Happenings
by Kyla Nesheim, editor/director of communications

     I have a number of different “happenings” within the American Maine-Anjou Association (AMAA) and Maine-Anjou Voice that I would like to touch on in this column. It’s been a busy and great summer so far. It’s also flown by! It seems like yesterday we were in Denver trying to keep warm in the yards! Now, we’re trying to keep cool in the summer heat. With the summer heat comes a lot of activities. The BIG event of every summer is always the National Junior Maine-Anjou Show. Let’s talk about that first.
     Mark another great National Junior Maine-Anjou Show down for the books! The 2007 National Junior Maine-Anjou Show in Lawton, Okla., was a huge success! A big thanks goes out to the Oklahoma Maine- Anjou Association for putting in a lot of hard work into this show. The behind the scenes work that goes into the national junior show is astounding and sometimes goes without being recognized. I want to take this time to recognize that hard work and let the Oklahoma Maine-Anjou Association and everyone who contributed to this years show that it is appreciated by all involved. Another huge thanks and kudos goes to Jeana Sankey, AMAA director of youth activities. Your first “big one” was great.
     Congratulations on a great week. Congratulations to all the show winners. The juniors brought out a great set of cattle to represent the breed. Congratulations to all the juniors who placed in the contests held throughout the week. It’s great to be involved and these contests are a great way to do exactly that. Great job and thank you to everyone who made the trip to Lawton, Okla., to participate. The friendships made are priceless! I know I hold them dear to me. I enjoy, more than words can say, meeting and seeing old and new acquaintances. The junior members of the breed are a SUPER group of kids and represent a wonderful future for the Maine-Anjou breed.
     The junior board surprised me at this year's show with quite an honor. They awarded me with the Maine Helper of the Year! I feel blessed to receive this title and would like to thank the junior board again — this award means the world to me. On another note, we at the association couldn’t do it without your help. You put in countless hours helping at all the shows and we appreciate your hard work. I’ve enjoyed every minute spent with all of the junior board. All of you have very bright futures ahead, and I wish you the best in all you do!
     We are looking forward to the 2008 National Junior Maine- Anjou Show, “A Star Spangled
Extravaganza” when the Maine-Anjou and Chianina junior shows unite in Kansas City, Mo. The dates are June 29-July 4, 2008. We will be working very closely with the American Chianina Association on the 2008 junior nationals. The National Junior Shorthorn Show will also be held that same week in Kansas City. What a chance to see three great breeds' junior national shows at the same place at the same time! Mark your calendars for Kansas City in 2008!
     Now, on to new “happenings.” Hopefully, most of you have been receiving the “Maine Memo” newsletters sent via e- ail. I’m trying to get those out every couple weeks or so. If there is anything you would like to see in the newsletter, please let me know. We have just started distributing them, and it’s a growing endeavor. Our e-mail list is growing everyday. If you are not on the e-mail list and would like to be added, please go to our Web site, www.maine-anjou.org , and sign up for the newsletter. Or, you can e-mail me at voiceeditor@kc.rr.com , and I would be happy to add you to the list.
     With the help from EDJE Technologies, a new Web site was created to benefit all who wish to sell cattle and related cattle items online through the AMAA. The new Web site is www.maineanjouclassifieds.com  and is currently up and running. Feel free to check it out and call me with any questions you have regarding the site. The cost is very economical for you at $20 per month with unlimited classified ads for that month. We will no longer be listing the “free” classifieds on the AMAA’s Web site. With the number of classifieds we were receiving, we decided to take the next step to create a special Web site for these classified ads. You can pay with a credit card through our secure shopping cart on that site.
     Most of you have probably already taken notice to the new look of our Web sites (the association’s site, the Voice’s site and the junior association’s site). We hope you like the new look and if there is anything you would like to see on those, please contact the AMAA office. Thank you to EDJE Technologies for re-designing our Web sites and a great job with the new Web site, www.maineanjouclassifieds.com. That about covers the new “happenings” from this summer. The fall show schedule and fall sales lie ahead! See you down the road!