AMERICAN NATIONAL CATTLEWOMEN PUT THEIR OWN BRAND ON CENTENNIAL CONVENTION

DENVER (January 16, 1998) -- Members of American National CattleWomen (ANCW) have stitched together the legacy of the cattle industry in the form of a quilt created for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in honor of the Cattle Industry Centennial Convention & Trade Show, Feb 4-7.

Since the spring of 1997, the ANCW has been creating a cattle brand quilt to represent the story of the cattlemen’s group. The quilt will be presented to the National Cattlemen’s Foundation during an inspirational breakfast Friday, Feb. 6, at the Colorado Convention Center.

This year’s convention theme is "Our Legacy: the Land, the Family, the Cattle," and the quilt was designed accordingly. The "Legacy" aspect of the quilt is that women always have been involved in the beef industry because beef traditionally is a family business. The "Land" is depicted in the quilt with earth tone color combinations of fabric and thread. The "Family" is shown with fabric joining men, women and businesses into one composite piece. Finally, the "Cattle" piece is represented by ranch and farm brands sewed into the squares.

This unique quilt has been in the works for several months. Approximately 50 hours of freehand machine embroidery time went into the Centennial logo alone, and the total number of "woman hours" for the quilt exceeds 300. The "signature" block states the purpose, participants and date the quilt was completed. The center of the quilt is a triple-size block depicting the Cattlemen’s Centennial logo, which is surrounded by 97 brand blocks from century ranches across the United States.

The CattleWomen’s decision to create a quilt for the centennial celebration was a natural one because women throughout history have used needlework, and especially quilting, as a medium of expression.

The 1998 Cattle Industry Centennial Convention & Trade Show, coordinated by the NCBA, will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The trade association was founded in Denver in 1898. After the quilt is presented during the centennial conference, it will hang in the lobby of the Denver NCBA office for the year.

NCBA is today’s marketing organization and trade association for America’s 1 million cattle farmers and ranchers. With headquarters in Denver and offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., NCBA is a consumer-driven, producer-directed organization representing the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.

-NCBA-