For More Information Contact:
Peter Orwick (303) 771-3500, ext. 33, or porwick@sheepusa.org
Judy Malone (303) 771-3500, ext. 35, or judym@sheepusa.org
Denver, Colo. – Margaret Soulen Hinson of Weiser, Idaho, was elected president of the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) at the 2011 ASI/National Lamb Feeders Association Convention in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 22. Soulen Hinson is the second woman president in the association’s 146-year history.
Soulen Hinson is a third-generation livestock producer. The Soulen family has a range sheep and cattle operation. Soulen Livestock runs approximately 8,000 head of ewes and 800 cows. They have been in business since the early 1920s. The business is headquartered in Weiser and operates in eight Idaho counties. Soulen Livestock’s base property is comprised of approximately 50,000 acres that is used in conjunction with various state, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and private land leases.
Soulen Hinson attended the University of Idaho from 1974 to 1979 majoring in special education and elementary education. After graduation, she came back to the family livestock business and has been actively involved in various industry associations.
Soulen Hinson is past chairman of the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission. She currently is a member of the University of Idaho’s Citizen’s Advisory Board for the Policy Analysis Group, is on the board of directors for the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho and serves on the Third Judicial Magistrate Commission. She chairs the Weiser Memorial Hospital Board and has co-chaired the ASI Prescribed Grazing Committee and chairs the ASI Resolutions Committee.
Commenting on her election to the office, Soulen Hinson says, “I feel so honored to be elected president of ASI. The sheep industry is such a unique and wonderful industry, filled with wonderful people, and we produce the finest products. We are at a truly exciting time in our industry. All segments on both the lamb and wool front are unified and working together. We have record prices and demand continues to increase. The future for the sheep industry is very bright.”
Other officers elected to the ASI Executive Board at the convention were Clint Krebs of Ione, Ore., to the office of vice president and Burton Pfliger of Bismarck, N.D., to the office of secretary/treasurer.
ASI is a national trade organization supported by 45 state sheep associations, benefiting the interests of more than 82,000 sheep producers.