A Few Words From the Chair

It has been a busy week already here at the Cattle Industry Summer conference and the real work of full committee meetings is just getting started today!

Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Lucinda Williams, a dairy producer from Massachusetts, brings a unique perspective to the CBB. I talked with her about some of the issues the Board has been dealing with this week, including the nomination process for CBB elected positions, the national checkoff budget, good news about the return on investment of checkoff dollars, and just what her year has been like so far as CBB chair.

Listen to my interview with Lucinda here:

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Download Lucinda’s interview here: Lucinda Williams

The second general session of the 2009 Cattle Industry Summer Conference this morning was a team effort hosted by the NCBA and the CBB. After presentations by the CEOs of both organizations, Lucinda shared the stage with NCBA President Gary Voogt and both of them stressed the importance of being involved in the committee process today to help set the stage for decisions to be made during the joint Board meeting tomorrow and the Beef Promotion Operating Committee in September.

“Now the real work begins,” Lucinda said. “Each one of you needs to be fully engaged in this process. Once our committees have established their direction, the essence of what the checkoff and the organizations will do for the upcoming year has been established. That means that as individuals, each one of us has a lot of responsibility. You are the representative beef producers, not just in your states, but nationwide. Their voices are heard through your voices.”