new asa secretary

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knabe

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Feb 7, 2007
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Hollister, CA
most associations have minutes.  board members are usually restricted about talking about "official" business without a quorum.  part of running for a board position is the prepration beforehand to gain credibility by accomplishing something.  develope a name.  develope a reputation for supporting people whose ideas, goals you share rather than worrying about the people who don't share your goals.

one of the best pieces of advice i've ever received (by a woman no less) was

50% of your ideas won't matter.
40% suck
10% are good if you are lucky.

she also used to give me tampons when i complained too much.
 

justintime

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May 26, 2007
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Saskatchewan Canada
Thank you Jeremy for responding.... and for setting the record straight!  I was reluctant to respond to some of the accusations presented on here in this regard, as I knew some of them were wrong... and I did not want to get into an argument with some on matters that I could not prove( at least on here). I agree 110% with your comments regarding the importance of each and every sector of this breed. A small breed like the Shorthorn breed needs each and every member regardless whether they play in the " feed and fluff " arena or try to produce cattle that will run on the range. I have never been able to figure out why people get so crazy over these issues. I simply cannot understand how closed minded so many people are, when it comes to these splits within the breed.

I keep hearing things like " only the show people advertise in Shorthorn Country". That may be the case, but like I have said many times before on here, if you don't like this, please pick up the damn phone and dial Shorthorn Country and book some space in the next issue. I know for a fact that they will not refuse your ad simply because you do not wash and blow your cattle every day, and have a cool room to put them in. The phone number for Shorthorn Country is 402-393-7051... so if you are tired of only show oriented people advertising, please put your money where your mouth is.. and advertise your herd.

I can hardly believe some of the slanderous statements I see on here from time to time. I do not understand what brings people to say things about other people like this. It is totally uncalled for and if it continues, I would not be surprised that some people being contacted by a lawyer, as some of these posts are totally wrong. Let's remember, we can bash one bloodline or another but you step into a totally different arena, when you make slanderous and libelous comments about other people.

Almost everyone I know does not see cattle the same. That is normal. You are free to raise whatever type of cattle you want to... so quit whining about what  other people are raising and get serious about raising your own type of cattle. As for the politics of the breed, there are no more politics in this breed than there are in any other breed. I have been involved in 7 breed associations in the past few years, and believe me.... the Shorthorn breed can't hold a candle to some others. I don't understand why so many people spend more time finding fault with others, and the cattle they raise, than they do breeding their own cattle and promoting them properly.  There are lots of genetics in this breed to raise whatever kind of cattle you want to raise.

The time has come to stop this stupidity. If you don't like what is happening, run for the board, or find someone of like mind to run. Raise the kind of cattle you want and quit worrying about what others are raising. Prove to yourself ( and others) that you have a product that the industry can use... and please stop the derogatory remarks about people that you simply have no proof about. Quite frankly, if you knew how much you are damaging your own reputation with some of these comments, I think you might think twice.

Jeremy, I am sure it took a lot of courage to write what you did. Thank you for setting the record straight.

 

aj

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Jul 5, 2006
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western kansas
Who is the Morehead State guy? Is he a livestock coach,teacher, or what?I would like to thank everybody who has been on a board of any kind. School board,state board, national board,4-h board or whatever. It is a thankless job.Who are the Shorthorn directors up for renewal this year. Isn't the Annual meeting in Denver?
 

Jill

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Jan 20, 2007
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Gardner, KS
(clapping)  Thank you Jeremy Hahn!

To Tucker, ALL board meetings are open meetings unless they go into closed session, if you are that unhappy and that concerned about what is being discussed, I suggest you attend them.
 

aj

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Jul 5, 2006
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Location
western kansas
Maybe a little regionalgroup should be formed aimed at commercial bull production. We could all try and get bulls in a bull test or sale of some kind.
 

stick

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Apr 23, 2007
Messages
388
Wasn.t Mr Sears a field rep before Dr Hunsley came. and then with Durham Management when they came in and started overseeing Shorthorn Country?
 

DL

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Jan 29, 2007
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Life generally revolves around those who show up.
Bitching is generally what the people who don't show up do.
Thanks Jeremy
 

shortdawg

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Georgia
DL, I'm in several leadership positions on several different boards and what you said is the honest truth. Most leadership positions are thankless jobs for sure !
 

ELBEE

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Feb 7, 2007
Messages
635
Location
Blue Rapids, Kansas
Jeremy, well written! So in tune with what little I know about your family. Y'all made a positive impression on me!

I've known Alan Sears since he came to the ASA in the 70's, and he'll do fine.

I believe success can be measured by peace of mind. Right now there's not much peace of mind in the breed, as a whole.

Sometime in the last almost 50 years I've learned I'm responsible for my own breeding, marketing, and customer loyalty. I don't think it's the responsibility of the secretary to do that for me. I would only hope he wouldn't do anything to undermine my program.

Lee Bigham
ELBEE Farms
 

justintime

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May 26, 2007
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Saskatchewan Canada
Lee,  I agree with you completely. Any breeder who believes the ASA or any employee of the ASA is going to market their cattle or find customers for them, is dead wrong. I learned this a long time ago as well. It is up to each individual to market their cattle, and develop a good customer base. Like most areas of agriculture, we are all much better at the production side of the business, than we are the marketing side of the business. Some keep hoping some Messiah will become ASA secretary/ manager, and fix everything for their program.. Not going to happen.
 

oakbar

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Jan 20, 2008
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1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
I'd like to thank Jeremy, Lee, and Grant for their excellent overview and analysis of the situation in the Shorthorn breed.  I also agree that anyone who wants to gripe about the board, the advertising, or anything else for that matter should either step forward and serve or keep quiet. 

I read in our local paper today that 2.7% of the eligible voters turned out for our school board election last week.  2.7%!!!  How can people be so damn apathetic about voting in an election and yet so emotional when everything doesn't go their way??  I would venture to say that most breed association elections are very similar to our school board election although maybe not to that extreme.  Perhaps we should ask if someone actually took the time to vote before listening to their complaints!!

I trust the Shorthorn Assoc. board to make the best decisions they can with what they have to work with at the time.    I also challenge the members to address any concerns they have by talking individually with board members with an eye on mutually solving problems.  Leadership needs to be shown by the general membership as well as the elected officers.  Too many people only want to assign blame for whatever their personal concern happens to be.  We're all in this together so we all need to pull together to improve things--not make anonymous posts on a forum for all to see and further denigrate our breed.  This is akin to writing letters to the editor or passing around petitions to try to change local laws.  It usually doesn't accomplish anything positive but generally polarizes both sides and makes any solution harder to achieve.

I plan to let the Board of Directors know that if there is any way I can help them in their efforts to enhance and promote our breed, I will!!  I also promise not to complain about the breed on an open forum but talk privately and confidentially with the directors and staff with my concerns.  I'm sure the majority of our membership feels the same way.

Lynn Tenold
Oakbar Ranch     
 

M Bar

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May 21, 2008
Messages
134
Let me try.......Everyone is stupid, everything is terrible, show cattle are aweful, selling commericial bulls is a waste of time, I hate everything.  That was my best impression of "the truth".  Can anyone rate this????
 

knabe

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Feb 7, 2007
Messages
13,639
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Hollister, CA
M Bar said:
Let me try.......Everyone is stupid, everything is terrible, show cattle are aweful, selling commericial bulls is a waste of time, I hate everything.  That was my best impression of "the truth".  Can anyone rate this????


it's complaining about complainers.  i give it a 2/10. 
 

DL

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Jan 29, 2007
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"You're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem"  credited to Eldridge Cleaver, but actually his wife Kathleen came up with it before a big speech in the 60s.

"You choice" credited to DL, today.
 

stumpy

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May 1, 2007
Messages
293
Location
Great Bend, KS
I am curious, Why did Mr. Sears leave the association before? I have heard a lot about his love and devotion to Shorthorn cattle, I would just like to know.

-Jeff Stump
 

stick

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Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
388
I might be wrong and I apologize if I am. but if I remember right, the last ties he had with Shorthorns was working for Durham Management as editor of the Shorthorn Country. Durham Management was set up by Don Cagwin to oversee the magazine and get it back on its feet and out of red ink. After that I think he was working in Colorado
 

jnm

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Apr 17, 2007
Messages
86
"I also challenge the members to address any concerns they have by talking individually with board members with an eye on mutually solving problems"

I agree with the above. However I have a problem. Twice over the last 2-3 years  I have emailed a letter expressing a concern of mine to the entire board. I did not receive a response from anyone. A few months ago I sent an email to the President and V-president about a different matter.  One of their mail boxes was full and wouldn't accept the message and the other didn't respond. The last secretary didn't respond to an email either and I only got an answer to that question when a month later I faxed a copy of the email to the office and Qwen called. The secretary never did respond. I just chalk it up to the fact I'm small potatoes (about 80 registered shorthorns) but it would be nice to know that somebody at least pretends to care.
 
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