EPISODE NAME: Junior Takeover — The Making of a Champion: Cates and Curtin on Showing Cattle  

The secret to success isn’t a secret so much as it is hard work. National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) members Piper Cates and Sloane Curtin both say that there’s a lot of practice put in before they ever step in the show ring. On this episode the two competitors share their show day tips and encourage young members to seek out mentors, while talking about their own favorites and teasing next year’s National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) location and theme.  

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman, Mark McCully 

GUESTS:  
Piper Cates, Modoc, Ind., has been an active member of the NJAA since she was old enough to join. She’s participated in everything from the NJAS photography contest to the Auxiliary-sponsored All-American Certified Angus Beef Cook-Off. Cates currently serves as the Indiana Angus Association junior princess and won Reserve Champion Junior Showmanship A in both 2025 and 2026 at the National Junior Angus Show.  

Sloan Curtin, Oxford, Iowa, has had much success in her time as an NJAA member, including many champion and reserve champion wins. She was the 2025 Showmanship winner in the National Junior Angus Show intermediate B division 

GUEST HOST: Ava Leibfried is a third-generation Angus breeder from Platteville, Wis., currently serving as the National Junior Angus Association board chair. Ava is studying agricultural business at Iowa State University, and intends to keep Angus cattle as part of her long-term career goals. 

Miranda Reiman (00:02):
All right. Welcome to the Angus Conversation. I'm your host, Miranda Reiman, with my co-host, CEO of the American Angus Association, Mark McCully, and my guest co-host Ava Leibfried here.

Ava Leibfried (00:14):
Hello everyone. Great to be back for Day 2 of our podcast series here at the National Junior Angus Show.


Miranda Reiman (00:21):
Absolutely. One of my favorite parts of the week is this chance to get to sit down and learn from juniors and learn a little bit more about what's going on at the show. So I guess as we were talking in the intro about things that you've had going on this week and how you've prepared for the week and things like that, we talked a little bit about how you select the contests and the topics for the contest and some of the things that are going on here at Junior Show.


Ava Leibfried (00:44):
Yeah. So our wonderful education director, Catie Collison, heads up the education committee for us this year. And today we have the extemporaneous speaking contest. So we've got to select the topics for that, just thinking about things that are relevant and then also fun for our juniors. So we select topics for that as well as creative writing and then the graphic design contest. So like I said, relevant for our juniors, but also allows them to learn a little bit, but also enjoy what they're assembling their pieces on.


Mark McCully (01:14):
Is the topic for extemporaneous, is that top secret yet or is it public?


Miranda Reiman (01:19):
It's ongoing right now, so I guess no one will hear this until it's over.


Ava Leibfried (01:24):
Yeah. So juniors actually get to select three topics from a hat or a bull and then they get to pick the one that they are most confident in speaking about.


Mark McCully (01:32):
Excellent. Yeah.


Miranda Reiman (01:34):
So there's dozens of them.


Ava Leibfried (01:35):
Dozens of them. Yeah.


Mark McCully (01:37):
Yeah. Excellent.


Miranda Reiman (01:38):
I haven't judged the creative writing before. And let me tell you, it is a tough thing to judge. There's a lot of creative juniors out there. It's kind of fun to see not only can they excel in the show ring, but it's fun to see all the things that they come up with, and it's tough competition. So that's just a tiny slice. I'm sure that everyone who judges any of those contests would say the same thing for sure.


Ava Leibfried (01:59):
Yes. We're very proud of our juniors. We know they're very intellectual and they have a lot to say. So it's fun to see them in different lights and show off what they know in a creative way too.


Miranda Reiman (02:09):
Absolutely. Well, we have some guests with us today that I would say should be a fun topic to get into because we have a current junior and also a junior that's aged out and now taking that experience out into the world. So I guess let's just jump right into it because it is a busy day here at the show and we've stolen two National Junior Angus board members that are going to need to get back in the ring.


Mark McCully (02:32):
Ava, we just pulled you out of the ring.


Miranda Reiman (02:35):
Ava 2.


Mark McCully (02:35):
Ava Wood. Yeah. ...


Ava Leibfried (02:37):
Ava W.


Ava Wood (02:38):
Yeah. That's our official nicknames.


Ava Leibfried (02:42):
We have some others.


Miranda Reiman (02:45):
Ava, so glad to have you with us. Of course, you're on the board, grew up in your family's North Carolina Angus operation. And you just want to give us a kind of brief, who is Ava?


Ava Wood (02:55):
Yeah, of course. So I've been showing since I was 8 because that used to be the age before we changed it to 7. My first junior nationals that I attended was 2013 in Kansas City. My first one showing was in 2016 in Grand Island. I've been to all of them except 2015 in Tulsa. So gone to plenty. We've been showing all over the country statewide, countywide, everything in between. And we run a commercial operation. We now have a farm market and where we used to have a production sale every year, we turned it into a wedding venue. Since we're really close to the city of Raleigh, agritourism is a big thing we have to do and we love to do it as well. So we recently renovated our production sale barn into a wedding venue. So we've been doing that and we love doing that.


(03:45):
We love having people that are not used to agriculture come. And we actually have a spot on our farm where you can get married with cows grazing right behind you. And that pulls a lot of business because there's not many places, especially near Raleigh where you can do that. I don't know if any actually. So we do that and we also sell beef out of our farm market and pork. Our family also does commercial hog farming. That's our main thing, but we obviously have a big Angus herd that we are super active in.


Miranda Reiman (04:15):
Excellent. Well, that is definitely something that we're going to dig into a little bit on this podcast. Talk more about that venue. But I know you come from a family with strong Angus roots. You're not the only superstar of the family. Your sister Mary was also involved. And then also your brother Justin here right to your right. So Justin, glad to have you on the podcast.


Justin Wood (04:35):
Yeah, glad to be here.


Miranda Reiman (04:36):
Tell us just a little bit about your Angus involvement.


Justin Wood (04:39):
I've been showing Angus cattle since I was 9 and I did not get to go to my first junior nationals until 2013. That was the family's inaugural one. I was 12 when I went. So I was a little later to the ballgame. Ava and Mary were able to benefit from getting in a little earlier.


Miranda Reiman (04:54):
The plight of being the older sibling. Yeah, you got the shaft is what I hear in that...


Justin Wood (04:59):
Yeah. I actually did go to -


Mark McCully (04:59):
Still bitter.


Justin Wood (05:00):
Yeah. A little bit. I actually did get to go to the 2015 junior nationals. I was the only one of us three that went that year. So since 2013, I've been to every one of them. Went and served on the junior board starting in 2019. The last time it was here in Louisville went off in 2021 in Grand Island. I was the leadership director. I was actually the last leadership director. The very next group, they switched the name to Education and Events.


Miranda Reiman (05:27):
I was going to say, is that that you did it so poorly they deleted it? Or you did it?


Mark McCully (05:32):
No, you set the standard so high.


Justin Wood (05:35):
Probably something like that.


Ava Leibfried (05:37):
Had to end on a high note for them.


Miranda Reiman (05:39):
They could never have another.


Justin Wood (05:41):
Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah, they did. My Angus involvement was certainly impactful on everything I did. Ended up going to Hutchinson Community College, did some livestock judging there, transferred to Oklahoma State, went there as well. And since I've come home from Oklahoma, been working on the family farm, kind of taken over the cattle side of things. I help out in all the other avenues as well. The wedding venue, the farm market, the hog farm as well, but mainly the cattle is kind of what I'm in charge of now. And with the market and a growing evolution of our operation back home, we've had to kind of switch our gears a little bit with the cow herd, but that's been fun to navigate certainly.


Miranda Reiman (06:27):
Sure. Absolutely.


Mark McCully (06:27):
And so it was mentioned, sister Mary also on the board.


Justin Wood (06:31):
Yes.


Mark McCully (06:32):
I'm not sure I know of another family that have had three siblings on the board. Is that -


Ava Wood (06:36):
We're the first.


Mark McCully (06:37):
Okay. First.


Ava Wood (06:38):
No, we confirmed it. We confirmed it, when I got on


Mark McCully (06:40):
Okay.


Ava Wood (06:41):
My dad is the only parent that's had all three of his kids on the board.


Justin Wood (06:45):
He probably confirmed it with the historian, Tom Burke. Yeah,


Mark McCully (06:48):
With Tom. And if he blessed it, then it's true.


Ava Wood (06:52):
And then we had a queen too. Mary was queen


(06:55):
We've hit all the boxes.


Mark McCully (06:56):
Yeah, that's incredible. So Ava, was there ever a decision you had to make about, am I going to run for the board or was it just determined you were going to run for the board?


Ava Wood (07:05):
Well, I like to say, and when I talked to Megan, when I first got on the board to interview, I was like, yes, Justin and Mary were both on the board, but that's not why I was on the board. It was never a, okay, your brothers, sister did it. It was never that. We were both just so involved. And I was actually talking to Katie Collison last night. She's my roommate. And we were talking about, she was like, "I wish I went to more conferences and all that before getting on the board because they're so fun." And I was like, "That was just a thing. As soon as we could do it, we did it. " It was never do you want to or you have to. We just did it.


Mark McCully (07:40):
It was your decision. It was your path.


Ava Wood (07:42):
It was our decision, but we did it.


(07:43):
And obviously our dad was there to make sure we did it, but I mean, our state pushed it. It was always ,the Woods are going to be there. The Woods were everywhere. There was a show, there was Angus cattle, the Woods represented in North Carolina, along with other families, of course, but we really were doing everything and anything we could. Last 4th of July, I was like, "This is my first 4th of July I haven't been in a junior nationals. I don't even know how long."


Miranda Reiman (08:06):
Didn't even know how to celebrate the fourth without cattle.


Ava Wood (08:08):
No, I didn't. I was like, "Not at a cow show. This is strange."


Miranda Reiman (08:13):
Was there a lot of pressure? What if you wouldn't have made it?


Ava Wood (08:16):
Well, luckily we had a smaller group, so there were six of us. So I didn't have that pressure, but I still... I saw my dad always made fun of me. Not made fun of me. It was a joke.


Miranda Reiman (08:27):
Joking.


Ava Wood (08:28):
Took my delegate job very, very serious. And the year Ava's, 14, ran, I was like, "Okay." I took it very serious because I was like, "I know I'm running next year." I didn't know how many I was running with. I was like, "I want to elect people that I know I would serve well with." So I took that specifically that year, but every single year dad made fun of me because I had notes. I was like, "These people have talked to me this many times." And I was just like, I took my job very seriously and I just loved getting to know the candidates.


Ava Leibfried (08:57):
And that's very common among all of our delegates. They take their job very, very seriously.


Ava Wood (09:02):
And we saw that passion last year because obviously it was a weird year last year with only six candidates. And it was honestly, even if you felt positive, if you had concerns, I still loved seeing how passionate the delegates were. And a lot of those delegates last year are now candidates. So they're realizing how it is on our side, having to run for the board. So it's really great to have passionate delegates and you want to talk to them before your annual meeting, let me tell you.


Mark McCully (09:28):
So maybe explain that process a little bit. For some of our listeners, they may be familiar with the adult delegate process, but maybe not as familiar with the junior delegate process. So you mentioned the annual meeting and things. So maybe explain that process just a little bit.


Ava Wood (09:41):
Justin, you want to talk about your experience with it?


Justin Wood (09:44):
Yeah. Last time I was here in Louisville, I kind of was as serious about making sure, finding all the delegates before the Tuesday night dinner, made my way around the barns. You have the -


Mark McCully (09:55):
So every state gets -


Justin Wood (09:57):
Two.


Mark McCully (09:57):
Two.


Justin Wood (09:57):
Yeah. And then you also have two alternates in case the two that you initially elected couldn't make it or for some reason couldn't make the meeting or whatever. And so each state that's represented has two delegates and you have a meeting at the beginning of the week, a very informal one, just very short, sweet, introductory, here are the candidates, here are the delegates. Try and find them in the barn. And so I made sure to get as many names down as I could on my phone and went through and put a check mark by everybody that I talked to. And then Tuesday night you get there, you have a meal with everybody and then each candidate gives their speech. And I think it's supposed to be about five minutes or so.


Ava Leibfried (10:35):
It's about two to three. So they've shortened it since I did it.


Ava Wood (10:41):
After Ava's year of 14 candidates we had. Yeah. Right. They had to take an intermission that year.


Mark McCully (10:46):
I remember that year.


Justin Wood (10:48):
But every candidate does a speech and then after that you do a round robin table. Round table. Yeah, round table discussion where each candidate goes to every single table and each delegate gets to ask the candidate specific questions. And that was the funnest part of the evening for me.


Ava Leibfried (11:07):
I agree.


Justin Wood (11:08):
The speech is very stressful, I feel like. And once you get past that kind of hump in the middle and all you're doing now is talking to your constituents, I guess You're just talking now.


Miranda Reiman (11:21):
It's easier to talk to people than to talk at people.


Justin Wood (11:22):
Absolutely.


Ava Leibfried (11:23):
And since you listeners can't see us all, me, Ava, and Justin, we're all shaking our heads very hard. That best speech is the most stressful and it's just fun to chat with the delegates.


Ava Wood (11:34):
Justin on the way to junior nationals, whenever I was running for the board, I think actually told me to quit saying my speech so much because I kept reciting it.


Mark McCully (11:44):
You could have given it for her?


Justin Wood (11:46):
Yeah.


Ava Wood (11:46):
Oh, that's how we were with Mary's queen speech. I though I did a lot. I could recite the first paragraph of Mary's queen speech.


Miranda Reiman (11:53):
Probably still know it


Ava Wood (11:54):
Oh, I hope not.


Miranda Reiman (11:55):
Yeah. It's funny. Well, talking through your guys' National Junior Angus experiences, what kind of ones stand out as being the most formative or the ones that you think you've maybe gotten the most from over the years?


Ava Wood (12:09):
This is from all three of us. I would say we've had a very long, deep Angus journey. In 2015, our mom passed away, stage four lung cancer. So we were already super involved in the Angus Asociation when that happened. So obviously that was a very formative life experience obviously, but also a formative Angus experience because we saw our Angus family surround us through that hard time. And then with that, we had an endowment. I don't remember what year that started. Justin might know


Justin Wood (12:38):
2016 was the first year it was started. Or was the first year a scholarship was awarded


Ava Wood (12:42):
Yeah. I think in 2015, we sold a heifer at one of our state sales to start an endowment for our mother DeEtta's Memorial Scholarship. So that has been a super, I would say, a super formative experience for us. I mean, away from junior board stuff. And that's just the Angus Foundation. That was great for us. So every year we've awarded a scholarship. Me, Mary, and Justin have both been lucky enough to receive it. And this year, another North Carolina kid received it. So it's super exciting and it's always been someone from North Carolina. We prioritize North Carolina kids, but if we don't have anyone from North Carolina, anyone can receive it. So it's super exciting that we get to do that. So that's just one that stands out to me. He might have another thought.


Justin Wood (13:25):
In terms of formative, I think kids getting involved early with non-show ring type stuff. Obviously the young kids that are here at this show, they don't get to go to the conferences, but the experiences outside of the ring that you have at shows, the mentoring program, which is now AMP, that's super formative. Everything that you do that the junior board and the Junior Angus Association, the American Angus Association provides for young kids outside of the ring, I think that's really important because it's those sorts of experiences that make you want to come back to shows. It's those experiences that make you want to say, "Well, when I get old enough, I'm going to go to Raising the Bar. I'm going to go to LEAD. And then when I get old enough, maybe I want to run for the junior board." Just talking with the family from my state back there in the barns before I walked up here and this kid's not been involved very long and he's had such a blast at these shows and different things that he's had the opportunity to do.


(14:21):
He's thinking, "Well, maybe running for the board is something I want to do. " And he's very young. That inspiration in terms of getting them started early,


(14:30):
Showing them that there's so much more to offer at these shows than just what goes on in the show ring, I think is super important. And it was very formative for me growing up as well. Made a lot of friends, made a lot of connections and was able to get really involved.


Miranda Reiman (14:45):
Has your perspective on the things that you have learned from the association changed as you've gotten older?


Justin Wood (14:52):
I don't know. That's a tough question. I don't know that they've changed. As I've gotten older, it's certainly evolved.


Mark McCully (14:58):
You're not that much older. Wait till you get old. Then you look back on these things.


Justin Wood (15:01):
But as I've continued to get further and further away from my time as a junior, it's evolved certainly through college. So when I ran for the board, I ran right out of high school. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. In my situation, that was something that I felt like I needed to do and go ahead and get done. So that's how I did it. But Mary and Ava, they were a year or so into college before they ran and that's what I would recommend. I had to do a lot of growing up as a person and I was relatively mature for my age still, but through college and out in the real world now doing big kid stuff, I don't have homework. I've got bills and stuff. The life lessons I've learned certainly stay with me, but you continue to se them through a different angle, I guess is the best way to put it.


(15:48):
Yeah.


Mark McCully (15:48):
Well said.


Ava Leibfried (15:49):
I would recommend also waiting to get maybe a year or two into college, figuring out who you are and then how to figure out how to fit into your team if elected to the board I think is very important. And just being there for your people, but making sure that you know who you are first or have a good sense of it I think is very important.


Ava Wood (16:07):
Yeah. I definitely agree with that. And obviously in those bigger states, it's hard. We kind of had it kind of lucky. I say we have it lucky, but since 2019, we've had a North Carolina kid on the board. So I mean, we're a small state.


Miranda Reiman (16:19):
It's as competitive


Ava Wood (16:19):
as show. We're represented well for sure. So I mean, we say Justin did it too early, Mary did it too late. I did it the perfect time. In that freshman year -


Miranda Reiman (16:30):
That's the way that it works when you're the baby. Yeah.


Ava Wood (16:32):
Well, just the way it worked with North Carolina. It's just as soon as one got off, the other one got on. So it's just how it worked out. But yeah, because then I wrap up school the same time I wrap up with the board and then you go into adulthood and navigate that.


Miranda Reiman (16:44):
Sure. Yeah. Justin, the reason I asked that question is I was thinking in my head that sometimes kids think they're learning about cattle. That's what you're doing, but you're really probably learning so much more outside of cattle and animal science. The


Justin Wood (16:58):
Speaking skills, the leadership skills that, like I said, go back to the opportunities outside of the ring. Certainly it pays off when you decide to run for the board or when you go to college or a job interview or just general professional life. All those things like you guys talking about the public speaking contest earlier, those sorts of experiences just continue to pay off. You think you're doing a contest today, but 10 years down the road, you're that much more prepared for something else. Certainly what brings us all together is Angus cattle. And of all the stuff that I've learned, I've learned the most about Angus cattle through showing and going to shows and conferences. But the stuff that you learn around it that also seems to kind of go hand in hand with it is what was most rewarding for me certainly.


Ava Wood (17:49):
Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. I actually recently got a new job and in my interview process I was talking about how I was on the board and how all these things I'd have to ask all for. I'm like, "I'm not on vacation. I'm working. I just have to not be here." After the fact, I got the job and I was talking to my boss and she was like, "Yeah, main thing that stood out was how professional your resume and your cover letter was. " She was like, "You're the only person who submitted a cover letter." I was like, "Are you kidding me? ". And then she said, "And with all your Angus board stuff," she said, "I don't even really know what that is, but I just knew you would be able to talk to anyone and everybody and be good in whatever role and a good person to hire within and growing through the company." And I was like, "Yeah, that's really rewarding to hear because I'm glad to hear not even people who understand what the Angus Association is or whatever still recognize the prestigiousness about it.


Ava Leibfried (18:43):
One thing the National Junior Angus Association and the American Angus Association does really well is exposure, I think. So yes, we're learning a lot about Angus cattle. We're also meeting breeders, fellow young breeders especially. And then getting that exposure to public speaking and being in those instances where you have to think on your feet and deal with problem solving I think is really important.


Mark McCully (19:05):
You guys mentioned being in boardrooms and you're on committees. I mean, the other thing, you learn how to work together. Yeah, definitely. How to lead into change, to get your ideas conveyed, maybe sometimes how to bring collaborative thoughts together out of groups. Those are things, exposure that as an employer, I'm looking at you, Ava, as I would think looking on your resume, I'm like, wow, there's a skill that you come already with that obviously in a workplace, a work environment is super valuable each and every day.


Miranda Reiman (19:33):
Those are things that are hard to teach too. You almost have to just do them and have that experience.


Ava Wood (19:38):
To touch on that teamwork thing, we gave our interviews a couple nights ago for our officer positions for the new six to go on to their next year as the old six. Jaclyn said after our interviews that every single one of us said how valuable teamwork was and how learning how to navigate everyone's personalities has been something truly an obstacle, but honestly a reward at the end of the day. And she said it was unanimous across the board. Every single one of you said that. So I was like, it's awesome that we were all separately, doors shut in the room. We all said the same thing. So that just shows how we've worked as a board and the old six has done a great job of setting that standard and...


Mark McCully (20:15):
You are diverse as board members. I mean, there's, come from different parts of the country. Some first generation, multi-generational.


Miranda Reiman (20:23):
Not unlike our Association Board.


Mark McCully (20:25):
Exactly. It's very reflective of the junior membership and the bigger membership, the adult membership. Well, I guess my point being - There's not a cookie cutter. Yeah. There's not a, well, here's what it takes to be on the junior board. The reality is it takes, you're obviously all very impressive people and ambitious to step out, but leaders, but come with different perspectives. And so when you put those different perspectives into a room or onto a call to make decisions -


Ava Wood (20:52):
You can create something awesome, definitely.


Mark McCully (20:53):
Absolutely.


Ava Wood (20:54):
Yeah,


Mark McCully (20:54):
Definitely.


Miranda Reiman (20:55):
So talking about teamwork is kind of a nice segue to actually we invited you here to talk a little bit more about your teamwork as a family, I guess, and to talk about what you got going on there, especially it was interesting to me to hear about your wedding venue and the added parts to your operation that you have going on there. So maybe give us a little bit more, you said it was your production site. Yeah, your production barn. Just tell us a little bit more about that.


Justin Wood (21:23):
The barn that the wedding event venue's in now served many hats over the years. It's where we had our annual production sales, which we don't have anymore. Primarily, if we sell Angus cattle, we sell it private treaty or through consignment sales. That was all part of the evolution of the operation at home. Did serve as our production sale barn. When we weren't having a sale, it's where we kept feed, it's where we kept hay. It's where we worked on tractors and lawnmowers and Kubotas and all that sort of stuff.


(21:53):
Over the years, family friends, church friends, whoever would reach out to us about, "Hey, can we get married at your place?" And we didn't really have a setup for a wedding, but we were like, sure.


Ava Wood (22:04):
Air conditioning.


Justin Wood (22:06):
If you want to get married, yeah, come try it out. You do what you want to do. And the number of people that kept calling and asking was growing. And we were like, "Well, we should renovate this and make it a little bit more of a business and make some money at it if we're just going to have people keep showing up and having weddings."


Mark McCully (22:24):
This is a lot of work.


Justin Wood (22:25):
Yeah. Taking up a weekend around the farm. We got to that point and we all jumped in and my grandparents, my dad and my stepmom and us kids are all plugged into it in one way or another. And it's continuing to grow. And a couple years ago, right before my dad got remarried, we remodeled the barn.


Ava Wood (22:45):
The Thursday before his wedding. The paint was drying on the wall.


Miranda Reiman (22:49):
Perfect timing.


Justin Wood (22:52):
And we've actually done some more upgrades this spring. Our other sister Mary's getting married at home. She lives in Nebraska now, but she'll be getting married North Carolina in November. And so again, we've got a whole list of stuff we want to get knocked off and done.


Miranda Reiman (23:06):
There's nothing like a deadline


Justin Wood (23:07):
Before her wedding.


Ava Wood (23:07):
And the paint will be drying November 20th.


Justin Wood (23:09):
Yeah. So we've got some more stuff we're looking to add to it. Constantly renovating or improving or adding this, adding that just to improve the facilities. That's certainly been very interesting. And I actually enjoy it. The connective part to the community.


(23:27):
There's a lot of wedding venues around us. The drive to get married on a farm or in a field somewhere, that's a big deal. I don't know if it is across the country, but in North Carolina it is, if you're not getting married in a place like that, I don't know where you're getting married at because everybody's doing it. Our wedding venue, our space, our farm, it's certainly a lot more authentic in terms of the other locations around us because the other days out of the week, it is a working cattle farm. It is a working hog farm. I get up every morning and feed cows and go check this and go do that. And we do a whole lot around there. So it's certainly more authentic. And I think that's a big attraction to what draws people to us. And as we continue to get our name out there, we continue to book more weddings.


(24:16):
I think 2027 is, the calendar is filling up a lot.


Ava Wood (24:19):
Big year for us.


Justin Wood (24:20):
I don't think we've scratched the surface of what it's going to be like to have a wedding venue full time. No. So we'll get there when we get to it, but we've had a lot of fun doing it certainly.


Ava Wood (24:30):
And a big credit to Justin because it was like his idea forever ago. And it was always, we'll get there. We'll do it. We'll start charging. We'll make a business out of it. And it finally got the ball rolling and he was like, "We need to do it. "


Justin Wood (24:44):
Well, my dad, my grandparents my whole life come the end of the week scratching their heads about paying the bills. Are we going to do this? And I'm like, "Well, you've got people getting married out here. Let's make some money at it. Let's do it. " And it's starting to pay off. Every family's got that day of the week where you sit down, "Oh, what are we going to do this week?" And so that was certainly very fun to do. And it's been very fun to see it grow. I think the most unique part of it to me is seeing the farm that I grew up on, us transforming it. We've add a grooms quarter. Is that what we call it, Ava? Groom's quarter. Okay. A place for the grooms to hang out. Well, it used to be where I kept my show tack.


(25:29):
I've got to find somewhere else to keep it now.


Ava Wood (25:31):
And before that it stored tobacco.


Justin Wood (25:33):
Yeah, tobacco sticks and tobacco. And so that's been really cool repurposing old spaces into something new.


Ava Wood (25:41):
And people love that.


Justin Wood (25:42):
And fruitful. And I think that's really cool and unique. The original home place is now the bridal suite. Where our grandmother was born. That was where our office... Yeah. Our great great grandmother lived in that house. That's how long the family's been on the property, on the farm. So that's been the most rewarding part of it to me is the farm I grew up interacting on, seeing it grow and turn into something new, but to connect the community and to be financially beneficial to us as a family and a farm. I think that's very unique.


Miranda Reiman (26:17):
And I think getting to share that with other people then too, to have them see kind of how you guys live and operate.


Justin Wood (26:23):
Well, the market kind of is more of what I would say is a way for us to show how we utilize it as far as the farm goes. When you're utilizing the event space, you're maybe not as concerned about the story and the roots and what goes on on the other days, but the market's also been very beneficial. And selling beef, something that really took off for us after COVID and it just continues to grow and grow.


Ava Wood (26:48):
I would say definitely, yeah. Like you said, the market definitely is people more fascinated by our everyday lives and how we operate as a family. But also I would say the event space, what really helps is our family dynamic. When people come and tour the property, I mean, a lot of times they're meeting the three generations that currently live on the farm and operate it. Sometimes it's just dad, sometimes it's just our stepmom, Casey, and sometimes it's the whole hee-haw gang. And then they'll see the barn cat and they'll see all the dogs. And it's like they're literally walking into a family dynamic because we don't have any... We have a few employees here and there, but not for the venue. The venue is fully. Everyone with the last name Wood runs it. Which we'll probably get to a point where we're going to need outside help because genuinely none of us have that amount of time.


(27:35):
So it's fully operated by family, which a lot of people love and appreciate. And our family's there on their wedding day and they've already familiarized them to be there as a resource. So they love that aspect of it too. It's like they're made a friend and all of us, one big family that's doing it and helping them with it. So that's definitely a big draw, I would say.


Miranda Reiman (27:59):
So what is more stressful working together as a family on a show string or on a wedding venue?


Ava Wood (28:04):
Getting ready for a wedding? Probably I would say getting ready for a wedding is more stressful because the show string is just the kids, and a lot of it's on Justin.


Justin Wood (28:13):
I was about to say it's more stressful for me at a cow show.


Ava Wood (28:16):
I know. I told Justin this whole summer show season, I'm like, "I'm going to have to get you a really nice gift because I've not helped at all." I've been there to walk the cow in the ring and I'm like, "Here you go. "


Miranda Reiman (28:28):
At least she'll admit it, right? I literally


Ava Wood (28:30):
Told him, I was like, "I'm going to have to get you something nice after junior nationals and you need to go on a vacation, full paid vacation for a week somewhere that's...


Miranda Reiman (28:38):
We have it on record now.


Ava Wood (28:39):
I already told him.


Justin Wood (28:42):
 I have to convince my dad now.


Ava Wood (28:43):
Because Grant, another fellow board member at Eastern Regional, Justin was just sitting there clipping the cows and we were walking by through the barns and Grant was like, "I just love how your brother's just towing it around your stock for just the love of the game. Just the love of the game." Because I say we did it for Mary because we did, but when Justin was on the board, he didn't have cows. He didn't show because he didn't want to put that on us. So truly the love of the game because we didn't have to... We took care of our own stuff, but we didn't have to do that for him. So it's definitely really nice.


Miranda Reiman (29:14):
I was going to ask how you guys work together as a family and did that develop naturally out of working together on cattle? I mean, do people have their roles or do you kind of all jump in all hands on deck?


Ava Wood (29:25):
Well, at a show, I mean, obviously prior to me being on the board, yeah, it was just me and Justin. He was obviously the point man, the head man. I tell everyone, when we went to the Angus Association, I didn't know how to do a blood sample on a cow. He's always done it for me. I'm a classic younger sibling. I know how to wash a cow, dry a cow, show a cow, break down a cow. You never want me to clip your cows because I can't do that. Don't ever ask me to fit because I'm bad at it because I've just been extremely lucky that... Well, and he likes things done his way. That's also another part of it. Obviously, obviously we're there to help, but our whole life, that's really, not our whole life. Obviously we had help when we were younger, but the second we were aging, especially for him to drive, it was okay, Justin and whoever's going to the show, we're getting in the trailer and going and my dad will come.


(30:18):
I always said ever since Mom passed away, it's like my dad's our show mom and he's our show dad. Because my dad's getting the show shirt and ironing in. He's fitting the cows. So that's how it worked out naturally.


Miranda Reiman (30:31):
Yeah. You have that support system.


Ava Wood (30:33):
Oh, definitely.


Miranda Reiman (30:34):
I love that.


Justin Wood (30:34):
Yeah. Strong family dynamic. A lot of bickering.


Ava Wood (30:37):
Definitely. It's not -


Miranda Reiman (30:39):
To make you better, iron sharpens iron.


Justin Wood (30:41):
That's right.


Ava Wood (30:42):
Then you have our granddaddy who just loves watching a show, but if we're not there eight classes before we get in the ring, he's stressing out. He's stressing. Yeah. If you ever attend the Atlantic Nationals, you'll see him ringside just peeking back in the makeup area as soon as they start the show. Where are you guys at? So even if we have a senior yearling.


Miranda Reiman (31:00):
That's all right. It takes all different types of personalities. I think Mark's sometimes that way with me. Is she prepared? Is she really going to be here with all her stuff? Love it. Well, when you guys think about your wedding venue and your farm and your market and all of those types of things, are there things that you think you learned through the National Junior Angus Association that translate now into your adult life and you've been able to make you successful


Ava Wood (31:27):
100%.


Justin Wood (31:27):
Yeah, certainly. We're show cattle related. You come to junior nationals every year. They've got all these clinics and all these workshops and contests that prepare you for all sorts of different aspects of the show ring life. And then outside of the show ring, we've already talked about just how impactful the stuff is for young kids as they continue to progress in their Angus journey. So yeah, I owe a whole lot of my cattle knowledge, my Angus knowledge to growing up in this association, in this show ring, continuing to learn just as I got older and more mature, certainly.


Ava Wood (32:07):
Yeah, definitely. I would say something that definitely helps. So with the farm market, we're selling beef. People don't know the cuts of beef, where they come from. We actually have a little chart, all that kind of stuff. Genuinely interacting with the public, the amount we do, you truly realize not that it's a bad thing, people genuinely just don't know and they can't help it. It's just like, wow. And we have a lot of, I call them transplants. They're not from North Carolina. They're from the north. They're coming down because the cost of living is cheaper and they just don't know anything about agriculture or even a cow. And they're so fascinated. So talking to them and just telling them, "Okay, so that's where that comes from." I wouldn't know any of that if I didn't go to a LEAD conference and CAB at... In Nebraska, CAB came, that's where I've learned the most about me in anything because it came and talked and being on the board, like AGI, all that stuff, all the genetics, everything, learning that specifically being on the board, you know how to interact with the public, you know how to educate, you know how to help with that.


(33:13):
So that's definitely been a big thing, just interacting with the public and just being able to kind of, I don't want to say dumb it down, but theoretically yes, that's what you're doing. Simplify, that's a better way to say it. Simplify what you're saying to them in everything that's going on and it helps. It truly helps the public appreciate what we do and what the industry stands for. So definitely.


Justin Wood (33:38):
All those years participating in the CAB C-ookoff helped us for the market.


Ava Wood (33:42):
Oh, definitely.


Justin Wood (33:42):
That's right.


Ava Wood (33:44):
Of course.


Mark McCully (33:44):
You just don't have to put on a skit before you sell it to us.


Ava Wood (33:48):
Justin, you should have said one of your formative years is when you won the black kettle.


Justin Wood (33:52):
Oh yes, I did. The


Ava Wood (33:54):
Coveted.


Justin Wood (33:54):
Yeah. The North Carolina team. I can't even remember what year. In Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines. So 2017. I did. We did a Hee-Haw skit.


Miranda Reiman (34:04):
Yeah. Mark just judged the Cook-off yesterday along with Julie Mais, who's over here producing it. So they know how stiff that competition is.


Mark McCully (34:12):
I'm still full. Yeah. Yeah. Every year that competition just gets more competitive.


(34:18):
Yeah, it is fantastic.


Miranda Reiman (34:20):
I sat in and watched one of the contests and I said those students, I was in a senior division so they had asked what they were planning to do after college and every single one of them was so impressive. I though, "Man, I am glad I'm not competing against these students for jobs because they all... " I mean, we had a biochemist in there and a psychologist and I mean, there was just some really cool stuff those students were doing. So


Mark McCully (34:44):
I think about maybe for young people maybe listening to this, they're driving home from the National Junior Show. They had an awesome week. For the three of you guys, maybe these young people have just kind of scratched the surface. Maybe they came here to show, but maybe are hearing from you guys today going, "Wow, maybe there's a lot more to this that I didn't understand." What's one piece of advice or one first step you would give those young folks of what's next? What should they do next?


Ava Wood (35:13):
I'll start. I'm a big believer in going to the conferences. As a junior board member, there's talk about how we can improve, how we can change. Do we need to do this process to make it better? The events team has done a fantastic job and it keeps getting better in my opinion. I wouldn't know anyone genuinely. We're not a big state, like I said before. And that really put me on the mark. When I was running for the board, I already knew 90% of the kids just because of going to conferences alone because it's the active juniors that go to the conferences, the active ones that want to do something different, love seeing their friends. Now as getting older, you see friendships just get so strong just going to those conferences because at cow shows, especially these summer ones, you got to rinse two times a day, do this, that and the other and you just don't have time to go and hang out and you're doing competitions hopefully and all that.


(36:13):
So definitely I'm like, go to the conferences away from a cow show, get together, hang out. You get to learn some stuff, you get to do fun stuff. And as a board, we try to make it as fun as possible in the best way we can. I


Ava Leibfried (36:26):
Think about when I was just first starting out and I was like 12 when I went to my first junior national, too. So always show county fair state fair, but kind of wanted to get to that next level. And my second junior national was actually Madison, Wisconsin, from Wisconsin. And we had wonderful advisors that voluntold us to do things, which we didn't know that we would be really interested in them at that time, but that was awesome to have those advisors to go to. Also on the flip side of that, take advantage of the people you do know and see what they have to provide for you. As a junior board member, I love when juniors come up to me and say, "What contest do you think I would be really good at?" Or, "What should I do today?" We're here for every single junior that's at the show and not at the show as well. And then another great resource is the National Junior Angus Association website. We have every piece of information you could ever want on there and it has every contest, the rules or what you can be involved in, the mentoring program, all the details that way. So I would definitely say use your resources. And like we always say, get outside your comfort zone, but see those things that you could maybe see yourself doing or maybe play to your strengths and that could show you the path that you want to take in your Angus journey.


Justin Wood (37:48):
I guess I'll just echo both of them a little bit. I think anything outside of the show ring at these shows and conferences is worth your time doing because that's when you're able to kind of unplug from the cattle side of it, which is what brings us together, but it's also what keeps us busy. And when you get a moment to unplug from that and interact with other juniors or your state advisors or the junior board or somebody with the Angus Association and make a connection, make a friend that's going to last you your entire career, that's the stuff that's most beneficial to me. That's the stuff that I remember the most. You certainly get that at conferences, you get that through contests, or you just get that hanging around in the barn as you're getting ready to go tie out or just middle of the day, you have nothing better to do.


(38:37):
Any moment that you can unplug from the cattle side a little bit and plug in directly with other juniors and get involved that way will be extremely beneficial. And it'll be the memories that you hold onto the most from shows like this and others throughout the years.


Mark McCully (38:54):
Great advice.


Ava Wood (38:55):
I will say with the contest aspect, it was a goal for our board to want to get these kids more involved in contests, especially specifically the older group. And I will say sitting at contest check-in on Sunday, we had so many people who just forgot to already register when they were registering for the show. Come and sign up. Caitlin was telling me and I was like, "There's so many posters," which obviously is a younger kid contest, but that's so awesome to me. I just love the fact that people are getting super involved in the contest. And I judged, like you said, you judged the creative writing one before I judged the creative writing one this year. And I did career development. I wasn't a judge, but I did the time. So I got to see the kids interview and it's just insane, insane. I did the senior division and it's just insane how good these people are.


(39:43):
And it's because they've been doing contests as soon as they could because you see the same names every year and you keep seeing them get higher up on the ranking is what I'll say for the contests. So seeing how many new people we've already had, just continuing to grow that is just super, super important specifically for our 12, but I feel like that will continue on for the next 12 and each year after that.


Miranda Reiman (40:07):
Well, I love all the great life advice you've given anybody who's listening really.


Mark McCully (40:13):
Parents too.


Miranda Reiman (40:14):
Parents, too. Exactly.


Mark McCully (40:15):
To voluntell your kids. Ye


Ava Wood (40:17):
Exactly. Make them.


Miranda Reiman (40:18):
Exactly. Especially from three people here who've had very impressive Angus careers. We always end on a random question of the week. Are we ready for that? Ready? All right. I'm going to try something new because I've got the sibling pair here. I want you guys to... I'm going to do a rapid fire round and I just want you to answer at the same time. Okay. So you're going to get a couple random questions right in a row. I want to know who's most likely to be up first out of all you siblings.


Ava Wood (40:46):
Me?


Justin Wood (40:47):
Probably me or Ava.


Miranda Reiman (40:49):
OK.


Ava Wood (40:50):
All


Miranda Reiman (40:50):
Right Mary wouldn't dispute it?


Ava Wood (40:52):
Yeah, no.


Miranda Reiman (40:53):
I want to know who's most likely to forget their belt.


Ava Wood (40:57):
Mary.


Justin Wood (40:57):
Ava.


Ava Wood (40:58):
Oh.


Miranda Reiman (41:00):
This isn't going to cause a fight later, is it?


Ava Wood (41:01):
No, Mary's not here and it would be between me and Mary, who the fight would cause. So it would not be between me and Justin.


Miranda Reiman (41:08):
Who is most likely to get too attached to an animal?


Ava Wood (41:12):
Can we have an honorary and say our stepmom, Casey? Yeah, sure. The kids get attached and I definitely love my old show heifers a lot, but our stepmom Casey...


Justin Wood (41:22):
I would say the siblings, probably Mary.


Miranda Reiman (41:24):
Okay. Who is most likely to have to... If there's a challenge or a problem, who's the first one that you're like is going to solve this problem?


Ava Wood (41:33):
Justin,


Justin Wood (41:33):
Me.


Miranda Reiman (41:35):
You're in pretty good agreement. Oh my goodness. Who's most likely to worry about what's for supper?


Justin Wood (41:40):
Mary.


Ava Wood (41:42):
Oh yeah.


Justin Wood (41:43):
Mary.


Ava Wood (41:44):
Yeah. She's peculiar, but she'll be worried about that.


Miranda Reiman (41:50):
Okay. A couple more. Who's most likely to get lost on the way to the show?


Justin Wood (41:53):
Ava or Mary?


Ava Wood (41:55):
Yeah, maybe. I always, when I was a little kid, I found my way around the barn pretty good.


Justin Wood (42:01):
None of us are really directionally challenged, but Ava or Mary, I guess would be


Ava Wood (42:05):
My - Yeah. Never Justin though.


Miranda Reiman (42:06):
Never Justin. Very good. Who starts packing first?


Ava Wood (42:10):
Mary.


Justin Wood (42:11):
Mary. Yeah.


Ava Wood (42:11):
She does the most moving around.


Miranda Reiman (42:14):
Very good. Who is most likely to have a scholarship named after them someday?


Ava Wood (42:23):
Mary. I'd say. She had the queen and the board thing and she was chairman. I mean, she hit it all.


Miranda Reiman (42:30):
She got it all.


Ava Wood (42:30):
And she'll never let us forget it.


Miranda Reiman (42:34):
Very good. Well, I'm out of questions because that was very random. I just though of it. Anybody else have any other questions before?


Mark McCully (42:40):
That was great. Yeah, good. I didn't want to... Poor Mary's not here to defend herself, so I kind of feel bad because... I hope Mary, you're listening. T


Ava Wood (42:48):
Hi, Mary.


Ava Leibfried (42:49):
Hey, Mary.


Miranda Reiman (42:50):
Well, thank you guys so much for taking the time to visit with us today. We are sitting here ringside with showmanship happening right behind us. And we know that there are probably some of your fellow green jackets are over there


Mark McCully (43:02):
Yeah, they're looking over here, hey


Miranda Reiman (43:03):
Are Avas ever going to get back to work? Are they just going to chat all day?


Ava Wood (43:06):
And I was in the novice ring, so they're definitely wondering when I'm going to get back.


Miranda Reiman (43:11):
That's absolutely right. Well, thank you guys for your service, your longtime commitment to the Angus breed. It's all of you, but especially the Wood family and appreciate all the contributions you've given back to the Association over the years.


Ava Wood (43:23):
Thank you guys so much.


Justin Wood (43:24):
Yeah. Thank you for having me on.


Mark McCully (43:26):
We appreciate it.


Miranda Reiman (43:27):
What a great chance to hear from a couple of Angus members on the way that the program has shaped their lives. To get more coverage from the National Junior Angus Show, be sure to follow Angus Journal on Facebook and Instagram or Angus Media on TikTok. This has been the Angus Conversation, an Angus Journal podcast.