Creating More Regions Would Add 5 More Directors to Board 

February 16, 2010 Billings, Mont. – Due to concerns about the large territories covered by current R-CALF USA directors and that those directors simply are stretched beyond their limits by these geographical limitations, members who attended the group’s recent 11^th annual convention approved a motion to change the bylaws to rearrange directors’ territories and add five new directors to R-CALF USA’s board. To take effect, the proposed changes must be approved by two-thirds of the organization’s voting members. Currently, there are 10 individuals who sit on R-CALF USA’s board. 

“You can see that we have regions that are huge, and these proposed changes are quite extensive,” said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, whose current region includes the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma. “It’s just not possible for me to cover all of these states and do a good job. 

“When we initially started this organization, it was very small – a few hundred members – and now we’re at thousands and we’re trying to grow it,” he continued. “We think this will be good logic, dividing up these huge regions into more manageable areas. Our Northeast region currently covers 13 states, which is just too extreme.” 

Listed below are the current territories for each of the 10 R-CALF USA directors. 

Region I currently consists of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and this won’t change. 

Region II currently consists of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and the proposed resolution would remove New Mexico from this region. 

Region III currently consists of Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and this arrangement will see no changes. 

Region IV currently consists of Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada. The proposed policy change would leave this director responsible only for the states of Arizona and New Mexico. 

Region VI currently consists of Texas, and no changes will be made here. 

Region VI currently consists of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma. The proposed changes would delete Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, leaving the Region VI director responsible for Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. 

Region VII currently consists of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The proposed change would delete Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, but leave the Region VII director responsible for Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Region VIII currently consists of Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia. The proposed policy would limit the Region VIII territory to Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. 

Region IX currently consists of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The proposed change is to keep Region IX focused on Alabama, Florida and Georgia. 

Region X consists of areas within the U.S. on which cattle are produced by members of native Tribes of the United States. The person who fills this position is chosen by the Intertribal Agricultural Council. There will be no changes to this arrangement. 

Listed below are the proposed new regions for R-CALF USA, as well as the states that will be included in these new regions.

Region XI shall consist of California, Nevada and Hawaii, and the director will serve an initial 3-year term. 

Region XII shall consist of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, this director also will serve an initial 3-year term. 

Region XIII shall consist of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. This director shall serve an initial 2-year term. 

Region XIV shall consist of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. The director will serve an initial 1-year term. 

Region XV shall consist of Maine, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island. The director also will serve an initial 1-year term. 

“In other words, these changes will give us the opportunity not to have to cross half the United States to hold a meeting and not to have to spend a thousand dollars on an airplane ticket,” Thornsberry concluded. “Hopefully, this change will make things a lot more manageable by vehicle, and in turn, we’ll be able to grow membership in states that previously may have been somewhat left out of the loop.” 

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA directors and committee chairs are extremely active unpaid volunteers. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com  or, call 406-252-2516.   

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                            This page was last updated on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.