Shelby receives scholarship OCA

  • Courtesy Photo Great Plains Kubota presented 2, $1,000 scholarships during the closing general session of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Convention and Trade Show. Recipients were Jori Cowley from Vinita and Will Shelby from Madill. Pictured (L to R): OCA President Mike Weeks, Jori Cowley, Will Shelby and Bill Clark, representing Great Plains Kubota.
    Courtesy Photo Great Plains Kubota presented 2, $1,000 scholarships during the closing general session of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Convention and Trade Show. Recipients were Jori Cowley from Vinita and Will Shelby from Madill. Pictured (L to R): OCA President Mike Weeks, Jori Cowley, Will Shelby and Bill Clark, representing Great Plains Kubota.

The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association held their sixtyseventh annual convention and trade show on July 19 and 20. During the event, a Madill resident, Will Shelby, was bestowed the honor of merit in the form of a $1,000 scholarship.

Shelby completed his two year program at Connors State College in Warner, and will transfer to Oklahoma State University in the fall as a junior. His major is Animal Science with a Pre-Vet option.

The Madill resident has received many awards and honors from CSC for his excellence in academics ad livestock judging, even taking FFA national awards. Shelby attests to his upbringing for all his success. “I am a fifth-generation cattlemen,” he said in a press release. “I grew up working on my family’s cow/calf operation. Now my brother and I have our own herd that we are working to grow.”

The scholarship was funded by Great Plains Kubota and administered by the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation, a spin-off of the OCA.

The OCA was chartered in 1950, and officially organized in 1953. They take pride in being the “leadership that serves, strengthens and advocates for the Oklahoma cattle industry.” A few of their objectives are to “serve a a trusted source of information for the Oklahoma Cattle Industry, increase membership, increase leadership development and grow the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation to $1 million.”

The OCF was created to provide a charitable trust for the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, along with the Oklahoma Junior Cattlemen’s Association.

The OCA President Mike Weeks said he is honored to be a part of the entire program. “It’s an honor to award outstanding young people, like Will with scholarships to assist in furthering their education,” Weeks said in a press release. “Working with partners like Great Plains Kubota to help fund scholarships allows us to provide additional opportunities to young individuals who have strong roots in the cattle business that we otherwise might not be able to.”