AHA News

[mehf]

2/11/15 Just saw a post on FB from the BUY HEREFORD line which stated that Craig Huffines is resigning from the AHA in March to take the leadership of the American Quarter Horse Association.  I have not tried to verify this.  Any comments and thoughts?

[randy]

I hear Brian Williams is looking for a job... ROFL....

[Deleted]

hereford.org/node/11752

[Glenn]

Wow. Thanks for posting guys!

[oldduffer]

Roy Rogers & Dale Evans sang it best: "Happy trails to you...................."




"I may not be right but I'm dam sure!!"

[Deleted]

The AQHA says the new position begins on March 1, 2015. Considering the discussion, rumors and change surrounding the Angus world over the past 6-8 months, its pretty amazing this story was dead silent. Not a peep of this in Denver. Curious if any board members saw this coming. It makes a person wonder how long this was in the works? His choice? Was he forced out? Who should be his replacement?

[George]

Feb 11, 2015 14:42:51 GMT -6 @rancher1868 said:

The AQHA says the new position begins on March 1, 2015. Considering the discussion, rumors and change surrounding the Angus world over the past 6-8 months, its pretty amazing this story was dead silent. Not a peep of this in Denver. Curious if any board members saw this coming. It makes a person wonder how long this was in the works? His choice? Was he forced out? Who should be his replacement?

All I can say is that I hope he isn't replaced by "Shortie" Soules!

[bookcliff]

there have been numerious times Craig and I haven't seen eye to eye. however, he presided over the pheonix rising from the ashes, the very same ashes Hop created. he was the crutial link in the foundation of CHB and without it I dare say we would not be seeing the level of resurgaince of interest in the breed.I firmly contend that he had and will continue to have a passion for this breed, and that his heart was in the right place.


before those of you who are disagree with my viewpoint on this start hammering away, ask you self one question, will the person hired to fill Craigs position move this breed forward beyond what he did or will that hire move it backwards. for those of you whom are glad to see Craig leaving, be careful what you wish for, because there are those whom covent this position within the purebred business that are truly the devil and have the political pull to attain it is they so desire.

I for one am proud to call him my friend.

[Glenn]

Feb 11, 2015 16:52:17 GMT -6 George said:

[quote author="@rancher1868" source="/post/24665/thread" timestamp="1423687371" Who should be his replacement?

All I can say is that I hope he isn't replaced by "Shortie" Soules!
[/quote]

Surely that would be out of the realm of possibility?!?!?!?!? I've toyed with quitting registering the calves, that might sure push me to that.

I don't agree 100% with Ward, but seems as though he's paid his dues and should have a shot at it if he wants it. Of course the big rumors were he was going to AAA after the coup....

Interesting for sure. I do wish Craig well in his new endeavor.

[Glenn]

Feb 11, 2015 17:02:13 GMT -6 bookcliff said:

there have been numerious times Craig and I haven't seen eye to eye. however, he presided over the pheonix rising from the ashes, the very same ashes Hop created. he was the crutial link in the foundation of CHB and without it I dare say we would not be seeing the level of resurgaince of interest in the breed.I firmly contend that he had and will continue to have a passion for this breed, and that his heart was in the right place.


before those of you who are disagree with my viewpoint on this start hammering away, ask you self one question, will the person hired to fill Craigs position move this breed forward beyond what he did or will that hire move it backwards. for those of you whom are glad to see Craig leaving, be careful what you wish for, because there are those whom covent this position within the purebred business that are truly the devil and have the political pull to attain it is they so desire.

I for one am proud to call him my friend.

Good post. I have been lots of places and talked to lots of breeders and as owner of this website I have gotten literally THOUSANDS of emails and PM's from members and lurkers of all stripes. I have never heard anyone bad mouth Craig. I think he has done an admirable job. I really think he and Ward stood tall when some people wanted to hide the IE deal.

I wish him the best! And besides he'll get back home to Texas!!!

[picketwire]

Very well said, Tom.

[btlrupert]

Who will be considered for the job? Who would be a good fit?

[btlrupert]

Who will be considered for the job? Who would be a good fit?

[mehf]

Feb 11, 2015 17:02:13 GMT -6 bookcliff said:

there have been numerious times Craig and I haven't seen eye to eye. however, he presided over the pheonix rising from the ashes, the very same ashes Hop created. he was the crutial link in the foundation of CHB and without it I dare say we would not be seeing the level of resurgaince of interest in the breed.I firmly contend that he had and will continue to have a passion for this breed, and that his heart was in the right place.


before those of you who are disagree with my viewpoint on this start hammering away, ask you self one question, will the person hired to fill Craigs position move this breed forward beyond what he did or will that hire move it backwards. for those of you whom are glad to see Craig leaving, be careful what you wish for, because there are those whom covent this position within the purebred business that are truly the devil and have the political pull to attain it is they so desire.

I for one am proud to call him my friend.

Great and perspective words TK.  Thanks !!

[George]

Feb 11, 2015 19:10:30 GMT -6 btlrupert said:

Who will be considered for the job? Who would be a good fit?

Bryce Schumann??

[bltherf]

Feb 11, 2015 17:08:06 GMT -6 Glenn said:

Feb 11, 2015 17:02:13 GMT -6 bookcliff said:

there have been numerious times Craig and I haven't seen eye to eye. however, he presided over the pheonix rising from the ashes, the very same ashes Hop created. he was the crutial link in the foundation of CHB and without it I dare say we would not be seeing the level of resurgaince of interest in the breed.I firmly contend that he had and will continue to have a passion for this breed, and that his heart was in the right place.


before those of you who are disagree with my viewpoint on this start hammering away, ask you self one question, will the person hired to fill Craigs position move this breed forward beyond what he did or will that hire move it backwards. for those of you whom are glad to see Craig leaving, be careful what you wish for, because there are those whom covent this position within the purebred business that are truly the devil and have the political pull to attain it is they so desire.

I for one am proud to call him my friend.

Good post. I have been lots of places and talked to lots of breeders and as owner of this website I have gotten literally THOUSANDS of emails and PM's from members and lurkers of all stripes. I have never heard anyone bad mouth Craig. I think he has done an admirable job. I really think he and Ward stood tall when some people wanted to hide the IE deal.

I wish him the best! And besides he'll get back home to Texas!!! [/quote

Well said Tom. I have known Craig for sometime and worked with him a nit back in my days with the CHA Board. I would have nothing but good to say about how he conducted himself and the associations business whenever I had anything to do with him. I have heard criticisms from time to time here and elsewhere,but this was never my experience I think it's more just the nature of the job. You have a President for a boss, a board of directors for a boss and the entire membership who thinks they are your boss! As Tom mentioned the job of raising the Hereford profile and work on CHB have been admirable. I would wish him well in his new endeavours and look forward to visiting with him again

[Deleted]

Sat at the same table tonight with Jack Ward and the topic about Craig leaving did not come up. I hope he gets consideration, he does a good job and has done a lot to promote the breed. One interesting conversation tonight was how udder epds are calculated and how often people try to register an animal that needs a lot of work done to bring the animals in the pedigree up to date too. I'll write later about the udder epd when I have more time but Jack said he gets at least 2 or 3 files a week about registration of an animal where its not as simple as just betty DNA work done.very few ever make it through to registration because of the money and dna samples needed in order to do it.

[candymeadowfarms]

I feel Jack Ward is the man for the job. He's paid his dues as stated earlier. He also has done a tremendous job for this breed the past several years. From helping place Bulls in the major AI studs and helping with the sire test programs (Simplot, Olsen, Circle A) I feel he's been a major factor in the resurgence. The Hereford bull market has been better the past few years than its been in a long time. I know there are a lot of factors that contribute to this including better cattle, genetics, epds, calf market, etc, but he sure has helped a rolling ball pick up momentum! Who more deserving when you really think about it?

[okherefords]

Craig did a remarkable job!!! Especially considering the position he was put in right after the merger, to get the members working together, and to re-establish the Hereford breed.

Who ever it is and nothing should be off the table, the process must be fairly quickly, seemless, and a person who understands the cow calf operator, the feeder, packer and the branded beef marketplace, and understand the quickly changing world in genetic verification. Hopefully this will be a transparent process with the membership with membership input.

That individual needs to be able to lead, and let the board and members know that the marketplace is what matters, not what happens in the show ring, which at times and currently right now is totally going a different direction from what the cow calf man and feeder wants.

I run some black cattle and watch every Angus show on RFD. They have a huge effort on the commercial producer and moving a product towards the feeder, packer and consumer thru many different channels and avenues. We as a breed need shift our focus more in this area to stay competetive and the person strengths and background needs to be in this area.

[picketwire]

I'd like to see Joe rickabaugh move into the spot.

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2015 3:22:57 GMT -6 picketwire said:

I'd like to see Joe rickabaugh move into the spot.

There is a guy who knows all aspects of the beef industry and has hands on experience in a lot of them. From developing and marketing commercial heifers to putting on the Belles of the Royal and Denver Sale. Joe would do a great job. He definitely knows the importance of the commercial side of raising cattle.

[Deleted]

Joe and Jack are 2 of the greatest assets the Association has IMO. We're really fortunate to have Joe as our field rep in our region, he puts a lot of time and effort into our state sale and is a guy you wouldn't hesitate to call any time and get his thoughts and opinions on something.

[George]

Any person picked is probably going to be too much in love with EPDs to suit me. So, that said, I think Jack Ward is probably the logical and best choice if there is consensus on him being a valuable asset to the association. To pass over him, in favor of another, almost certainly assures that he would be seeking an opportunity elsewhere.

[moon]

First, I did not always totally and completely agree with each and every decision Craig made, but I believe he always did what he thought was in the best interest of the breed and the Association, and he was always in far superior position than I with more facts and data to make those decisions, so not much disagreement there.  He did not always like some of the things I did when I was head of the State President's Council but knew I was doing what I believed was for the benefit of the members of the Association. I agree with and echo what Bookcliff and OKHerefords said on this thread, because when he was appointed this breed needed someone to push CHB and help restore acceptance of Hereford beef, because when the chips were down and certain directors wanted to kill the program, he saved it. He should be given much credit for the position the breed is in today. He has been with AHA in some capacity for over 20 years, and I believe it takes a big person to realize when it is time to pass the torch to another leader with new or fresh ideas.  I also commend him for his new career direction, and not jumping to another breed of cattle.  If you had witnessed the speech he gave at BIF on the Leachman patent issue like I was fortunate to do, you also would have seen a part of Craig for which he will always have my upmost respect not only as an industry leader but a person of integrity.

Second, the next Executive V-P will be only the 11th in the history of AHA.  The last two (2) Craig and Hop were hired from within.  Dr. W.T. "Dub" Berry, Jr., was the last hired from outside, and he served from August of 1967 to June 30, 1974, as Hop took over on July 1, 1974.  Dr. Berry had ranching experience raising Herefords with his father and later on his own, and also was employed at one point by former Arkansas Governor Rockefeller which ultimately led to Dr. Berry bringing about the Governor purchasing the Turner Ranch in Oklahoma.  Dr. Berry had also been a professor at Texas A&M, so he blended both worlds and was connected to the commercial sector.  As I recall Dr. Berry later took a position with the National Cattlemen's Association.  So as you say Moon why all this history??? blah blah blah.  Because in my small minded opinion the next Ex. V-P is already on the payroll with another title, and even though it a very important position, I believe the next most, and maybe the more important hire is the next Director of Breed Improvemnt/COO.  This person needs a blended background with practical experiences who will place equal if not greater emphasis on the commercial sector and the Hereford breed's usefulness to the the Beef Industry. This may require tweaking and changing the focus of that position, but something which is needed to continue the momentum and obtain a larger market share for Hereford influence within commercial herds and up the chain to the feedyard and the packer.

Third, whoever is picked to fill these two (2) positions need to be the best qualified/capable people available.  It should have nothing to do with having paid your dues or being the most deserving. I have seen several from those catagories perform admirably but once elevated to a upper level position fail dramatically. Therefore, I agree with OKHerefords and his criteria for the next Ex. V-P as well as the next Director of Breed Improvement/COO.      

   

[picketwire]

Very well said, Philip.

Wish BIF would have been in the cards for me this year. I would have liked to have witnessed it.