November Brings Change to WCA

By Hank Handzel
Thursday, November 20, 2008 7:50 AM CST

The month of November has brought several changes to the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association.

As some of you may know, Rose Mason, WCA’s administrative assistant advised the WCA Board at its September meeting that she would have to resign her position. The Board established a search committee and at its Nov. 13 meeting, hired Jamie VanOoyen as Mason’s replacement. VanOoyen began as WCA’s administrative assistant on Nov. 15. Mason will continue to assist VanOoyen with the transition of duties and responsibilities over the next several weeks. We have appreciated Mason’s services and wish her the best.

VanOoyen comes to WCA with significant experience as a legal assistant, and has great secretarial and administrative skills. VanOoyen had been previously hired by WCA to assist in updating the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program and other activities.

With the change of the administrative assistant position, WCA has also had to change its address, telephone number and fax number. Its new address will be 2 East Mifflin Street, Suite 600, Madison, WI 53703. At the time this article was written, the new local phone number and fax number were not available. They will be publicized on WCA’s website shortly. The 800-number will remain the same at 877-825-2547.

In addition to these changes, the Board also approved a program to improve WCA’s website. The website, which can be accessed at www.wisconsincattlemen.com will now have two levels. The first level will be available to the general public. The second level will only be able to be accessed by WCA members through a password system. The second level will contain information on the names and addresses of WCA members, WCA Board minutes, certain legislative coverage materials, and more. WCA members will soon be getting a temporary password, which will allow them to log into the second level. It is anticipated that this improved website will be up and operational by the end of December. The new website will be able to be accessed at the www.wisconsincattlemen.com address.

The WCA membership drive continues and the WCA Board approved providing two free tickets to the Badger basketball game against Penn State on Jan. 3. These tickets will be awarded to the individual who sells the most memberships by Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.

So, if you like Badger basketball, get out there and sell some memberships.

Also at the meeting, responses were provided on a number of important activities. Terry Quam provided a report on the results of the recent elections. All but two of the 18 candidates endorsed by WCA were elected.

Dave DeLong provided a short report on the World Beef Expo. This year’s Expo was very successful. Anyone involved in the cattle industry in Wisconsin should lend their support to the Expo to assure it continues to be held in Wisconsin.

Bill Zimmerman, vice president Region III, Policy division of NCBA, also attended the meeting and provided a short response on NCBA’s growth and activities. NCBA membership grew by 6.7 percent over the last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

Dan Jacobsen of the Western Wisconsin Beef Providers provided a short report on the first Badger VAC 45 sale, which will take place Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. at Equity in Sparta. So far, producers have indicated that they will bring in 350 head of cattle to be sold at the sale.

In other news, Dr. Dan Schaefer outlined the procedures that the University of Wisconsin will be following to find a replacement for Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, the UW-Extension beef cattle specialist. A large number of applications have been received from candidates with excellent qualifications. These individuals must submit letters of reference to UW-Madison by December. The Department hopes to have a list of finalists developed by Dec. 15. Interviews will take place in January and possibly February. The finalists will also be called upon to provide two seminars — one on campus and one on a site off-campus. These seminars will likely take place in January or early February as well. Byron Freeman of WCA is on what Schaefer termed a “client evaluation group.” This is a committee of five individuals representing various facets in the beef industry who will be served by the beef specialist. The plan is to have a candidate selected by the end of February, with the intent of having that individual on-board by summer.

Finally, planning continues for WCA’s Winter Conference. This conference will be held Feb. 6-7 in cooperation with the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association and Western Wisconsin Beef Producers. This year it will be held at the Cranberry Lodge in Tomah and the entertainment will include Michael Martin Murphy. Mark your calendars as this promises to be a great educational and fun event! Be safe out there!

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