan the 11th annual, Fiesta-themed AJCA Round-Up held at the Garrett Coliseum July 20-23. He’s already off to a great start as he’s lining up contest judges and preparing to host Junior directors for a planning meeting next Tuesday!
ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy wanted to make sure you all got the reminder that the year-end “Over the Top” deadline is the May 9th Board Meeting. Counties who have gone “Over the Top” and have at least 100 members will be included in the drawing for the Priefert Chute. We have 20 counties who are within an arm’s length of going “Over the Top,” and your chance at a $5,000 Priefert squeeze chute should be encouragement enough! If that’s not enough, county presidents who go “Over the Top” will receive an award at the 2018 ACA Convention and TWO free banquet tickets.
It’s an exciting week for social media! The 2nd annual Bama’s Best Beef contest has kicked off in search of Alabama’s most unique beef dish! The contest starts out with a nomination round which will be open until midnight on May 13. Following a week of deliberation to select a finalist in the Asian, Hispanic, All-American and Other categories, the final four dishes will go head-to-head in Facebook Photo Challenges with the hopes of being crowned “Bama’s Best Beef.”
Erin Beasley enjoyed a nice visit with longtime friend of the Cattlemen’s Association, Gov. Kay Ivey. During the meeting, the trio discussed issues relating to the beef cattle industry and rural Alabama.
kick off next Monday and Tuesday for the year. Twenty-five outstanding cattlemen between 21-40 years of age will commit to this program over the next year to learn more about the association, develop leadership skills and increase their overall knowledge of the cattle industry. Moving forward, this program will continue to show its worth by seeing graduates move into leadership roles at the county and state level.
For those who may have missed the news last week, the ACA is excited to have Logan Strock in our office this summer as he has accepted an internship where he will lead the effort in putting on the 11th annual AJCA Round-Up. Logan is a current AJCA director and a student at Mississippi State University where he is studying agricultural education.
Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum. Stay tuned as rules and registration information will be made available late May. We can’t wait to see you there!