Page 8 - WCA September Ketch Pen 2020

Headquarters
From Your Executive Vice President
8
Fladry, ungulates, and carnivores, oh my!
Greetings, WCA Family! I want to thank you all for the gracious welcome Y’ALL have given me during these ini- tial few weeks as your Executive Vice President. From a hospitable office staff to the friendly members that have taken the time to introduce themselves and the leadership team that warmly welcomed me into the fold—I thank you. I am blessed by your kindness!
On one of my last days in the south Texas heat, I got a refreshing visit from a long-time mentor of mine, Joe Ma- ley. Joe took me under his wing as a policy greenhorn during the earliest stages of my career, and we have been dear friends ever since. As Joe and I shared a modified COVID-19 hug goodbye, he reminded me, “look for the helpers when you get up there.”
As I drove the next 2,000 miles, I presumed it wouldn’t be hard to find the helpers within the structure of the WCA. What I didn’t know is how immediately I would be proven correct in my presumption: Enter Dave Dun- can.
I knew I needed a crash-course in Washington Cattlemen’s history protecting livestock against predators and predatory policy, and I knew Dave was the revered expert. I called him the morning of my second day on the job and made my pitch.
“Mr. Duncan, I know I am woefully lacking in my knowledge base in this area and I want to be your student. Will you sit down with me for 45 minutes to an hour sometime in the coming weeks and help me parcel all this out?”
“I have to go into town first, but I can be there by 10:00.”
Wow! Talk about answering the call to stand and deliver! As I sat across from Dave as his student for the next hour and thirty-two minutes, I realized how fortunate we are at WCA to have the “helpers” that we do. Wheth- er it’s the tenured expert that patiently sits with the new gal defining fladry and ungulates, or giving her some insight on all the different carnivores we have here in Washington or your district representatives that bring your specific concerns to our leadership; we have no shortage of helpers at WCA.
And we are here to help you, Ketch Pen reader and WCA member. I hope you will look to our website and face- book page to help remind you of important Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) application deadlines and other helpful resources and guidance, especially with the recent wildfires. We will meet the moment for our members and continue to provide a unified voice and trusted space for cattle producer interests and livelihoods. Look to us, reach out to us! We are here to help you.
In closing, I am delighted to be in the fold and look forward to all we will accomplish together. Happy trails, my new friends!
Ketch Pen www.washingtoncattlemen.org
September 2020