Last month every member received a nomination form — not a ballot.  The form provided a list of offices open.  It provided a list of nominees selected by the ITLA nominating committee (three past presidents) for each opening.  Members were encouraged (if they so wished) to place their own names or names of candidates they desired to be added to the final ballot. When 10 nominations for one person were submitted to the ITLA accounting firm, that person qualified to run for the office designated. Each nominated person without a contending 10 nominations automatically became the elected person for that region or office.  No further election process is necessary.

When you receive the final ballot, each ITLA member is encouraged to vote.  Read the procedures carefully. Ballots must be returned to the Association’s accounting firm, with a post mark not less than twenty one (21) days prior to the annual meeting. This means that ballots must be post marked no later than October 1, 2011.

A By-laws change is being recommended.  At this time, the USA is divided into director regions with one region being Canada.  Due to a large number of registrations from Europe, Australia and New Zealand, there could be a qualified Director candidate outside the USA who does not reside in Canada.  The proposed By-Laws change will describe Region #1, currently Canada, to read “Region #1, Outside of the USA.”  This is designed to allow ITLA members from any place in the world an opportunity to become a director.  Obviously, the Texas Longhorn world is growing.

Beside the Bylaw change, there are two decisions for your mail in ballot vote – the offices of Vice President and the At Large #5 position. Each member will have an opportunity to vote for their choices.  For Vice President, (one year term) the current Vice President, Stan Searle is nominated for a second term.  Receiving the required 10 member nominations, Shadow Seaman is also a qualified candidate for Vice President.  For At Large #5 directorship, Greg Brown was nominated by the committee and Debby Goodrich received the required number of member nominations. The following short bio’s will provide information on each candidate for your voting decision. Hopefully, this will assist in the process of every member having a vote to elect a representative organization.

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Stan Searle – Nominee for Vice President

Stan Searle has been nominated for re-election by the Nominating Committee. He and his wife Lorna have raised Texas Longhorns in Colorado for 37 years. He was a founding member of ITLA and has served for several years on the Board of Directors, including terms as president, treasurer, and currently as vice president. He was instrumental in formation of the Mountain States Texas Longhorn Association and the Northwest Texas Longhorn Association. He served as president of the Texas Longhorn Heritage Foundation and the Mountains & Plains TLA. Stan co-hosted the Longhorn industry’s first judging clinics and has judged shows and sales across the US and in Canada.

In 1976 Stan started the Texas Longhorn Journal which he and Lorna published for a dozen years. Stan retired after 34 years as CEO of companies producing national trade magazines and operating cable television systems in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado. He and his family raise Longhorns on ranches near Monument and Ellicott, Colo. He recalls “meeting good folks in the other businesses we’ve been in, but our best friends are those we’ve gotten to know in the Longhorn business.”

Shadow Seaman – Nominee for Vice President

Shadow Seaman has been nominated for Vice President, by petition with the required 10 signatures. He presently serves on the Board of Directors in the At Large #5 position. He and his wife Bonnie started raising Longhorn cattle in 1999 and run 30 to 40 head near Filer, Idaho. They joined the ITLA in 2001. He has served on the Board for five years and has been chairman of the Affiliates Committee for four years.

Shadow has been president of the Top of the West Texas Longhorn Association for 11 years and has been host/chairman of nine ITLA qualifying regional shows. He became an ITLA qualified judge in 2008 and has judged many shows across the nation including the International Championship Show. He has also served as show announcer or co-announcer for the Championship Show many times.

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Greg Brown -  Nominee for Director, At Large #5

Greg and his wife, Karol, began raising Longhorns on a small farm in rural Maryland in 1991.  Starting with one cow with a heifer calf, they originally choose Texas Longhorn cattle simply because of the horns. In 1993 they moved their family to West Plains, Missouri where they started a new adventure with six cows.  Their opinion of the Longhorn had changed and they considered many other aspects of the breed, including color, disposition, size, conformation, and larger horns.

Greg’s Longhorn business has grown over the years, He sells roping calves as well as registered breeding stock.  Within the last year they have expanded to include marketing all natural, grass fed beef to several stores in the area.  The USDA beef business has attracted customers who prefer home grown, quality lean beef made in the USA.

Besides being involved in the Longhorn business, Greg is active in community and church organizations, including four years as an Elder; 4-H leader for shooting sports and livestock and also served as 4-H council president.  He has been on the University of Missouri Howell County Extension Council for over 10 years, including a term as president.  He serves on the Missouri Farm Bureau Howell County Board of Directors and as chairman of the Young Farmers and Ranchers committee.  He is a member of the Missouri Cattlemens Association. Greg is employed at Hirsch Feed and Farm Supply as parts manager. He and Karol have attended several ITLA events including the Branson Marketing Seminar.  The Longhorn business, he says, has become more that a passion; it has become an obsession.

Debby Goodrich - Nominee for Director, At Large #5

Debbie Goodrich has been nominated for the At Large #5 position, by petition with the required signatures. She and her husband run a small ranch west of Fort Worth that they acquired in 1991.   She has been an active member of ITLA since 1992, shortly after they bought their first Longhorns.

She has served as treasurer of the Metroplex Texas Longhorn Association and as president for two years, during which time she was in charge of putting on three ITLA accredited shows. Debby currently serves as secretary/treasurer of MTLA. About four years ago, she attended an ITLA judging clinic and later became an approved ITLA judge. Since then she has judged shows across the country, including the International Championship Youth Show in 2010. Debby is active in her church, having been in charge of fundraising events as well as assisting with past fundraising events. She recently retired from a 35 year career in education having served as a teacher, counselor and educational diagnostician.