February 5, 2007
For More Information Contact:
Judy Malone (303) 771-3500, ext. 35, or judym@sheepusa.org
Peter Orwick (303) 771-3500, ext. 33, or porwick@sheepusa.org (Electronic Photos Available Upon Request)
DENVER, Colo. - February 5, 2007 - Outstanding U.S. sheep industry members were honored for their contributions to the industry at an award luncheon held Jan. 26, 2007, at the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI)/National Lamb Feeders Association Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Guy Flora of Cardington, Ohio, received a standing ovation as he accepted the McClure Silver Ram Award for his tireless leadership to the Ohio and the U.S. sheep industry for many years. Flora's local and state leadership is portrayed with his involvement on the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association Board and the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program Board. On a national level, Flora has served as secretary/treasurer, vice president and president of ASI.
For the last 20 years, Flora has served as editor/publisher of The Shepherd Magazine, which has grown to be a well-respected publication for the sheep industry. He continues to serve as an outstanding educator, mentor and shepherd for the U.S. sheep industry.
As his nominator, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, said, Flora had tremendous leadership capacities at the national level, guiding ASI into a new, positive direction and that he is one of the few national sheep industry leaders from east of the Mississippi River.
The Camptender Award was presented to Wayne Purcell, Ph.D., of Riner, Va., for his decades of valuable research work on issues related to the sheep and lamb industry.
Purcell has worked on sheep and lamb marketing issues since the 1970s, when he developed an electronic auctioning system. Through his years as a faculty member at Virginia Tech University, Purcell has focused on issues such as impacts of concentration on prices paid for livestock, performance and efficiency of livestock meat markets and price-risk management strategies for livestock among many others. In addition, he provided valuable technical advice and counsel to the petitioners of the 201 trade case, which brought considerable compensation to sheep producers nationwide.
More recently, Purcell's hard work and dedication provided the econometric model for ASI's Livestock Risk Protection (LRP)-Lamb project.
Regarding his work on the LRP-Lamb project, Margaret Soulen Hinson, sheep producer from Idaho, says, "Dr. Wayne Purcell's work to develop the model was the foundation of our effort in this project. His involvement and reputation was instrumental in convincing the Federal Crop Insurance Commission that LRP-Lamb is a sound project."
M. Quinn Jacobson of Dubois, Idaho, was awarded the ASI Flock Guardian Award for his 30 years of dedication at the University of Idaho's U.S. Sheep Experiment Station where he manages three bands of sheep and herders.
Jacobson's focus on range and wildlife management has made him a valuable asset on several committees, such as the Upper Snake River Sage Grouse Working Group and the Idaho Sage Grouse Committee. He is a member of the Idaho Wool Growers Association as well as several other sheep and range associations.
Nominated by the Idaho Wool Growers Association, they said that Jacobson is a valuable asset to sheep producers as an ever-helpful information resource.
Winning the Shepherd's Voice Award for Broadcast Media was Tony Purcell of Dallas, Texas. He has provided extensive, continuing broadcast news coverage for the sheep industry, giving professional, balanced reports that reflect real affects on the industry and real affects the industry has on the world.
Purcell has covered issues affecting the sheep industry in Texas and across the United States, ranging from legislative issues to drought impacts. He established a segment in the award-winning Lone Star Farm and Ranch Report dedicated to coverage of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association.
His nominator said that Purcell has an extensive understanding of the sheep industry and its markets, which allows him to provide sale barn, wool and mohair market reports from the state, national and international arenas.
Receiving the Shepherd's Voice for Print Media, Chuck Stocks of Albuquerque, N.M., has been supporting the sheep and wool industry for 32 years through his publication, The New Mexico Stockman.
The New Mexico Wool Growers Association (NMWG), his nominator, said that Stocks offers a much-appreciated voice for sheep producers in New Mexico and is a strong supporter of the association.
Stocks provides ready access to his subscribers by publishing NMWG press releases and current information about the industry on a state and national level. He also publishes the Arizona Catalog and the Livestock Market Digest.
The owner of Shady Side Farm in Holland, Mich., Michael Bronkema, is the recipient of the Environmental Stewardship Award for being the first operation to be certified under the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program. This program requires a high degree of environmental stewardship and takes many years to achieve.
Bronkema has implemented many conservation and resource stewardship practices, such as composting manure in an in-vessel composter, utilizing filter strips, storm-water runoff control structures and windbreaks for erosion control and practicing rotational grazing. In addition, he has hosted several tours of his operation to educate others about his stewardship practices.
ASI is a national trade organization supported by 44 state sheep associations, benefiting the interests of nearly 68,000 sheep producers.
<< Back