Florida Junior Cattlemen’s Association

Junior Trail

Hello my fellow Jr. FCA members. My name is Cody Corson. I was elected president for the Junior Cattlemen’s this year at our annual fall field day. I would like to let everyone know what the junior cattlemen have accomplished and what we have planned for the future.

On January 27th a group of us went to San Antonio for the National Cattlemen’s Convention. At the convention we competed in team marketing, quiz bowl, public speaking, and livestock judging. We did quite well again this year. Our team marketing individuals were from Manatee County and they won first place. The team consisted of Samantha Newman, Courtney Wyngate, and Clint Thum. The judges for this contest stated, “The team could have used a lot more competition” I would like to add, that the judges also said, “they did better than the four college teams that competed in the colligate level.”! For winning, the team got a plaque and $500. The quiz bowl team also did exceptionally well. We went undefeated in every round we played. The quiz bowl team consisted of Brittany Warren, Haley Webb, Clint Thum, Courtney Wingate, and me. We won first place and were awarded plaques and $500. We had three participants from Florida compete in public speaking. The participants were Kaitlyn Gill, Rebecca Lee, and Harley Zoeckler. I have to say that these three young ladies did very well. Kaitlyn Gill won 4th place, Harley Zoeckler was awarded 5th place, and Rebecca Lee received 6th. They were up against stiff competition against collegiate members who are majoring in public speaking. All of the FJCA members competed in the livestock judging contest on Friday morning. In the senior division, Samantha Newman was awarded 5th high individual. Also, in the novice division, 6 year old Clay Wyngate won 3rd high individual. After we finished our competitions, we had the opportunity to experience the NCBA trade show. Thanks to Mr. Wyngate, who made the arrangements, we were given the opportunity to visit the Graham Feedlot in Gonzales, Texas. Here, we were able to see how a feedlot operation is ran and organized. The rest of the week we went to some tourist areas and saw all the sites San Antonio has to offer. On behalf of the members and parents I would like to thank Mrs. Frances Yarborough and Mr. Ed Dillard for setting this up for us to go on this trip. I would also like to thank Mr. Wyngate and Mr. Thum for driving us around and helping us find our way through San Antonio. I would like to give a big thank you to the Manatee County Cattlemen for sponsoring their youth and the Florida Cattlemen’s Association for sponsoring all the members who competed in the NCBA contests. We appreciate your support. More thanks and appreciation to Mrs. Yarborough who gives countless hours of her time to work with us and get us involved in our industry. She is our inspiration.

Something brand new this year for all junior members is the Junior Ranch Rodeo. The first Junior Rodeo will be on February 27, 2010 at the Central Florida Fair in Orlando. As of this writing, there are 5 confirmed teams, possibly 6, signed up to compete. We will have team sorting, calf roping and branding, steer decorating, steer riding and a relay race. This will be a fun and exciting event. If you didn’t get a team together for this year, make sure you start making plans for next year. You must be a Jr. member to compete, so start recruiting new members for your team.

The Florida Cattlemen’s Convention at Marco Island will be here before you know it. It’s time to start practicing for quiz bowl and team marketing. If you’ve never participated in any of these events, you are missing out on a lot of fun and good experience for your future in the cattle industry. Who knows, maybe you will be a contestant at the next NCBA convention in Denver, Colorado competing on behalf of the Florida Cattlemen’s. I have made many new friends from all over the State by participating and have gained a lot of knowledge. We will, once again, have the photo contest and T-Shirt design contest so start taking those pictures and get some design ideas for our new shirts.

Until next time, Get Involved – Stay Involved – Make A Difference in our Industry.

Cody Corson
President, JFCA
407/568-9575

FJCA Officers
President:
Kaitlyn Gill
813-634-2030
brahmangirl01@aol.com

Vice President:
Tom Richmond
407-242-3236
tomrichmond@bellsouth.net

Secretary:
Haley Webb
941-637-1848
CWebbowebb@aol.com

Treasurer:
JK Yarborough
407-366-2171
francesyarborough@att.net

Ex-Officio:
Cody Corson
407-470-2037
corsonj@bellsouth.net

Advisor:
Frances Yarborough
407-366-2171
francesyarborough@att.net

Adviser:
Marie Fussell
marie.fussell@polk-fl.net