As you might remember, I went on this really, really great trip called Young Cattlemen’s Conference. In case you missed the 5,284 posts about it, you can read about it here. That is, if you have an hour or two. That’s me, up on the rooftop of a building in Washington, D.C., overlooking the White House. Have I mentioned recently that my job is pretty cool? With me are Frank Krentz (on the left), a cattleman from Arizona who literally ranches on the Mexican border and Mike Deering, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association trade media contact. Mike is the one who asked me to go on this trip. I probably owe him a drink. Thanks Mike!

My full story ran in the High Plains Journal this week. Since you followed along, I thought you might like to see it. Here’s an excerpt:

Young Cattlemen’s Conference trains future leaders

By Holly Martin

What do you get when you throw 60 cowboys and cowgirls in to a bus? Throw in some feedlot dust, give them hairnet hair and a briefcase and you’ve got the makings of the Young Cattlemen’s Conference.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s YCC is a program designed for leadership development. Since 1980 when the program began, over 1,000 young cattlemen and women completed the program. Today’s participants are nominated by NCBA affiliates and the program serves as a training ground to expose and educate future leaders to every segment of the beef industry, said Mavin Kokes, vice president of association marketing for NCBA.

In 2012, YCC was a 10-day experience beginning in Denver, stopping in Chicago and finally ending up in Washington, D.C. The success of the program is due to the people who participate, said Kokes. “This industry is full of leaders from all over the United States. Each year, participants experience things that they wouldn’t ever get to experience on their own,” he said. “YCC participants share a special bond that is difficult to replicate. The program creates lifelong friendships and business relationships, all the while preparing them for leading the industry in the future.” <more>

And here’s the photo gallery, that’s also posted over on my Photo Gallery page.

And so now, you might be saying, “Geez, I hope she’s done talking about the YCC thing.” And I am, only an experience like that lasts with you your entire life so I imagine the subject might pop up again a time or two or ten.