New Mexico Cowbells Jingle Jangle
by Dalene Hodnett & Members
District Workshops, State-wide Outreach
It’s that time of the year again, eagerly awaited by fellow CowBelles as an opportunity to get together, catch up with one another and learn something about the state of the BEEF community – District Workshops. I know the hosting locals are planning wonderful experiences for participants including delicious meals, local entertainment and fun door prizes. While your state officer team has a terrific line-up of presentations planned.
Secretary Gretchen Lindsay, who has been President of the Mesilla Valley local for many years, is leading a great session called “Attract and Retain.” She will hold a “round table” discussion with each district on how they attract new members and what they do to retain current members. She’s also gathering ideas on putting a pamphlet together about NMCB, who we are, what we do, but then have a section for each local featuring their individual information. This way each local has a unique brochure to distribute at local fairs and other events in which they participate.
Tana Garnett, Vice President and a member of the Lariat CowBelles will be presenting “Fun with Foods,” activities and recipes that help our young kids and grandchildren in the kitchen. Tana teaches a similar course at Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari so she has lots of experience working with kiddos in the kitchen. Of course she’ll place a special emphasis on our favorite protein – BEEF!
Anita Hand, your President Elect and long-time member of the Sacaton CowBelles will give us an update on “Bills Affecting Agriculture During the Last Legislative Session.” Whew, that’s a mouthful but Anita is up to the task since she has made several recent trips to the Roundhouse representing our industry. Additionally, Anita was elected as Catron County Commissioner this past fall, so she has a solid handle on the ins and outs of New Mexico politics.
Our new Treasurer, Casey Spradley of the Broomtails CowBelles won’t give a presentation, she has her hands full with budget issues, but will give an update on our finances in case you missed the Annual Meeting in Albuquerque in December. Speaking of budgets, make sure you bring your checkbook when heading to your local district workshop, we’ll have plenty of knives, license plates and hitch covers to choose from, and with wedding season right around the corner you’ll want to stock up!
Here is the District Workshop schedule and thank you in advance to the hosting locals for all you’ve done to make your meeting awesome.
April 13 – Silver Spur, Cimarron
April 14 – Otero, Alamogordo
Executive Committee Meeting – April 14 at 7:00 in Lordsburg
April 15 – Tobosa, Lordsburg
April 16 – Chamiza, T or C
Mark these dates on your calendar and we look forward to seeing you there!
Just a quick update on the Dietary Guidelines issue we covered last month. Sure enough the committee drafting the nutrition recommendations caved to the environmentalist lobby and submitted a proposal that left out any mention of lean meat and its nutritional benefits. This is such an important issue for us and will have far reaching impacts on beef demand if lean meat is removed from the dietary guidelines. As we discussed before, the guidelines dictate the contents of school lunches, WIC and SNAP benefits, and puts a notion in the consumer’s mind that beef is not healthy. Please go here to comment http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2015/comments/writeComments.aspx
The current deadline for comments is April 8, so share your story about the nutritional benefits of beef – quickly. Thank you ladies, and I’m looking forward to seeing you at the District workshops where we’ll continue to Make a Difference for BEEF!
– Dalene Hodnett, President, New Mexico CowBelles
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 19 – Roundhouse Feed/Santa Fe
May 27-28 – Women in Ag Leadership Conference / Albuquerque
June 14-16 – NMCGA, NMWGI, NMFLC, NMCB Mid-Year Meeting / Ruidoso
The Frisco CowBelles met on January 19, 2015 in Glenwood, NM. Ranch Days will be on April 21 and 22, 2015 in Alma, NM at the McKeen’s ranch. Three new schools will be added this year. The Barbecue/Dance fund raiser will be on July 4th at the Glenwood Park. The group added 3 new members to the roll. Respectfully submitted by Martha A. Stewart, Secretary Frisco CowBelles
The Otero CowBelles held their February 5, 2015 meeting at Pepper’s Grill. There were 18 members in attendance. The main focus was planning the NMCB District Workshop in April. Estelle Bond explained, for the benefit of new members, what is expected of the host local and what the attendees can take away from the workshops, regarding beef promotion and fundraising. It is a great way to meet new CowBelles, get new ideas, have fun and enjoy the day. Chef Jeff Haden will be preparing the meal, Bobby Harkey is making cupcakes for dessert and the remaining members of the committee will be working on gifts for the state officers, ditty bags and door prizes. The charge of $25 is due to Treasurer Estelle Bond no later than April 1. Patty Posey is chairman for the Old Timers’ Day which is May 9 in Cloudcroft. This event is to honor the elderly in Otero County who have lived in the area for 85 years or more. Patty has a source to furnish the BEEF brisket at a reasonable price. The Otero CowBelles cook and furnish the beef, beans and bread with the Sacramento Mountain Historical Society furnishing the drinks, paper goods etc. At every Otero CowBelle meeting, a bucket is passed to gather funds for the Cattle Drive for Hunger; $87 was donated. At the end of the year a check is sent to the Salvation Army. Several members are making plans to attend WALC in Albuquerque. Submitted by Barbara Wagner
Chamiza CowBelles’ February 12, 2015 meeting was called to order at 11 a.m. in the Elephant Butte Inn by President Gloria Petersen with eight members and two guests present. Jacqueline mentioned the large support for Bullock’s on facebook page. Dolores received a letter from the bank regarding charging $5.75 per month for the account. Cathy will see if they will waive the fee due to non-profit status. She will also contact other banks in the area regarding fees. Robbie and Cathy will audit treasurer’s books later this month. The district meeting will be on April 16. Gloria reserved rooms at the Elephant Butte Inn for state officers. The Inn has also reserved a block of rooms for out-of-towners until approximately a week before the meeting. After a brief discussion, it was decided to charge attendees $25 registration fee which will cover a light breakfast, beverages, and lunch. Gloria suggested to add “cow seeds” to the goodie bags and she will contact Jonna Smith to find out if Jonna can/will print more labels. Wanda emailed information on the Beef Ambassador program to local schools. The Women in Agriculture Leadership Conference will take place May 27 and 28 in Albuquerque at the Embassy Suites. Registration fee is $95, but have received information from Crystal Diamond that the local soil conservation office will cover this cost on a first/come first/served basis. Gloria recommended the group add a brief history to membership drive pamphlet. Ag day will be on May 1. This year’s location is the Petersen Arena just outside Winston. The March meeting will be at Jodell’s home, with a presentation by Michelle from Michelle’s Beauty Salon. The two guests present at this meeting were Susan Montgomery and Debbie Pitsch. They presented a short program on the benefits of using Nerium night crème and Nerium day crème. This crème was first invented for cancer patients but it did such a great job, it is now available to anyone. It works as an anti-aging and anti-wrinkle crème. Meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m. Dolores won the door prize of free lunch. Submitted by Cathy Pierce
The Mesilla Valley CowBelles met Thursday, Feb 19, 6:15 p.m., at Si Italian Bistro with 5 members present. Beef Ambassador Applicant dates and Man of the Year were discussed. The draft dietary guidelines recommendations where lean beef was removed were brought up and all members were encouraged to comment! Las Cruces Public School Calendar Art Contest and its theme were discussed; please send any ideas to Traci . . . thinking along the lines of unity among City of Las Cruces, Agriculture and NMSU. Group decided to purchase gift cards as prizes instead of checks since several winners had difficulty cashing the checks. The contest will run April to May then judging first part of May and Traci will notify all participating teachers the results and gift cards will be distributed to the winners before spring school session ends. As usual the Selected Artwork will be displayed at the Southern NM State Fair and the group has hopes to have winners announced on LCPS website and other such press is possible. Group will do 20 or so flag holders for tables at WALC. Announcements included District III Workshop, Lordsburg April 15 and Scholarship Applications due to group by first week of April. Submitted by Janet Witte
New Mexico CowBelles: Thank you to all who have submitted their news to “Jingle Jangle.” Please send minutes and/or newsletters to: Jingle Jangle, Janet Witte, 1860 Foxboro Ct., Las Cruces, NM 88007 or email: janetwitte@msn.com by the 14th of each month