Contacts:    Carol Abrahamzon, 507/724/3905    cabrahamzon@beef.org
                   Diane Henderson   303/850-3465    dhenderson@beefboard.org

     South Dakota Beef Ambassador Is Going To Washington, D.C.
  Student mentored through the checkoff-funded program tapped for first USDA internship

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Feb. 16, 2007)  – A South Dakota State University ag student and former participant in the checkoff-funded National Beef Ambassador Program received the first national internship sponsored by the USDA and the American National CattleWomen Inc., during the recent cattle industry convention in Nashville, Tenn.  

Amanda Nolz, a freshman majoring in agricultural communications/political science, will spend the summer interning in various departments of the USDA’s AMS Livestock and Seed Program in Washington, D.C. While the USDA has welcomed Beef Ambassadors as interns on an informal basis in previous years, the agency made the internship “official” last summer, because of the “exceptionally qualified” students they met coming from the ambassador program. The public speaking/leadership program, which began in 1988 and serves students ages 17-20, is managed by the American National CattleWomen Inc. on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.  The program manager is Carol Abrahamzon, a cow/calf producer from Minnesota.  

“Our agency needs to be ready for the future,” said Kenny Payne, chief of the USDA’s Marketing Program Branch, which oversees the beef checkoff. “Part of meeting tomorrow’s challenges is going to be having the right people on board. The best place to start, we believe, is with our country’s youth,” he said.  

“I’m so honored and pleased,” Nolz said. “I know the hard work it takes to succeed in agriculture—I know that it’s like a puzzle. I hope to one day be a piece of that puzzle and help to make a difference.” 

Nolz was selected from four other top National Beef Ambassadors, who were considered based on written essays and personal references. The annual internship competition is open to the top five ambassadors.    

“Amanda is a superb example of the talented youth that are involved in the National Beef Ambassador Program. She has always represented our organization and the beef industry well and we are proud that she has been chosen for this valuable internship,” added Wendy Pettz, the new ANCW president.  

Nolz has been involved in her family’s Limousin ranch for years and has won numerous honors, from 4-H and Future Farmers of America to the National Honor Society.

The American National CattleWomen Inc. is a trade association with the primary focus of promotion and consumer education regarding beef as a safe and nutritious food, and the production of beef cattle as an industry.