ACA Bulletin
Brian Sulak
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WORDS FROM YOUR BOARD
MEMBER:
Salutations
from the Board.
I must admit,
when I was
notified of my
responsibility
of writing this
article for the
Journal I cringed
a bit and chalked it up as another duty
my predecessor failed to tell me about.
But after some consideration of current
events in the ACA and some research of
concerns by fellow Chianina breeders it
may be hard for me to keep this brief.
Let me begin by saying that the
recently concluded AJCA Junior
National was a huge success. My compliments
to Heather, the Junior Board
and all of those who volunteered their
time and donated their money to such
a worthy cause. I am a long time supporter
of all events, local and national,
that involve the combination of youth
and agriculture. As a former junior
exhibitor and having been involved in
the FFA, I continue to believe that these
activities, along with 4-H, are crucial
to the future of our industry as well as
our children. The lessons learned, the
work ethic earned and the friendships
gained will last a lifetime. I apologize,
let me get off of my soapbox. The first, of hopefully many, Junior Nationals
held in conjunction with the American
Junior Maine-Anjou Association went
off without a hitch. The exhibitors,
parents and representatives from each
breed shared facilities, opinions and a
spirit of competition that was rivaled
only by the quality of livestock I had
the privilege of viewing. The Kemper
Foundation, as well as many other
businesses, were so pleased with our
efforts that they donated a substantial
amount of money to help cover the
costs of the facility. Many thanks to the
Kemper Foundation & UMB Bank for
such a generous gesture.
During the Junior Nationals, the ACA
held a very successful fund raising
event and I would like to thank all those
who donated items to the sale as well
as all those who bid and purchased
items. The event was a huge success
and we grossed $83,900. Since we did
all the promotion and preparations in
house, we should net around $80,000!
What a great event. Thank you to Jill
Miller and Ed Creason for their efforts
in putting this event together.
The joint Junior Nationals also gave
our Board, Executive Committee and
Long Range Planning Committee an
opportunity to meet alone, as well
as with the American Maine-Anjou
Association. These meetings were a
continuation of discussions and meetings
that have been ongoing since
before I was elected to the Board in
November. I must say that recent
events leave me with much concern.
Personal attacks have led to the loss
of one board member and the question
of business boardroom legal
ethics caused a shortage of Executive
Committee members. Can't we all just
get along? As the sole proprietor of no
less than four agriculture related enterprises,
I view this possible joint venture
as just what it is, the opportunity to
share costs in an effort to become more
efficient in today’s tough economic
climate. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m
not naïve enough not to consider all the
angles or possible pitfalls. How does it
affect our identity? Who are we joining
forces with? Does it make long term
financial sense? What about possible
legal ramifications?
As board members we have not yet
answered these questions to the extent
necessary to be considered responsible
elected board members. But, before we
ensue with attacks, accusations or the
threat of possible legal action, can’t we
instead react with conversation, helpful
hints or constructive criticism?
We continue to research the
accounting and legal aspects of this
venture and keep a constant awareness
of our identity, our staff and our membership.
All of your questions and concerns
are important to the Board. If you
would like, contact one of your regional
board representatives and ask them to
pass your thoughts along to the Board.
That’s what we are here for.
Having said that, I would like to say
that it is an honor to serve as a board
member. This is my first article to
appear in print and hope it isn’t the
last one they ask me to write for the
Journal.
Sincerely,
Brian Sulak, Southwest Region
Representative from Texas
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
UPDATE
The following member information
was not updated in time for the 2008
Membership Directory.
SDCA
Shane Dicks
151 B NW 40 Ave
Great Bend, KS 67530
(620) 792-9089
ACA NATIONAL SALE
CONSIGNMENT DEADLINE
OCT. 1
The deadline to consign animals to
the ACA National Sale in Louisville is
October 1. The nomination form can be
found in this issue of the ACJ. Please
consider consigning an animal to
this sale. This is your sale and cannot
happen without participation of the ACA members and breeders.
Just a few things that you need to
remember when consigning.
1) All animals and matings must
be TH & PHA free by verified DNA
testing or both parents must have
tested free with results on file with the
ACA. NO LOT WILL SELL WITHOUT
THIS INFORMATION. It can take up to a
month for these tests to be processed,
so please test your consignments as
soon as possible to ensure your results
are back before the catalog is printed.
Forms for testing can be found on the
ACA website under Genetic Testing
Info. All TH & PHA tests must be sent
through AgriGenomics.
2) The ACA is managing the sale this
year and all consignment forms and
fees should be sent directly to the ACA
office.
If you have any questions about
the ACA National Sale, please contact
Rob Sheets at (765) 583-4565 or Neal
Branscum at (606) 872-5395.
ACA NATIONAL SHOW ENTRY
DEADLINE OCT. 1 – NAILE
UPDATES ENTRY FEES
The deadline for entering cattle in the
ACA National Show during the NAILE
in Louisville is Oct. 1. All entries, both
junior and open, must be submitted
to the NAILE by Oct. 1, along with the
appropriate fees. A copy of the entry,
along with the ACA's portion of the
entry fee must be sent directly to the
ACA office by the same date in order to
complete your entries. Please abide by
these rules to make the entry process
smoother for everyone involved.
Also, entries MUST BE REGISTERED
prior to submitting entries for the show.
Ownership deadline for junior animals
was Aug. 1, 2008.
Also, the NAILE has increased their
portion of entry fees to $30/head. That
brings the total ACA Open Show entry
fee to $55 ($30 to NAILE and $25 to
ACA) and $40 for junior entries ($30 to
NAILE and $10 to ACA).
Entry forms may be obtained from
the NAILE by calling (502) 367-6133 or
online at www.livestockexpo.org.
If you have any questions, please
contact Heather Counts, Show Director,
at (517) 214-0927 or by email at
acjeditor@earthlink.net
2008 NAILE & ACA
NATIONAL SHOW TENTATIVE
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 13
Early Arrival – Stalls assigned in afternoon
Friday, Nov. 14
Noon All junior heifers must be in
place
Open cattle may arrive all day
Saturday, Nov. 15
10 a.m. Junior Heifer Check-in
2 p.m. AJCA Board Meeting
4 p.m. AJCA Membership Meeting
6 p.m. All open cattle must be in
place
Sunday, Nov. 16
TBA Junior Show – Coliseum
Monday, Nov. 17
9 a.m. Open Show cattle check-in
11 a.m. Ladies Auxiliary Luncheon
7 p.m. Herdsman's Social
Tuesday, Nov. 18
9:30 a.m. ACA Regional Meetings
10:30 a.m. ACA Membership Meeting
3 p.m. ACA National Sale
6 p.m. ACA Social Hour
7 p.m. ACA National Banquet,
Awards Presentations &
Benefit Auction
Wednesday, Nov. 19
8 a.m. ACA National Show
NEW HEADQUARTERS HOTEL
FOR ACA NATIONAL SHOW
The ACA announces a new headquarters
hotel for the 2008 ACA National
Show. The Executive West Hotel will
serve as the headquarters and national
banquet site.
Executive West Hotel
830 Phillips Lane
Louisville, KY 40209
(800) 626-2708
To make reservations, please call
the hotel directly at the phone number
above. Or, if you prefer to reserve
rooms online, you may visit www.executivewest.com and use the code#
923687 to make sure you are put in our
block. Room rate is $115/night + tax.
Rooms must be reserved by Oct. 14 in
order to receive the block rate. When
making reservations, ask for the American
Chianina Association block.
FORMER ACA BOARD
CHAIRMAN & PROMINENT
EARLY CHI BREEDER DIES AT
AGE 95
Sam Barr, 95, of Kearney, Mo., died
Saturday, June 21, 2008 at Liberty
Hospital. Sam was born June 1, 1913
in Kearney, Mo., the son of Gilbert and
Mabel Froman Barr. He was reared in
Kearney and graduated from Kearney
High School. He attended William
Jewell College for a short time, but had
to return to the family farm due to the
economic conditions caused by the
Great Depression. On Jan. 6, 1935, in
Liberty, Mo., he married Emily Turnage.
Together they shared 73 years as
husband and wife. Sam spent his entire
life as a cattle farmer and in his later
years, he and his son raised thoroughbred
racing horses. Sam was still active
in the family business at the time of his
death.
During his most active years, he
had served on the Kearney School
Board, as a Director of the Kearney
Commercial Bank, as a Director of the American Angus Association and
was a past member of the American
Chianina Association. Sam's member
number was 9 and his son, Jack Barr,
was ACA CEO during the first half of
the 80s. Sam was also a former long
time member of the board of Platte-
Clay Electric, a former member of the
Kearney Lions Club and a former Clay
County Republican Committeeman.
He was a member of the First Christian
Church of Kearney, where he had
served as church board chairman, elder
and currently held the title of Elder
Emeritus.
He was preceded in death by his
parents; a daughter, Beverly Barr; two
brothers, David and Louis Barr; and one
sister Mina Ruth Spicer. Sam is survived
by his wife, Emily; his son Jack
Barr; and several nephews and nieces.
Memorial contributions may be made
to the Buidling Fund, First Christian
Church, 2151 S. Jefferson St., Kearney,
MO 64060.
GENETIC DEFECT TEST &
PARENTAL VERIFICATION
REMINDER
All AI Sires and Donor Dams MUST
be tested for all known genetic defects
and be parentally verified, with results
released to the ACA, before resulting
calves can be registered. Please be
sure to have your cattle tested in a
timely manner so registrations are not
delayed.
Also, please note that the PHA test
is now available. For those animals
that previously had the TH test done,
breeders may contact the AgriGenomics
lab at (217) 762-9808 and
request the PHA test be run on your
cattle. The fee for this additional test is
$15.
Submission forms and information
can be found on the ACA website, www.chicattle.org, under the Genetic Testing
Info tab.
If you have any questions regarding
genetic defect tests, please contact the
ACA office and we will be glad to assist
you.
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