AEC's Laurent named 'National Beef Ambassador'
A Texas Tech University freshman from Winnsboro was tapped as a new National Beef Ambassador by the American National CattleWomen Foundation (ANCW) at a special ceremony on Oct. 11 in Fort Smith, Ark.
Mandy-Jo Laurent, 18, an agriculture communications major with minors in political science and animal science, joins four other students from across the nation as members of the organization's 2010 National Beef Ambassador Team. Team members are frequent guest speakers on topics ranging from food safety to nutrition.
"This is the only program of its kind in the nation where youth are required to defend the beef industry to other youth armed with scientific facts and the best practices of beef production," said Rosemary Gambino, Texas' state chair for the National Beef Ambassador Contest.
Other members of the newly-named team are Ellen Hoffschneider of Arlington, Neb., Malorie Bankhead of Livermore, Calif., Rebecca Vraspir of Laramie, Wyo., and Jackson Alexander of Anadarko, Okla. In addition to being selected to the team, students were awarded $5,000 in cash prizes from Groseta Ranches, as well as five ANCW educational scholarships totaling $3,750.
Participants competed in four categories: media interview, consumer promotion, issues response and classroom presentation. According to officials, they were judged on the depth of their industry knowledge, impromptu, informative, verbal expression, composure, confidence, manners and appearance.
Managed by the ANCW and administered by the Cattlemen's Beef Board, the program is funded through the Beef Checkoff Program, which was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff program assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products.
Officials said that states retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the cattlemen's beef promotion and research board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Written by Norman Martin
CONTACT: Moriah Beyers, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2805, ext. 248 or moriah.beyers@ttu.edu
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Editor's Note: For more information click www.txcattlewomen.org or www.nationalbeefambassador.org
Davis College NewsCenter
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