AAAx | What We Do

What We Do

For over seventy years, the American Angus Auxiliary has been working with the American Angus Association and the National Junior Angus Association to promote youth and the Angus breed. The American Angus Auxiliary has worked to develop a number of educational and promotional programs to benefit everyone involved in the Angus industry.

The American Angus Auxiliary presents $20,000 in scholarships, each year, to ten young men and women involved in the Angus industry. As a member of the American Angus Auxiliary, you can play an important role by working to promote our youth and the Angus industry, meet the challenges of today's society and work toward developing our Angus youth into tomorrow's leaders. Every Auxiliary member can make a difference! Join the Auxiliary and become active in any of our many committees. Currently, officers, regional directors and committees are installed at our annual meeting in November during the National Angus Convention. Nominated officers include president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, advisor and regional directors. Each committee is led by a committee chairperson(s).

The American Angus Auxiliary strongly believes in the importance of the educational contests at the National Junior Angus Show. To promote and support these contests, the Auxiliary sponsors several awards that recognize our youth for their outstanding work.

What is the American Angus Auxiliary?

Our Mission

The American Angus Auxiliary offers individuals interested in the welfare of the Angus breed the opportunity to work together to provide educational, promotional and social programs and activities.

Organization Operations

Members of our organization meet two times per year - the National Junior Angus Show in July and the Angus Convention in November. Currently officers and committees are installed at the meeting in November.

Nominated officers include the president, president-elect, secretary/treasurer, advisor and regional directors. All officers serve a rotational term. For more information refer to the Auxiliary By-Laws.

History

70 Years of Supporting Juniors

2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the American Angus Auxiliary, chartered in 1952 its purpose and mission was for women Angus breeders and wives of Angus breeders to get better acquainted, to aide in promoting the breed and to present awards to deserving youth showing Aberdeen -Angus projects. While the way the words stated in our current mission may differ to reflect current times, the basic mission and goals are the same. The Auxiliary is a group of women dedicated to the present and future of the Angus breed, Angus breeders and juniors involved in the industry. The members of the American Angus Auxiliary work tirelessly to uphold our mission; the encouragement and recognition of junior Angus members' take top priority. Four years before the junior activities department of the American Angus Association was formed and 28 years prior to the official beginning of the NJAA in 1980, the Auxiliary began its mission of recognizing the achievements of Angus youth. Our oldest continuous program, the prestigious Silver Pitcher award presentation started in 1953 at the Chicago International Stock Show. A silver pitcher was presented to honor a young lady excelling in showring achievements. The award presentation was moved to the North American Livestock Exposition in 1975 and 76 before finding its current home at the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). In 1993, the recognition expanded to include young men. In 1956, the scholarship program was established with a $100 donation. The Auxiliary awarded its first scholarship of $300 in 1957. In the early years the scholarship program was only for girls, the boys division was added in 1969. Today's practice of awarding scholarships to five girls and 5 boys began in 1985. In 1967, the Auxiliary was asked by the American Angus Association to help select a National Angus Queen. The first place scholarship winner was crowned the National Angus Queen. The named was changed to Miss American Angus in 1973. 1980 began the tradition of holding a contest with five top girl scholarship winners eligible to compete. The Auxiliary presented an engraved silver bowl to the first place National Junior Angus Showmanship Contest winner during the inaugural contest in 1967. In 1969, the Auxiliary began presenting bowls the top five finishers that practice continues today. The Auxiliary continued its mission of recognition of junior Angus accomplishments and introduced the Crystal Award presentation in 1999, honoring one boy and one girl that excel in educational contest participation at the NJAS. The popular All American Certified Angus Beef Cook-Off contest began in 1983 and has grown to be one of the largest non-showring competitions at NJAS. The Auxiliary also has a recognition program for juniors that excel in showring, leadership and educational contests on district, state or national levels; the Certificate of Achievement application is open to all NJAA members. The Auxiliary also responsible for several other memorial awards presented at NJAS including the Cook-Off's Black Kettle and LEAD Awards as well as the Grote and Spader awards in the extemporaneous speaking contest. The junior Angus program and NJAA members are always in the forefront of the mission of the American Angus Auxiliary, to find out more about the Auxiliary and its junior recognition programs visit www.angusauxilary.com.

— Anne Lampe, American Angus Auxiliary Past President

An Invitation to Join

Members from all walks of life involved in promoting or raising Angus cattle can become part of our organization. It is with teamwork that our organization keeps rolling along.

Members of our organization sign up for committees of interest to them. It is within these committees that you become involved at either the state, regional or national level. You don't have to go to national events to be a part of this organization - we need assistance at all levels.

Each committee director or co-director has a team of committee members whose job it is to work together to achieve the goals set by each committee and the officer team each year.

Our longevity speaks for itself! Why not become a part of this active organization? We need you - whether you are a junior mom, entrepreneur, youth leader, retired Angus breeder or educator. The sky's the limit - the Angus breed is the common factor that brings us together.

Auxiliary Involvement - Here are a few examples of how your contributions can make a difference and how you can be a part of a working, energetic organization:

Scholarships

Serve on a panel of judges responsible for scoring national applicants. This process is done via conference call, so there is no need to attend events in order to serve on the judging panel.

Miss American Angus Contest

Share your leadership skills with us! Assist with the contest which takes place each fall during the Angus Convention.

Each year through our Miss American Angus contest, a new Miss American Angus is crowned. She serves in the public eye promoting the Angus breed at shows, schools, and conferences throughout her reign. Our fund-raising efforts throughout the year enable us to provide funding for Miss American Angus expenses.

Auxiliary CAB® Cook-Off

Volunteers, judges and score keepers are needed each year during this contest held during the National Junior Angus Show.

The Auxiliary's most visible beef education event is the All-American Certified Angus Beef® Cook-Off. The event is educational, competitive, and fun. Teams of Angus juniors are challenged to educate and entertain the audience and judges through skits that detail the CAB® standards while preparing a beef recipe in one of three meat categories. The Cook-Off is sponsored jointly by the American Angus Auxiliary, National Junior Angus Association, American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef LLC and is held during the NJAS.

The Black Kettle Award is given in memory of long time Angus supporter, Paul B. St. Blanc. Mr. St. Blanc combined his passion for cooking and his love of Angus cattle and youth by helping behind the scenes of the Cook-Off. Many Angus friends enjoyed delicious meals cooked in his "black kettle" in the tie-outs. The Black Kettle Award is given annually to the highest scoring team among all categories and age divisions in the CAB® Cook-Off.

Sale of Gifts and Collectibles

Attending a show or sale? We have a super selection of gifts and collectible items. The sale of these items assists our funding of a number of programs. Why not volunteer an hour or two at the next show you attend?

Achievement Awards

Do you know active juniors in your state or region deserving of recognition? Be on the lookout and assist us in recognizing our youth for their outstanding achievements.

Special Awards

Crystal, Silver Pitcher & Black Kettle Awards

Special awards are presented each year to deserving junior members at the National Junior Angus Show. Assistance coordinating awards is welcomed.

Photography

Each year, the historian keeps an account of activities and events. Whether you only participate at the state level or you attend regional or national events, your assistance with photography is always welcomed. We need to capture our activities on film not only for the history books, but for the year-end report as well.

Publicity

Interested in advertising design, writing or public relations? We do what we can to promote the Angus breed by issuing news releases, running advertisements and publishing a year-end report with the assistance of the Angus Journal.

As you can see by these examples, we are a very busy organization and one team of officers alone cannot get the job done. We welcome your assistance with open arms and look forward to you joining our organization. For more information, contact a member of the officer team.