Roger Gerdes , president of the South Dakota Beef Industry Council,  accepts the Women in Blue Jeans Spirit Award during the Women in Blue Jeans Conference in Mitchell. Awarding the honor was Janelle Guericke (left) on the conference steering committee, and Marlene Grunewalt, an agent with Hamaker Insurance Company, which nominated SDBIC for the award.

SD Beef Council Honored by Women in Blue Jeans Conference

MITCHELL (January 29, 2006)—The South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC) received the Spirit of Women in Blue Jeans Award during the fourth annual Women in Blue Jeans Conference January 27 in Mitchell, S.D.

            The award is presented each year to an individual or organization which exemplifies the enthusiastic spirit of the rural women involved in this conference. The purpose of the Women in Blue Jeans Conference is to provide education, inspiration and networking opportunities for women in rural America .

            Nominated by Hamaker Insurance Company in Mitchell, SDBIC received the award due to its financial and promotional support of the conference. “Without organizations like the South Dakota Beef Industry Council we could not provide the quality programs we do for rural women,” says Diana Goldammer, one of the initial organizers of Women in Blue Jeans and currently on its steering committee.

SDBIC President Roger Gerdes was on hand to receive the award. “The South Dakota Beef Council is proud to accept the award and to support the Women in Blue Jeans Conference,” says Gerdes. “This a wonderful opportunity for rural women in South Dakota and surrounding states to gather. It also gives SDBIC an opportunity during the conference to provide information at our booth to the participating women about beef and the beef checkoff.”

            The conference this year reached more than 280 women in three days with a choice of more than 60 classes on a wide range of topics from livestock and feed record keeping to home fitness. The conference also includes a trade show and provides networking opportunities. “Part of the reason for the conference’s success,” says Goldammer, “is that we give women who share similar stories and experiences a place to be together.”

            The SDBIC collects the $1-per-head checkoff in South Dakota and can retain up to 50 cents for state promotion, research or educational programs. The organization, comprised of eight agricultural groups, forwards the remaining monies to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board for national programs.