I hope everyone has had a very blessed holiday season thus far. As we ring in the new year, I hope that we enter this year with thankful, blessed, and humbled hearts.
The last few months have been filled with all things family and all things beef. I can’t think of a better way to fill the holiday time. I spent my holiday season back home in Parrish, Florida with my family and friends. We rounded out month of November by honoring Mr. Coddington as the Manatee County Agriculturalist of the Year. As I sat and listened to Mr. Coddington’s biography, I was humbled by his experiences, his dedication and service to Manatee county and Florida agriculture.
We started the month of December off with the FCA Quarterly meeting and Presidents party. It was an honor to have over 250 cowboys and cowgirls gather together to celebrate our industry and our great president, Mr. Cliff Coddington.
Myakka City had their annual Christmas Parade where Mr. Cully Rowell, Manatee County Cattlemen’s member drove me and Manatee County Cattlemen’s Sweetheart, Shelbie Davis in the parade. We rounded out the festivities with a whip popping contest. We had over 20 contestants with the youngest being seven years old.
I also had the chance to have a chat with former FCA President, Mr. Jim Strickland. We were discussing the importance of highlighting cattle ranching in Florida. Some tokens of information I took away from Mr. Strickland are below.
“Our future is not in our cattle; our future depends on what we do with what we still have; our land. We don’t have the clout, the money or the manpower to make overnight changes, but we do have what nature gave us. And that is what we need to focus on.”
As we embark on legislative session on Capitol Hill, I ask that you all take a moment, think about why we love this industry, the importance of our industry and how we can continue to promote what we work hard for every day.
At the end of the day, we all have one common goal as the men and women of Florida Cattlemen’s Association; to protect and promote the Florida beef industry. I can’t wait to see y’all soon and I hope you had a great 2021 and I wish you an even better 2022.
Don’t forget to follow me on social media; look out for the FCA Sweetheart Spotlights, new recipes, and events that are coming up! Don’t forget to use our hashtags: #Floridabeef500 and #Letsridetogeher!
Stay safe, and God Bless
