Contact:          Joe Schuele                303/850-3360              jschuele@beef.org

Marvin Kokes              303/850-3339              mkokes@beef.org                  

Southern Utah Student Wins Beef Industry Scholarship

CME and National Cattlemen’s Foundation Honor Twenty Students

DENVER  (December 15, 2005) -- Twenty outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry have each been awarded a $1,500 scholarship provided by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (CME) and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF).  The CME has sponsored this scholarship program for 16 years.

Each scholarship winner wrote a 750-word essay identifying key issues confronting the beef industry and suggesting possible ways of dealing with those issues.

The overall scholarship winner, Steven Yardley of Beaver, Utah, was awarded an all-expense-paid trip to the 2006 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show, being held in Denver February 1-4. He will present a portion of his essay during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Awards Program Lunch on February 4. 

Yardley is a sophomore at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah.  Yardley’s award-winning essay discusses the issue of private property rights and the impact on cattle producers.  As a student, the award will allow him to take advantage of every opportunity to gain a better and broader understanding of the cattle industry.

The other 19 scholarship recipients are:

Cassie Bacon                   Prairie Grove, Ark.           Oklahoma State University

Ashley Baker                     Clayton, Idaho                 Challis High School

Rachel Bartholomew        Archie, Mo.                      Archie High School

Stacia Berry                      Cheyenne, Wyo.             University of Wyoming

Sarah Bradbury                 Huntsville, Texas             Trinity University

Will Cabe                          Carnesville, Ga.              Northeastern Oklahoma A&M

Justin Dodsworth              Vernon, Colo.                  Colorado State University

Brenna Ellison                   Dumas, Texas                Abilene Christian University

Christine Gabel                 Eaton, Colo.                    Kansas State University

Roxane Gebhart                Claremore, Okla.            Claremore High School

Chelsea Good                   Parker, Colo.                   Butler Community College

Whitney Haux                    Kindred, N.D.                  Kindred High School

Traci McCall                      Reardan, Wash.             Spokane Falls Community College

Toby Pollock                     Berthoud, Colo.               Colorado State University

Amie Taylor                       Alachua, Fla.                   University of Florida

Renee Thelen                   Saline, Mich.                    Michigan State University

Rebecca Tokach              St. Anthony, N.D.            Kansas State University

Sydney Wilkinson             Model, Colo.                    Hoehne High School

Russ Zboril                        Louise, Texas                 Louise High School                  

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The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has been a leader in the live cattle market since 1964 and the Beef Industry Scholarship Program exemplifies CME’s commitment to the beef industry.  CME is a diversified marketplace offering futures and options contracts on livestock, lumber, stock indexes, interest rates and currencies.

The National Cattlemen's Foundation serves the beef industry as a charitable institution whose mission is to preserve the rich heritage and promote the future of the industry through research and education.