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Cattleman of the Year selected, but under wraps
Henry County Cattleman Association orders awards and prepares for annual banquet
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — With the busiest season of farming in the rearview mirror, for now, Henry County Cattleman turn their sights to preparing for their annual awards banquet to be held Feb. 6.
Every year, Henry County Cattleman members, supporters, friends, and family gather at Manning Hall to eat a delicious steak dinner, celebrate a successful year, appreciate some entertainment, and enjoy one another’s company.
While each of these components make for a delightful banquet, the main event of the evening is the presentation of Cattleman of the Year and overall recognition of cattlemen throughout the county with various awards.
The Cattleman of the Year is still under wraps and Henry County Cattleman Association President Adam Smith says other than a handful of people that need to know, it will stay under wraps until Feb. 6.
“There have been a lot of great cattlemen in the county have received that reward,” Smith said.
While many have received it, Smith says it still comes a surprise nearly every time. According to Smith, the association usually has a friend or family member write a biography about the winner, who is already selected at this point. The presenter then reads that biography, without revealing the recipient, and watch for the recognition to come across their face.
Smith says he always enjoys seeing the recipients faces. He especially enjoyed the year he was able to present this award to his own father Larry Smith.
“What was odd, was we got all my siblings to come, and he couldn’t figure out why all my siblings were there, because they never come,” Smith said. “… He had no idea, and I think I was about halfway through reading his bio and he looked at my wife and she said, ‘yeah, that’s you,’ and you could just see the emotion hit him a bit. It was good time.”
Much like Larry Smith, recipients usually figure out that they are receiving the award by the end of the anonymous biography.
“It’s a pretty good honor,” Smith said. “I kind of call it a hall of fame award. It’s kind of near the end of the guys’ careers in a way and you’re recognizing what all they accomplished throughout their whole cattle career. It’s a pretty good honor and we’ve been doing it since 2000 or even long before that.”
Some of the most recent Cattlemen of the Year include Stan Unkrich for 2023, Keith Zihlman for 2022, Larry Van Syoc for 2021, Mike Moothart for 2020, Ledru Freyenberger for 2019, and Fred Linn and Dave Simmons for 2018. These are only a few names, according to Smith who says they’ve given out this award for decades, at this point.
In addition to naming the Cattleman of the Year, the association will recognize producers and showman for the best County Raised Steer and Heifer from the 2024 Henry County Fair which will include Ethan Graber and Grant Anderson.
Scholarship recipients from the year before will also be recognized. “If they’re able to attend we let them come up and speak and tell everyone what they’re learning in school,” Smith said. If they’re unable to attend, the scholarship recipients just mail the association a thank you letter which someone will read at the banquet.
The cattlemen also hold a market price guess contest. Everyone fills out a ticket on what they think a steer will sell for around Labor Day in Kalona, then at the following banquet they announce that winner, as well.
The camaraderie of approximately 300 Henry County Cattlemen and supporters will kick off at 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at Manning Hall with some social time followed by a steak dinner cooked by the Knights of Columbus, who Smit says, “do an excellent job.” They’ll then recognize those receiving awards and the scholarship recipients before enjoying the comedic stylings of North Carolina farmer Jerry Carroll to wrap up the evening.
Tickets for this event go on sale in December. Although members and those that donate to the association will get first dibs, any remaining tickets will be available for purchase to the public for $25.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
