Leading the Business Breed
The American Angus Association announced new members and officers for its Board of Directors during the 131st Annual Convention of Delegates in Kansas City, Mo. Those serving the Association for three-year terms are: Jerry Connealy, Whitman, Neb.; David Dal Porto, Brentwood, Calif.; John Grimes, Hillsboro, Ohio; James Henderson, Memphis, Texas; and Dave Nichols, Bridgewater, Iowa.
Steve Olson, Hereford, Texas, was elected as the new Association president and chairman of the Board of Directors. He succeeds Gordon Stucky of Kingman, Kan.
Jim Sitz, Dillon, Mont., was elected by delegates to serve as Association vice president and vice chairman of the Board of Directors.
Charlie Boyd, Mays Lick, Ky., will serve as the 2014-2015 treasurer.
A total of 305 elected delegates from 39 states, Washington D.C. and Canada represented Association members during the Annual Convention of Delegates hosted at the KCI Expo Center in conjunction with the first-ever Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show.
2014-2015 American Angus Association Newly Elected Board Members
Jerry Connealy is one of seven children raised on the family ranch south of Whitman, Neb., by his parents, Marty and Donnie. Jerry began artificially inseminating (AIing) alongside his father at the age of 13 and returned to the ranch with his wife, Sharon, after graduating from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1981. They’re joined on the ranch today by son Jed and his wife, Kara. Jerry and Sharon’s other children are Ben, Hannah and Gabriel.
David A. Dal Porto was born in Brentwood, Calif., where he was raised on his family’s commercial cattle and farming operation. He and his wife, Jeanene, still manage their registered- and commercial-Angus operations near Oakley, Brentwood and other areas of northern California. They have three children, Lindsey, A.J. and Dawson.
John Grimes is a second-generation Angus breeder who was raised on his family’s Angus and commercial cow-calf operation, Maplecrest Farms, near Hillsboro, Ohio, where the family remains involved in the farm’s management and operation. He graduated with an animal science degree from the Ohio State University in 1983 and returned home to manage the family farming operation. He and his wife, Joanie, have two daughters: Lindsey and Lauren.
James Henderson was born in Kerrville, Texas, as a fourth-generation rancher in the Texas Hill Country. He received a degree in animal science in 1977 from Texas A&M University, and moved to a career in the meatpacking and processing industry. In 2004, James married Mary Lou Bradley, and the couple continues the time-tested traditions of Bradley 3 Ranch. James has two daughters, Hayley and Mary Katherine.
Dave Nichols of Bridgewater, Iowa, was raised on his father’s small cattle-feeding operation. Starting as a tenant farmer, Nichols Farms has now grown to 5,500 acres, breeding 1,500 head this spring and maintaining a small feedlot. Nichols Farms oversees the breeding of and marketing of an additional 1,500 cooperator and franchise cows. Nichols Farms’ managing partners are Dave; his wife, Phyllis; and his sister-in-law, Lillian.
For more news from the Angus Means Business National Convention and Trade Show, visit www.angusconvention.com. Also plan to tune in to The Angus Report at 7:30 a.m. CDT Monday, Nov. 17, for full coverage on RFD-TV.
Source: American Angus Association
