Well, folks, this is it. Somehow this is the last blog update of 2019. It feels like we were just saying “Happy New Year.” Twelve months sure goes fast! As we settle down for the holiday season, we wanted to send one last update to keep you informed. As we go into the new year, things are looking quite busy already. Keep reading for your last update of 2019 and from our staff to you, have a very Merry Christmas!
Baby Beasley Has Arrived
The biggest news of the week is that Miss Tatum Nicole Beasley has made her debut. Just in time for Christmas, the daughter of Chad and Erin Beasley was born on Tuesday weighing 8lbs 11oz and with a head full of dark hair, not red like her big brother’s. Erin and baby girl are doing well, recovering now and will be headed home just in time for Christmas. What a special Christmas it will be for their family! Congratulations to the Beasley Family on a beautiful baby girl.
SLE Rodeo Tickets Now on Sale
Looking for that perfect last-minute stocking stuffer? Well, just in time for the holiday season we have opened 2020 SLE Rodeo ticket sales! Hop on over to www.SLERodeo.com/Tickets now to secure your seats at the greatest show on dirt and to give the gift of rodeo to your loved ones!
Speaking of the rodeo, ACA Director of Rodeo Programs Lauren Wilson had quite the productive week last week as she attended the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. The SLE Rodeo is proud to welcome Gold Buckle Beer as a new sponsor, and we are waiting to hear back from Ram to seal the deal! We also finalized our deal with Wrangler, and are excited about that relationship moving forward. It’s shaping up to be an excellent show!
2020 ACA CONVENTION & TRADE SHOW
Registration is now open for the 77th annual ACA Convention & Trade show 
to be held February 14-15 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Convention Center. What better way to say “I love you” on Valentine’s Day than to bring your darlin’ to our Friday night event, the Sweetheart Shindig? Not to mention all the fun and excitement around our General Sessions, featuring Donnell Brown of R.A. Brown Ranch and a CattleFax update, informative Cattlemen’s Colleges and Alabama’s biggest cattle industry trade show. We’ve also confirmed our Cattlemen’s Luncheon speaker, NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. Don’t miss this exciting event!
You can register online today and take advantage of those awesome Early Bird deals by visiting www.BamaBeef.org/Convention or you can call us at the office and we’ll take your registration by phone! Be sure to have your credit card handy and have an idea of what you and your’s would like to attend by checking out our mail-in form in the November issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine.
Talkin’ Beef in a Healthy Diet
On Thursday Ali Cantrell will be traveling to Tuscaloosa to meet registered dietitian and author Carolyn Williams. The beef checkoff will be sponsoring her as a speaker for the Alabama Dietetics Association Annual Meeting. Carolyn is a native of Alabama and is a former dietitian with Cooking Light. She just released a cookbook on the anti-inflammatory diet which includes beef recipes. The cook book is called Meals that Heal. After meeting with Carolyn, staffers will be traveling to Birmingham to meet with Chef Chris Villa, a teacher a Riverchase Career Connection Center. They will be discussing way to incorporate beef education into Riverchase’s lesson plans.
Stopping in at Stockyards
Stockyards all across the state are wrapping up their 2019 sales this week. Staffer Morgan Pounds attended Mid-State Stockyard’s final sale of the year on Tuesday and is headed to Roanoke today for their final sale. At the sale, they’re hosting a Christmas drawing that will bring producers from all over the state and even some from Georgia and surrounding areas for a chance to win some awesome prizes, including cash! We’re excited to attend this event with ACA President Chris Langley.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
We’ve sent our first round of 2020 membership statements. County secretaries should be on the lookout for those remittances and start inputting them into the i4a system! For questions or a refresher, don’t forget you can contact Jessica Kennedy here at our office or can visit www.BamaBeef.org/i4a for instructional videos.
As county annual meetings fire up and you need reports, shoot Jessica an email as she will generate what you need! Be sure to send in your county meeting information beforehand so we can get it on our Cattlemen’s Calendar and send us your updated leadership information following this meeting!
ACA HOLIDAY HOURS
The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association will be open Monday, December 
23 and then close until Thursday, January 2 in observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays! Staffers will likely be checking email, so feel free to send those our way throughout the break, but if you need to place an online order or call us with questions, you have until the 24th to do so.
Thanks for reading this week’s post! Until we post again, we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.