10 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN November 2024 LAURA FIELD | NC EVP RUMINATIONS 4611 Cattle Drive, Lincoln, NE 68521 Phone (402) 475-2333 | Fax (402) 475-0822 nc@necattlemen.org | www.nebraskacattlemen.org NEBRASKA CATTLEMEN STAFF EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | Laura Field lfield@necattlemen.org VICE PRESIDENT OF ASSOCIATION ENGAGEMENT | Melody Benjamin VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING | Jeff Stolle DIRECTOR OF MARKETING | John Roberts DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Libby Schaneman DIRECTOR OF PRODUCER EDUCATION | Bonita Lederer DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP-RETENTION | Jessica Rudolph DIRECTOR OF STATE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS | Matthew Melchor ACCOUNTANT/BOOKKEEPER | Kathy Abel OFFICE MANAGER | Ashley McClinton Nebraska Cattleman is published monthly, except for May and July, by the Nebraska Cattlemen, 4611 Cattle Drive, Lincoln, NE 68521 – (402) 475-2333. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MAGAZINE PRODUCTION: BLUEPRINT MEDIA LLC www.blueprintma.com | ncmag@necattlemen.org EDITOR | Lisa Bard MANAGING EDITOR | Jessie Topp-Becker COPY EDITOR | Larisa Willrett DESIGNER & MATERIALS COORDINATOR | Megan Sajbel Field ADMINISTRATION | Leslie McKibben CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Bill Coe | Natalie Jones STATE & REGIONAL ADVERTISING Amber Coleman | (402) 340-1588 acoleman@necattlemen.org NATIONAL ADVERTISING Wendy McFarland | (334) 271-6100 mcfarlandadvantage@gmail.com Working for Nebraska Beef Producers PASTURE TO PLATE TO PLATE NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN VIEW NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN DIGITAL VERSION BY SCANNING THE QR CODE. KEEP BUILDING LAURA FIELD | NC EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT I’m a gift giver. I love reasons to celebrate, and if that involves a gift, I love it even more! Thinking about the receiver and something unique and perfect for them gives me great joy. When buying gifts for my kids, I usually add a criteria that if it’s a game or a puzzle, I buy something that I will enjoy playing or building or doing with them based on my love for puzzles and games. When our whole crew is together, we need a big table, lots of room, a large dose of patience and reminders about how much we love each other. We have quite a few birthdays in our family during the summer months, and as I was shopping, I became fixated with Lego 3-in-1 Creator sets. These fun collabs come with one set of Legos and three different creation booklets. I stocked up on multiple sets, fully prepared to give them to the recipient they best fit. After getting home one night, I needed a distraction and one of the sets caught my eye. This particular trio included a butterfly, a dragonfly and a peacock. I opened the box and started building. I found myself completely fixated on the set (I started with the peacock) and could not put it down until I was done a couple of hours later. Since putting that first one together, I’ve taken apart and created the butterfly and dragonfly. The experience and process of building those sets left me thinking of the larger life lessons that apply to my work and life. 1. If you follow the steps, you can finish the project. 2. Building takes time – finding the right pieces, getting them to click and keeping them together takes patience and determination. 3. Building has both ups and downs. 4. Slowing down and using precision helps the building process. 5. Blocking out the discouragement and listening to the encouragement keeps you on track. 6. If you make a mistake, back up a few steps and try again. 7. The finished project will make you smile. The timing of these realizations was eye-opening for me as my focus on relaxation collided with my reality of being executive vice president of Nebraska Cattlemen. While building a Lego set may have only taken a couple of hours, building a talented team to work together to support the members of the association has taken a bit more time. It is so rewarding to have the chance to be on the same team with tremendously bright, thoughtful, dedicated men and women. As we challenge each other and grow as a team, they make me better every day. I encourage you to reach out and get to know them – from communications to membership to policy to education to market reporting, we have an elite group of team members ready to answer your questions and help enhance your membership experience. By searching for the pieces, taking time, being creative and discerning the needs, it all fits! Turnover and change are challenging, but the team working on your behalf at Nebraska Cattlemen is top notch. I’m incredibly thankful to have the chance to learn and grow with them. And to keep building! ~NC~
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