Members of the National Junior Red Angus Association (JRA) recently elected six young men and women to represent the Red Angus breed as the National JRA Board of Directors. Elections were conducted during the JRA annual business meeting held during the 2014 Round-Up event June 28 at McPhee Red Angus in Lodi, Calif.

The 2014-2015 JRA Board of Directors are: Rachel Davis, Montpelier, Va.; Kevin Tlach, Britt, Iowa; John Nelson, Chickasha, Okla.; Jaclyn Ketchum, Plevna, Mont.; Anna Miller, Linden, Calif.; and Madelyn Mushrush, Strong City, Kan.

The newly elected officers were chosen by fellow JRA members that attended the 2014 Round-Up. Each Board member serves a two-year term. The first year, members serve in a director position such as fund raising, leadership and public relations. The second year they are able to serve in an officer capacity.

Get to know the JRA Board Officers

Returning to the board for the second year of her two-year term, Rachel Davis will represent the Northeast Region as the JRA president. She currently lives in Montpelier, Va., where she runs a small registered herd of Red Angus cows with her sister. This fall, Davis will enter Ferrum College, Ferrum, Va., where she plans to major in agribusiness and animal science. Upon graduation, Davis hopes to attend Oklahoma State University and obtain her master’s degree in agribusiness.

A native of north central Iowa, Kevin Tlach returns to the JRA Board as the first vice president. Representing the North Plains Region, Tlach comes from a seedstock operation and enjoys growing row crop commodities. He is currently a sophomore at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, majoring in agricultural business with a minor in agricultural systems and technology.

Representing the Great Plains Region, John Nelson steps up as second vice president. Nelson’s involvement with the Red Angus breed started six years ago in 2007 with a single show heifer. From there, his lonely show heifer has evolved to approximately 100 registered and 60 commercial Red Angus cattle. As the first Oklahoman to serve on the JRA board, Nelson enters his senior year of high school this fall at Chickasha High.

Meet the JRA Board of Directors

Serving as the Mountains Region Director, Jaclyn Ketchum begins her first year serving the JRA Board as the Leadership Director. Ketchum, who just finished a one-year term as an at-large representative, enters Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., this fall as a freshman where she is double majoring in animal sciences and agricultural education. Her ultimate goal is to attend graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to receive her Ph.D. in animal science. One day, Ketchum hopes to return to her family’s ranch where she can raise registered and commercial Red Angus cattle.

A California native, Anna Miller is representing the West Region of the JRA. Miller will serve as the Public Relations Director and enters her senior year of high school this fall in Linden, Calif. Miller attributes her passion for the Red Angus breed to her family’s purebred operation. In her spare time, Miller is very active in her community and high school extracurricular activities.

Representing the South Region in an At-Large capacity is Madelyn Mushrush. Mushrush, Strong City, Kan., will serve as the Fund Raising Director for the JRA and will be a junior at Chase County High School this fall. When she is not busy with school functions, Mushrush enjoys spending her time helping out on her family’s ranch where she also has a Red Angus herd of her own.

For more information on the JRA, visit the JRA Facebook page, Instagram or contact dawn@redangus.org.