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Katelyn Dietrich, Karla Ness, Matt Bates and Cassie Dorran at
the Calgary Stampede |
Alberta Intern — Katelyn Dietrich
Representing
the Canadian Angus Association as the Alberta Intern, I have traveled 8,500
kilometres visiting 6 schools and reaching almost 500 students. I
have attended 15 shows at which I reached over 1,500 people whether
I was participating, judging, taking pictures or speaking. This summer I have
learned so much about myself, Angus and working in a prestigious office. This
has been a summer for the books.
When I applied for this position, there were many peers and parents who
assured me this internship would be the perfect opportunity not only because of
my involvement with Junior Angus Association but for
my career choice in the long run. How could that be possible for a Bachelor of
Education student you may ask. Well, based on these numbers, over 75% of those I reached this summer were youth varying from ages 5 to
21. A couple of years ago I decided that I wanted to spend the majority of my
life teaching children and am now halfway through my bachelor's degree. My
enthusiasm for youth and their capabilities spiraled from these Junior shows
and this summer has enforced my career choice.
I have always spent my summers in the show barn whether it is in Olds,
Lacombe or Bashaw and looking back I wouldn’t change one bit of it. Our family
vacations have and always will be spent in our trailer at some agriculture
grounds taking loonie showers and living out of a suitcase. They are spent with
our best friends, staying up way too late, getting up way too early and
enjoying every second of it. Being very close to the end of my show career,
travelling with the Canadian Angus Association has encouraged me to reflect on what it has taken
for me to get here. Programs that I have gone through such as the Alberta
Junior Angus Show or the National All Breeds Show have taught me many things I
wouldn’t have learned otherwise. This includes a wide range of skills from
manual things like putting up fence or how to pull a calf to life skills like
leadership or mentorship. I have made some of my best friends through these
summers because of our similar backgrounds and our passion for the agriculture
industry. I have learned how much planning and preparation goes into any big
event, and how many people contribute for such success.
I have watched many peewees become seniors. I myself have grown up and
am now helping tiny mites of the parents that were leading me around the show
ring 15 years ago. I have seen the joy of the first ribbon, the awe of the
first Grand Champion slap. I’ve seen strangers become friends. I have seen the
tears after getting stepped on, the hug after the judge’s handshake. I have
seen kids reach out to be there for one another in a time of need although they’ve never spoken
before. I have seen kids become family because of a road trip or
show spent stalled together. I have seen the true power and beauty of the
cattle industry. There really aren’t words to describe what these youth
programs do for every one of us Juniors today and in the future. Thank you to
those who plan these functions. Thank you to the parents who wipe the tears and
pay the entry fees. Thank you to those who come and give their time and
resources including judges, announcers, marshals. Thank you to those who donate year after
year. Thank you for believing in your Juniors and providing them opportunities
to shine. You are inevitably creating a generation of success and strength not
to mention investing in the future of the Canadian Angus Association.
Finally, thank you to the
support staff in the Canadian Angus office for all the assistance, support and
words of encouragement they provided for us interns whether it was in regards to field work or
office tasks in the last couple months. Thank you to all of those I have run into on
the road, whether it was for a quick chat, meal or place to stay through my
travels. Thank you to the Canadian Angus Association and its members for this
unbelievable experience this summer doing what I love—spending time with kids
and cows.
Saskatchewan
Intern—Karla Ness
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| CJAA Board with coordinator Belinda Wagner |
It
is hard to believe that the summer is almost over. I am hoping that we get a
bit more hot weather before the snow flies again! Since my last posting in July,
I have been on the road constantly. The first big event that I need to tell you
about is Showdown. This year Showdown took place in Armstrong, BC at the end of
July. Over the summer I helped Belinda get things organized and buy prizes for
the event. I flew out of Regina on Tuesday the 23rd with other
Junior board members. We got to the hotel and everyone went for supper
together. This was nice as I had not met all the Junior board so I was able to
get to put a face to their names. Over the week we all grew to know each other
better and had a lot of fun together!
On
the afternoon of the 24th, Juniors were able to start moving in. Our
role was to help get the barn ready and everything set up because the actual
show began on the 25th. This year, about 60 Juniors participated in Showdown. There are many different competitions that the Juniors
can enter. I enjoy public speaking so I was one of the judges for that
competition. The show got underway on the 25th and it seemed that
the weekend flew by. We were up early in the morning and went to bed late at
night. Needless to say I was a little tired by Sunday and ready to sleep on the
plane ride back to Regina. I got to run the Twitter account at the show and
make sure that those who could not attend were updated as to what was happening at
the Junior event.
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| 2013 Showdown attendees |
I
got back to Regina and had one day to help prepare for the Gold Show in
Saskatchewan. This year the Gold Show was in conjunction with the Prince
Albert Fair. The Gold Show was very similar to Showdown but there were just
Saskatchewan Juniors. I enjoyed the Gold Show because I have gotten to know
many of the Saskatchewan Juniors over the summer and this was their show! I was
the ring person and Showmanship judge for the show. The show was outside and I
loved that. I was nice and sunny for the two days and I was able to get a good
tan. I don’t know how it could get any better; working with cattle and in the
sun all day. There were 30 Juniors that attended the Gold Show in Prince Albert.
My
next and final internship event was the day after the Gold Show. I was headed
to Neepawa, Manitoba. It was a six-hour trip and I was surprised when I crossed
the border into Manitoba. What was my surprise you may be wondering? Well it was
that Telus does not have very good coverage in the province. I was not aware of
this and was without my phone for the weekend I was in Manitoba. You would not
think it was that big of a deal, other than the fact that I was not very sure what I
was supposed to do when I got to Neepawa and where I was supposed to go. So I had
to adapt and even use a pay phone to let my parents know I was all right. I quickly learned how reliant I am on my cell
phone. I will not lie, I was a bit frustrated when I could not use my phone. The
event that took place in Neepawa over the August long weekend was the Manitoba
Beef Round-Up. This is an all breeds show. The Canadian Junior Limousin Association had
their Junior show at the Round-Up. I got to do a variety of judging and hosted
the quiz bowl. It was a great event with 77 juniors in attendance. I left Neepawa August
5th and was happy when I crossed into Saskatchewan so
I had cell service again. I am happy
that I attended this event. I got to drive through where Showdown is going to
be next year in Manitoba, see other parts of Manitoba and meet some great
Manitobains.
Summer
is winding down and I cannot believe that the end of my internship is here. It
has been a crazy, busy, fun and full of learning kind of summer for me. I have been very fortunate to have travelled to a variety of different places. I was able to attend different events
in the four western provinces from BC to Manitoba. Over the course of my
summer, I traveled a total of 12,722 kilometres. That is including a couple of plane
trips as well! I got to work with a two other great interns and develop
relationships with them both that I will continue. We have worked well as a
team, even though we are separated throughout Canada. I worked daily in Regina
with two exceptional ladies. We were always laughing and swapping stories in
the office or over a special lunch. There really was never a dull moment in the
Saskatchewan Livestock Association office. Even though I was not in the
Angus office in Calgary that much this summer, I am still grateful for the
relationships that I have developed. Whenever I had a question or needed help, I
knew that if I emailed anyone in the Angus office I would get a response
quickly. Everyone is willing to help you with anything that you are working on.
I was fortunate to work with Cassie and she taught me so much about design
programs which will help me in my schooling. I cannot express how lucky I feel
to have worked this summer with other agriculture advocates and I cannot wait
to see what the future has in store for me in the agriculture industry. I say with confidence that I had the best
internship and the most fun-filled summer. For me it was pretty easy going to
work knowing that I was going to be promoting an industry that I love with
great people!
Ontario Intern—Matt Bates
21136.24!
It's a pretty large number, but it’s also the total number of kilometres that
I’ve travelled this summer throughout the internship. This includes 6 flights
and several road trips throughout multiple provinces in Eastern and Western
Canada. It has certainly been an incredible journey, and it’s hard to believe
that 18 weeks have already passed. As they say… time flies when you’re having
fun.
In
these past few weeks, things have been slowly winding down from what was a
crazy busy July. I have mainly been working from home on various design
projects, one of which was an e-blast and a mail-out to Ontario Juniors for the
upcoming Ontario Junior Angus Show. I created several documents for this
including the rules and regulations, entry forms, advertisements and the show
schedule.
Another
project I worked on was a second promotional video for our Canadian Angus National
Convention, which summarizes the event in a short three-minute video clip. While
creating this video, I spent quite a bit of time sorting through photos from
this year’s Convention, and it reminded me how much fun was had by everyone
throughout the weekend. If you didn’t get a chance to come this year, certainly
consider attending next year’s event in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
My
very last task of the summer is to write this blog post, and it has certainly
given me a chance to reflect on what has been an incredible summer. I have met
people from all around the province, country and the world. Whether it was a
farmer from Scotland, or an avid show family from Ontario, the people I’ve met
along this journey have certainly been the highlight of the summer. Not to mention the incredible people I’ve worked with. It’s safe to say
the staff at the Canadian Angus Association are all second to none. If I ever
needed anything, my emails were always answered quickly and thoroughly, and
every staff member was more than willing to help me at any time. And then
there’s Cassie. She was so patient with each of us interns as we learned the
ropes throughout the summer. I have a feeling she probably spent more time
responding to her interns emails than she did doing her own work. She also
spent an entire week training us at the beginning of the summer and organizing
us to ensure we had everything we needed. Tina also deserves a huge thank you
for sitting in on training week, and for helping us wherever she possibly could
throughout the summer. It actually feels like training week was only a couple
weeks ago, yet in reality it was a few months ago. Here I am writing my final
blog post, and it feels like the summer just began. This speaks volumes about
how incredible this job really is.
With
the internship winding down, it reminds me how fast the World Angus Forum is
approaching. I am so thrilled to be a member of the Canadian Junior Angus Youth
Team, and to be representing Canada at this international event in New Zealand.
What’s more, I get to compete with 11 other incredible youth, many of whom I’ve
made great friends with this year. Win or lose, there’s no doubt that Canada
will put their best foot forward!
On a final note, I should
inform everyone that although my 18-week summer internship is now over, I am
not actually leaving the Canadian Angus Association. I have been hired on as
the fieldman for the province of Ontario effective immediately. I look forward
to continuing to serve our membership, and seeing each of you at sales, shows
and events this fall, and into the future. As always, feel free to contact me
anytime should you have any questions to do with the Association, or if you
just want to talk ANGUS! I certainly live and breathe Angus every day, and I
commend each and every person across the country that shares this same passion.
Thanks to everyone for making this summer so great. The Angus industry certainly
wouldn’t be as strong as it is today without all of the incredible people who
support it!
Posted by Katelyn Dietrich, Karla Ness and Matt Bates
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca
