Californian Sets NCBA Membership Recruitment Record

DENVER (October 9, 2003) – Albert Conlin of Oakdale, Calif., will be recognized by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) as the 2003 NCBA Top Hand Club Champion during the Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 28-31, 2004.

In the process of earning NCBA’s top recruitment honors by recruiting 163 new members, Conlin broke the NCBA record for the most new members recruited in one year.  The previous record of 154 recruits was set by Iowa producer Wythe Willey.  The runner-up in this year’s program was J.D. Fitzpatrick, an order buyer from Winchester, Ky.  Fitzpatrick previously won the competition in 2002 and 2001.

Sponsored by Merial, the NCBA Top Hand Club is a “member-recruit-a-member” program, which offers prizes and recognition to those members who go the extra mile in building a stronger and more successful national association. 

Conlin is owner/operator of Conlin Supply, a farm and ranch supply business in Oakdale, Calif.  Through the year Conlin ran various membership sales on equipment and vet supplies as incentives to encourage producers to become members of both California Cattlemen’s and NCBA.  The efforts proved to be a huge success.

“Top Hand Club members are a special group of individuals who are active in all aspects of the beef industry, from participation on national boards and committees to state and local leadership,” says Mark Nelson, a beef producer from Wilton, Calif., and chairman of NCBA's Membership Committee.  “Only by strengthening the membership base of NCBA through recruiting can producers strengthen their own voice, as well as the voice of the industry, in Washington, D.C.”

The NCBA Top Hand Club program was created in 1982 to recognize those members who continually give their time and efforts to increase membership.  To become a new Top Hand Club member, producers need to recruit three new NCBA members by September 30 of each year.  For more information or recruitment tools, contact NCBA’s membership department at 866/BEEF-USA.

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