NCBA Recognizes Grant, King, Hays
for Beef Advocacy Efforts
DENVER (Feb. 4, 2011) — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) recognized three communications professionals for their work in 2010 advocating for the U.S. beef industry. Specifically, NCBA awarded Jamie King, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) communications director, and Eric Grant, director of public relations and communications for the American Angus Association, with the Excellence in Communications and Public Relations award and Ron Hays of the Radio Oklahoma Network with the Excellence in Agricultural Journalism award.
“Day in and day out, communicators like Jamie, Eric and Ron go to work to tell the story of the U.S. beef industry. Whether they are keeping producers informed about market shifts or policy changes, or educating consumers about the realities of modern beef production, our industry relies on timely and accurate delivery of information,” NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said. “While there are many folks deserving of recognition for their hard work, these three communicators have gone above and beyond in their efforts of telling the true story about the U.S. beef industry.”
King has worked for the OCA for the past five years, has utilized new and traditional media tools to advocate for the beef industry and to encourage Ohio cattlemen and women to “tell their stories.” Woodall said in addition to sending out regular news releases about issues affecting cattle producers, King also manages a magazine that is produced bi-monthly, electronic and print newsletters, post cards and active Facebook and YouTube pages. She is a former National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) Board member.
From left, NCBA communications staff Mike Deering and Mary Geiger present Eric Grant the Excellence in Communications and Public Relations award.
Woodall said Grant is a prime example of how NCBA can accomplish its mission only by working as a team with state and breed affiliates. During the initial announcement of USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) proposed rule on livestock marketing to the end of the comment period, Grant was instrumental in educating producers about this regulation. In addition to organizing a conference call with NCBA leadership and all breed affiliates to ensure everyone was on the same page, he also distributed timely material, including widely viewed YouTube videos informing producers about varying viewpoints of the proposed rule.
In addition, Grant has developed the national television series, “I Am Angus,” which airs on RFD-TV and brings agriculture’s story to hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Cindy Zimmermann and Mike Deering present Ron Hays (center) of the Radio Oklahoma Network the Excellence in Agricultural Journalism award.
Hays has been involved in farm broadcasting since 1974 and has been a part of Oklahoma farm broadcasting since 1977. In addition to daily broadcasts, which are aired on more than 40 stations daily, Hays also sends daily e-mails, social media updates and maintains the Beef Buzz page on www.oklahomafarmreport.com. Woodall said Hays reports in an objective and fair manner and incorporates multiple perspectives in his broadcasts.
“NCBA is committed to ensuring the sustainability of the U.S. beef industry, and communicators like Jamie, Eric and Ron play a critical role in helping us accomplish that goal,” Woodall said. “They have dedicated their careers to ensuring all stakeholders in our industry have timely and accurate information. We commend them for their work in 2010 and look forward to working with them in the future to continue telling the story of U.S. cattlemen and women.”
###
Editor’s Note: The above article is adapted from a news release provided by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The original release is availble in the NCBA newroom.
www.4cattlemen.com is an event coverage site provided by the editorial team at Angus Productions Inc. (API), publisher of the Angus Journal, the Angus Beef Bulletin, the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA and the Angus e-List. For questions about this site, to submit an article for our consideration, or to report a broken link, contact the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506.
API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.