(February 1, 2011)  It has been a pleasure serving on the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) Executive Board for nine years. For the first three, I was chairman of the American Wool Council, and for the last six, was an officer. Thank you for allowing me to serve.

I want each of you to remember that ASI is a federation of state associations, and you are members of those organizations and, thus, ASI members. Support and get involved with your organization. Some people would tell me that I must be important, and I always answered that I was not very important but the president of ASI is very important.

When you read this, you will have a new president, and a good one. All of the executive board members and officers that I have worked with are committed to the sheep industry, and I hope they think of me in the same manner. Some of the staff has said that sometimes I need a social filter, but I am what I am.

There are more than 8,000 of you that will be reading this, and most of you do not know me or my wife. I would never have been in this position had I not married Linda. I was raised on a cotton farm and was never around sheep until I became part of her family. She is from a family that has been in the sheep business since the 1880s. The past nine years she has been very supportive of everything I have done, and I appreciate her. Many times, our vacation was an ASI trip, and she never complained.

This past year has been relatively uneventful, but we never run out of opportunities. I think we have held our own in 2010 and with record prices and several very positive media exposures, we should be able to stop the decline in sheep numbers and increase them in 2011.
Keep a positive attitude about the sheep industry and spread it to others!