Be the GLUE to HOLD this WORLD together
Hello Florida Cattlemen and CattleWomen, First off, I hope everyone is SAFE and, HEALTHY during these uncertain times. A great quote from Tony Gaskins, Jr. fits best in this situation we are finding ourselves in at this time: “Have faith through the uncertain times. It’s worked out for you every time before and this time will be no different.” Just a short while ago, everyone and everything was going wide open, new projects started, opportunities were being fulfilled, and life was humming at rapid pace. With the flick of the light switch, life as we knew it, CHANGED.
These are sure uncertain times, for most of us, we are driving deeper in our Bibles, praying to God a little harder, and thanking God we have that deep freezer full of food. For others, it has been a big wake up call, as they rushed to their area grocery stores buying every speck of food and roll of toilet paper known to man and literally thinking the world is coming to an end. As you can tell with every article, I try to relay a message as to what is on my mind. What I want to strongly get across in this article, is we as adults and mentors to our young, need to ensure a strong faith based attitude that WE, our industry, our community, and our country, is going to survive this CHALLENGE! Having FAITH and a positive outlook on life will carry us on, we will all be a little more wiser, a little more humbled, and lot more grateful we lived to tell our story.
This article is dedicated to our CattleWomen, that look adversity in the eye, and say, “I am still going to get the job done, maybe just in a different way.” Women are truly the GLUE that holds a family unit and family business together. We worry twice as much as any other family member, making sure the children are getting the love and attention they need, making sure everyone and everything is getting fed, and most of all, come Hell or High Water, the one BIG bill is going to get paid, all in the least attention getting action, because that is the character trait of a CattleWoman. Women are the GLUE that keep things going forward and keeps everything as grounded as possible. These Florida CattleWomen pictured in this article is a sampling of what Florida CattleWomen do on a daily basis, even during this chaotic time. Lacy is still working the Cattle Sale at Arcadia Livestock, Alexis is still spraying pastures, Sarah is still out in the field working as her Daddy taught her to do, Kelly and Bailey are still in the cow pens, Danielle is now teaching “old school” teaching techniques to her boys, while still getting her job done. Katie is still sharing her love of the Beef Industry, via Zoom, to her students. LeeAnn (Bless her) is still selling her families blueberries to the public. Most of all, Florida CattleWomen are still loving up on our families like Lauren and Cindy are, in the enclosed pictures. Florida CattleWomen’s love we share with others is the GLUE, we as an association and industry that give hope to others that YES, we will SURVIVE this CHALLENGE!
As many of you know, all the great plans Florida CattleWomen had, the Coast Guard Appreciation Luncheon, Legislative Aide Ranch Tour, North Florida CattleWomen’s Foundation Meeting, and Florida CattleWomen’s Workshop, had to be rescheduled. The Coast Guard will be getting with me to reschedule a new date for the luncheon. The Legislative Ranch Tour will be rescheduled to a new date. The North Florida CattleWomen’s Foundation Meeting has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 23rd. The Florida CattleWomen’s Workshop has been rescheduled for August 1st. I sincerely appreciate everyone involved in helping me reschedule these very important events as we strive to make our association better everyday.
Please be on the look-out as Florida CattleWomen will be selling raffle tickets to win a Castaway 350 lb Wildlife Feeder and $1,500.00 credit to Powder River Cattle Equipment. The proceeds from both these great prizes will go towards beef education. Beef Education is very important to our industry, and needs to be promoted on a higher level. It is Florida CattleWomen’s hope that these proceeds will give us the tools to educate our Florida residents to a higher caliber. Please also take time to explore the many great new outlets to understand where the Florida Beef Industry is in the scheme of economics in this world. National Cattlemen Beef Association, CEO, Colin Woodall, gave a great update on the COVID-10 crisis in relationship with the Beef Industry.
Please take time to visit the National Cattlemen Beef Association’s website: www.ncba.org for all the latest information on topics affecting the beef industry.
In closing, please keep your FAITH at the forefront of your life. Be the GLUE to hold your family together. Be HUMBLED that we are small, compared to God’s plan. Most of all, be the Encourager to others around you to share Kindness to the people of this WORLD, because our actions represent our industry “The Florida Beef Industry.” “She was the GLUE who held us all together” ~Edith Johnson
Blessings,
Casie Holloway
President Florida CattleWomen
