Wesley Grau, Weldon Wynn and Roger West elected to top posts The Cattlemen's Beef Board voted unanimously to elect Wesley Grau of New Mexico to finish out the year as chairman of the national board. Formerly vice chairman of the Board, Grau had been serving as acting chairman since the resignation of former chairman Tom Jones about a month ago. As Grau's election to chairman created a vacancy in the vice chairman seat, to which Board members voted unanimously to elect Weldon Wynn of Arkansas. Again, since Wynn had been serving as secretary/treasurer this year, his election to vice chairman created a vacancy in the secretary/treasurer seat, to which Board members elected Roger West of Florida. Wesley Grau is a partner in Grau Charolais Farm and Ranch and also raises wheat. He is the past president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, past president of the New Mexico Beef Cattle Performance Association, member of the American International Charolais Association and NCBA, and past president of the New Mexico Wheat Growers Association. He and his wife have three children and five grandchildren. Wesley served as chairman of the Joint Producer Communications Committee in 2010, and also has served on the Joint Advertising Committee, the CBB Administration Subcommittee and the CBB Executive Committee. Get to know Wesley a little better at this link. Weldon Wynn owns Wynn Beefmaster Farms and Wynn Rice and Soybean Farm. In addition, he and his wife own and operate Wynn Insurance Agency. He is an active member of his community and industry, including service on the board of directors of the Pine Bluff National Bank of Star City; former emcee and judge of the National Beef Cook-Off; National Beef Ambassador judge; past president and active member of the Arkansas Cattlemen's Association; member of the University of Arkansas Animal Science 2000 Advisory Council; past president, treasurer, and fair manager of the Lincoln County Fair, among many others. On the Beef Board, Weldon has served on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee, the CBB Executive Committee, the Joint Advertising Committee, for which he served as vice chair in 2010, and the Joint Beef Industry Budget Committee. Get to know Weldon a little better at this link. Roger West, Ph.D., is a retired meat-sciences professor at the University of Florida. He has served in leadership positions for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the Florida Cattlemen's Association, and the Florida Farm Bureau. In addition to his cow-calf business, Roger is also involved in providing ultrasound of breeding cattle and has a lengthy list of meat science and other industry honors and involvement. For the Beef Board, West most recently served as vice chairman of the Research, Education & Innovation Group. For a new interview with Roger, visit this link. For more information about the Beef Checkoff Program, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com. The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. 08.04.2011