Finally, some sunshine! After a very wet start to our week, we are seeing a little break in the rain and are able to get out in the mud to feed some cows. Don’t forge your muck boots and your 4WD vehicles! Just like you, we are sinking our feet into the thick of county annual meeting, convention and rodeo season. With our two biggest events of the year quickly on the horizon, we are staying busy to make them the best yet while continuing to keep your association running on all cylinders. Keep reading to get your weekly update from the staff at ACA.
2020 ACA CONVENTION & TRADE SHOW
The countdown is on! We are officially less than a month away from convention. Registration is still 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 AVAILABLE ONLY FOR TWO MORE DAYS 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 January issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine.
SLE Rodeo- Tickets, Get Your Tickets!
Buck on over to www.SLERodeo.com/Tickets now to secure your seats at the greatest show on dirt! This year’s show is sure to please as we’re featuring freestyle bullfighting, the best stock in the PRCA, all kinds of children’s events and hometown rodeo clown, Trent McFarland! We’ve got some awesome ticket deals available for you to take advantage of, so don’t wait. Get on over to www.SLERodeo.com to learn more about all that SLE Livestock Week offers and to purchase your tickets today!
Our staff here is busy at work making sure this show is the best yet. Today, Director of Rodeo Programs Lauren Wilson will host an SLE Board meeting to cover important events leading up to the rodeo. She is also negotiating several sponsorship deals, working on a deal with our bullfighting contractor, B-K Fighting Bulls, putting finishing touches on the schedule and working with our many, active committees. ACA Director of Communications Kayla Greer is negotiating advertising deals with media, working on our media luncheon to be held February 27 and promoting ticket sales through the website on social media!
County Annual Meetings in Full Swing
Staffers are burning up the highways this week as it is the busiest two weeks of the year for county annual meetings! Lauren Wilson popped into Pike County’s meeting on Monday, while Ali Cantrell buzzed over a Collegiate Cattlemen’s meeting in Auburn on Tuesday. Kayla Greer will head to Hale County on Thursday evening, and meanwhile, Ali will head south to Houston County. Then on Friday, Kayla Greer will hit Coffee County’s Annual Meeting and call it week, while Ali Cantrell heads to Lauderdale County on Saturday and President Chris Langley stops in at Franklin County. Then, we start again next week with Shelby, Bullock, Elmore, Washington, Marion, Jefferson, Jackson, Colbert and Russell counties on the docket. If you see us in passing, be sure to honk or say hi! We’d love to hear from you!
Working with Influencers
Last Friday, The Alabama Obesity Task Force met in our building for their first quarterly meeting of the year. Staffer Ali Cantrell was in attendance during the meeting as they discussed new initiatives to help the state of Alabama live a more healthy lifestyle. The ACA has been a friend to the Obesity Task Force through the years so that beef can be included in the conversation in terms of health and wellness.
YCLP Class VII Apps- Now Open!
We are now taking YCLP Applications for Class VII! The Young 
Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) has been a passion of the Cattlemen’s Association. In just six sessions we hope all the participants walk away with leadership skills, networking contacts, and expanded knowledge of the beef industry. The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association recognizes the need to cultivate our future leaders of the association and industry. The Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP), funded in part by the Alabama State Beef Checkoff, aims to do just that by identifying the state’s top young cattlemen and developing them into leaders of the future. Visit www.BamaBeef.org/YCLP if this program interest you. Applications close on February 29.
For our YCLP Alumni, we will be having a meeting at ACA Convention on Saturday February 15 at 3:00pm. Please contact Morgan Pounds for additional information at mpounds@bamabeef.org.
Membership Update
As of today, the membership total is up to 4,949 and counting as county annual meeting season is in full swing and staffer Jessica Kennedy continues to receive mail-in and online membership submissions. County leaders, reports are good to go and are ready for download on the i4a system. Be sure to refer to these as you head into your annual meeting.
Board members, Board Memos will go out in the mail today regarding our Winter Board Meeting held at the ACA Convention. A luncheon will follow the meeting. As a reminder, Board members will be provided a meal ticket, but additional guests, including spouses, will need to purchase a Board luncheon ticket. This can be done by calling Jessica Kennedy at (334) 265-1867.
Junior Cattlemen Update
We are excited to have over 550 followers on our AJCA Instagram page. 
We have some new content coming your way that involves past AJCA presidents. If you were a past AJCA President please contact Morgan Pounds at mpounds@bamabeef.org to be featured on our Instagram page. The AJCA Board of Directors voted to do another giveaway first week in March involving some FREE SLE t6ickets. Follow our page to stay updated on what our juniors around the state are up to! Instagram: @al_juniorcattlemen
Convention is just one short month away! The AJCA Board of Directors voted to move Career Development and Public Speaking to convention. These two contests offer great scholarship opportunities sponsored by the Alabama Beef Checkoff program. We have also added a Quiz Bowl contest to convention this year to get our youth across the state involved. For more information visit www.BamaBeef.org/Contests.
Lastly, the AJCA is excited to roll out a new look in 2020. Staffers Morgan Pounds and Kayla Greer have worked on a new logo for the junior association and are excited to offer a more modern, cleaned up version to use as a brand for our activities. As it rolls out, you will be seeing it more, but a sneak peek can be seen above!
DYW at ACA
On Thursday, a representative from each county will visit the Cattlemen’s building for the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) of Alabama luncheon. The young ladies are in town preparing for the statewide scholarship pageant, and to break from training, the group will stop by ACA for a steak luncheon, a game of beef trivia and a tour of The MOOseum.
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.