what it takes to live, work and raise a family on the land,” she adds. Thus, it’s no surprise that the theme for her reign is “Florida Women in Ranching.” The CattleWomen group is very dedicated to promoting youth who want to be involved in the beef industry. One way is the organization’s Florida Beef Ambassador Program. It’s open to young people ages 12 to 20, with junior and senior ambassadors. The goal is for ambassadors to provide consumers with information about beef nutrition, safety and convenience. “Can You Outshoot a CattleWoman?” is the name of the group’s largest fundraiser, set for Jan. 5, 2019, at Quail Creek Plantation in Okeechobee. This will be the 11th year that the organization has held the clay shoot event, which has proven to be very successful.
The 2018-2019 executive board members are (above from left) Beth Hunt, Vina Jean Banks, Rhonda Waters, Michelle Grimmer, Debbie Gill, Lacy McKettrick, Holly Newsome, Rebecca Finley, Casie Holloway and Michele Curts. Below, the women shared their knowledge of cooking beef at a Sur La Table store last summer.
The ladies laugh when they recall the 2011 event: “With temperatures in the mid-30s and rain all day long, we still had more than 50 shooters stick with us through the whole day!” There are teams of men, and women, and they are joined by the Wounded Warriors team. The CattleWomen serve up a steak dinner—with all the fixin’s—that everyone raves about! In addition to the clay shoot, there are gun raffles and door prizes, along with other activities. Proceeds from the event are used to fund scholarships given by the CattleWomen, including for Florida 4-H
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