Critical Discussions, Well-Known Speakers Highlight Upcoming Cattle Convention

A wide range of topics and interests will be on the table when cattle producers meet Jan. 28-31 in Phoenix, Ariz., for the 2004 Cattle Industry Annual Convention & Trade Show.  The event includes meetings of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board, the American National CattleWomen, Inc., Cattle-Fax and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

Attendees will make critical decisions on the behalf of their industry at the four-day event.  They will also have an opportunity to enjoy tremendous entertainment. 

Noted cowboy poet and humorist Baxter Black will speak at the Cattlemen’s CollegeÒ Luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 28, while popular Grammy Award-winning Lee Greenwood will appear at the Grand Finale Evening Event on Saturday, Jan. 31.  Black’s “wacko verse” can be heard on PBS and the NFR, and his best-selling books and appearances on The Tonight Show have entertained millions.   Greenwood is an electrifying multi-platinum entertainer whose career spans three decades.  He has won the coveted Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year award and achieved gold status with his first three albums. 

Also appearing at the Convention are Gene Kranz, leader of the “Tiger Team” of flight directors who brought the Apollo 13 spaceship back to Earth on April 17, 1970.  Kranz’s theme during his speech during the Opening General Session on Thursday, Jan. 29 will be “Failure is Not an Option.”

Speaking at the Cattle Industry Awards Program Lunch on Saturday, Jan. 31 will be Doc Blakely, a recipient of the Speaking Award of Excellence, whose unique and entertaining presentation is titled “To Soar with Eagles.” 

Joint industry committees discussing beef checkoff issues and programs will meet Friday, Jan. 30.  At those meetings, results of checkoff-funded strategies and tactics for the first three months of fiscal year 2004 will be presented and reviewed.

NCBA policy committees will meet Friday, as well.  At those meetings, NCBA affiliates will bring policy from their states and members for discussion, deliberation and adoption.

The Cattle-Fax Outlook Seminar is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 28.  This always-popular session, free to Cattle-Fax members and registrants of Cattlemen's College, will cover issues of critical importance to serious cattle producers and feeders.

The Board of Directors meetings for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association are on tap for Saturday morning, Jan. 31.  Awards honoring NCBA Top Hand Members, the National Cattlemen’s Foundation Beef Industry Scholarship Award winner, National Collegiate Beef Quiz Bowl winners and others will be presented at a luncheon that day. 

Advance registration for the event ends Jan. 2.  For more information, contact the NCBA Convention & Meetings Department at 303/694-0305.