Approximately 215 Junior Beefmaster Breeders Association (JBBA) members and approximately 460 head of cattle from all over Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi gathered the week of July 21-26, 2019 at the Bell County Exposition Center in Belton, Texas for a fun-filled week at the 2019 “Beef in the Heart of Texas” JBBA National Show and Convention.
In addition to the cattle shows, the event also included contests and new competitions; Beef Skillathon and “Tell Your Beefmaster Story” video contest. The inaugural year of the video contest had an impressive 41 entries. A leadership conference, silent and live auctions, family fun night, awards banquet, and dance were also part of this annual event.
“I would like to express my sincere thanks to all sponsors, junior leaders, BBU staff, JBBA Adult committee, BBU members and other volunteers for all of their support and contributions,” said JBBA Director of Youth Programs Bonnie Ramirez. “It takes a village to make a high caliber event of this magnitude happen and because of the like-minded team we have, that believe in our youth program, it was a great event.”
During the convention JBBA members elected the following individuals to represent them as the 2019-2020 JBBA Board of Directors and Officers.
• President: Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas
• President Elect: Troy Glaser of Rogers, Texas
• Secretary: Nikki Brady of Carrizo Springs, Texas
• Treasurer: Faith Martin of New Ulm, Texas
• Reporter: Camrin Byers of Henrietta, Texas
• District 1 Directors: Bryanna Hardin of Sweeny, Texas, and Hudson Ham of Bellville, Texas
• District 2 Directors: April Solis of Mission, Texas and Lukas Mazac of Columbus, Texas
• District 3 Directors: Isaiah Madison of New Ulm, Texas and Caeden Scherer of Brenham, Texas
• District 4 Directors: Victoria Vera of Edinburg, Texas, and Bennett Janssen of Victoria, Texas
• District 5 Directors: Travis Glaser of Rogers, Texas and Braylee Cowan of Dodd City, Texas
The annual event consisted of several competitions including public speaking, photography, video, livestock judging and Beef Skillathon.
The winners of the public speaking contest are as follows:
• Junior 1st place: Lane Hendricks of Flynn, Texas
• Intermediate 1st place: Kayl Tassin of Bush, La.
• Senior 1st place: Abi Hooper of Joaquin, Texas
The winners of the photography contest are as follows:
• Junior 1st place: Makenzie Low of Alto, Texas
• Intermediate 1st place: Sarah Wells of Grapevine, Texas
• Senior 1st place: Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas
The winners of the video contest are as follows:
• Junior 1st place: Lane Hendricks of Flynn, Texas
• Intermediate 1st place: Kolton Brady of Carrizo Springs, Texas
• Senior 1st place: Melvin (Raleigh) Scherer IV of Brenham, Texas
The winners of the livestock judging contest are as follows:
• Junior 1st place: Wylie Butler of Cameron, Texas
• Intermediate 1st place: Kennedy Hobbs of Thorndale, Texas
• Senior 1st place: Travis Glaser of Rogers, Texas
The winners of the Beef Skillathon contest are as follows:
• Junior 1st place: Haidan Lee of Azle, Texas
• Intermediate 1st place: Mackenzie M. Lee of Sealy, Texas
• Senior 1st place: Garrett Melnar of Bellville, Texas
JBBA members exhibited their cattle in six different shows over the week, including; an ultrasound carcass contest, showmanship competition, a bred and owned heifer show, a bred and owned bull show, a Beefmaster E6/Advancer heifer show and the JBBA National Heifer Show.
The winners of the ultrasound carcass contest are as follows:
• Class 1 Heifers: Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas
• Class 2 Heifers: Mark Ovalle of Edinburg, Texas
• Class 3 Heifers: Rheagan Karisch of Ellinger, Texas
• Class 4 Heifers: Gracey Leopold of West Columbia, Texas
• Class 1 Bulls: Reese Tassin of Bush, La.
The winners of the showmanship competition are as follows:
• Junior Champion Showman: Eli Middleton of Alto, Texas
• Junior Reserve Champion Showman: Lane Hendricks of Flynn, Texas
• Intermediate Champion Showman: Raymie Emmons of Streetman, Texas
• Intermediate Reserve Champion Showman: Sarah Wells of Grapevine, Texas
• Senior and Pevine Hicks Memorial Champion Showman: Saige Tassin of Bush, La.
• Senior Reserve Champion Showman: Shawn Skaggs of DeLeon, Texas
The winners of the Bred and Owned Heifer Show are as follows:
• Grand Champion Bred and Owned Heifer: BR Selena owned by Amelia Buckley of Collins, Miss.
• Reserve Grand Champion Bred and Owned Heifer: J3 Gemma owned by Cade Judd of Gilmer, Texas
The winners of the Bred and Owned Bull Show are as follows:
• Grand Champion Bred and Owned Bull: Jack owned by Caitlin Vargas of Edinburg, Texas
• Reserve Grand Champion Bred and Owned Bull: EMS Prince Harry owned by Raegan Emmons of Streetman, Texas
The winners of the Beefmaster E6/Advancer heifer show are as follows:
• Grand Champion E6/Advancer Heifer: B Bar Honey owned by Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas
• Reserve Grand Champion E6/Advancer Heifer: BR Tigress owned by Amelia Buckley of Collins, Miss.
The winners of the JBBA National Heifer Show are as follows:
• Grand Champion Heifer: Ellis’ Phyllis owned by Braylee Cowan of Dodd City, Texas
• Reserve Grand Champion Heifer: J3 Gemma owned by Cade Judd of Gilmer, Texas
To wrap up the event, JBBA members and their families attended the annual awards banquet and dance. Contest and event winners from throughout the week were announced and received awards. All-Around Champions were awarded in each age division, determined from points earned throughout the week. The All-Around Champions are awarded based on accumulated points in the National Junior Heifer Show, Bred and Owned Show, Judging Contest, Public Speaking Contest, Beef Skillathon, Photography Contest, Video Contest, Leadership Conference (Intermediate & Seniors only), and Showmanship Contest. The top ten in each age division were recognized.
The All-Around Champion Awards were presented to the following JBBA members:
• All-Around Junior: Ruby Redden of Midway, Texas
• All-Around Intermediate: Kolton Brady of Carrizo Springs, Texas
• All-Around Senior: Melvin (Raleigh) Scherer IV of Brenham, Texas
In addition to contest awards, several scholarships were awarded to the following senior JBBA members:
• Brian L. Murphy Memorial Scholarship: Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas
• JBBA Scholarships: Amelia Buckley of Collins, Miss., Kodi Stapp of Shawnee, Okla., Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas and Caitlin Vargas of Edinburg, Texas
• Beefmaster Educational Endowment Foundation (B.E.E.F.) Scholarship: Melvin (Raleigh) Scherer IV of Brenham, Texas, Camrin Byers of Henrietta, Texas, Saige Tassin of Bush, La., and Amelia Buckley of Collins, Miss.
• Beefmaster Breeders Cattlewoman Scholarship: Cade Judd of Gilmer, Texas, Camrin Byers of Henrietta, Texas, Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas, Haley Guerrero of Fayetteville, Texas, Paige Zeringue of Saint Amant, La., Kallie Wallace of Leaksville, Miss., and Isaiah Madison of New Ulm, Texas.
• Kenneth Lewis and Robert Miles Memorial JBBA Scholarship: Camrin Byers of Henrietta, Texas, Isaiah Madison of New Ulm, Texas, Braylee Mackie of Lott, Texas and Kallie Wallace of Leaksville, Miss.
• East Texas/Louisiana Marketing Group Scholarship: Camrin Byers of Henrietta, Texas, Amelia Buckley of Collins, Miss., Haley Guerrero of Fayetteville, Texas, Isaiah Madison of New Ulm, Texas and Kodi Stapp of Shawnee, Okla.
This year the WorkHorse Award was presented to Isaiah Madison of New Ulm, Texas. The WorkHorse Award honors an individual that demonstrates a great work ethic, who willingly goes above and beyond what their responsibilities call for during the JBBA National Show and Convention.
Finally, the JBBA Top Hand Award was presented to Nikki Brady of Carrizo Springs, Texas. This award is like the BBU Breeder-of-the-Year Award, as it recognizes the JBBA member that participates in JBBA and BBU programs and is involved in building their herd and marketing their cattle.
In recognition of outstanding JBBA volunteers’ service, dedication, time, and support to the JBBA program, the JBBA Helping Hand Award were presented to Bob and Pam Welborn and family.
The BBU Staff and JBBA Board of Directors would like to thank all those that made this year’s event possible and congratulate all the participants. They look forward to next year’s 36th Annual JBBA National Convention and Show to be held in same location in Belton, Texas, but different dates of July 19-24, 2020.
