Most importantly, the Annual Meeting on Monday will start at 9 a.m. in the Westin Crown Center. The meeting is open to the public. Association members selected more than 140 delegates to conduct the Association's business and to elect three members to serve on the Board of Directors. Running for the Board this year are: Mark Cooper, Willow Creek, Mont.; Marshall Ernst, Windsor, Colo.; Bob Harrell Jr., Baker City, Ore.; Denny Hoffman, McArthur, Calif.; Steve Lorenzen, Chrisman, Ill.; and Ken Stephens, Valentine, Neb.

The Association's Annual Report will be presented and distributed to the membership at the Annual Meeting, along with other reports on activities within the Association, Hereford Publications Inc. (HPI), Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC and the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA). This year's Hereford Heritage Hall of Fame and Hereford Hall of Merit recipients will be recognized, as well as national show point winners.

Weekend activities will kick off Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Westin Crown Center with the state presidents' meeting at 7 a.m., followed by a breeders' forum at 9 a.m. The state presidents will hear from Craig Huffhines, AHA executive vice president, and Jack Ward, AHA chief operating officer and director of breed improvement. Huffhines and Ward will give an overview of AHA research projects that are underway, and AHA directors will be present to answer questions.

Researching feed efficiency and survivability in Hereford cattle will be the focus of the breeders' forum. Guest speakers are Dan Moser, Kansas State University, and Monty Kerley, University of Missouri-Columbia.

Also at 9 a.m. is the American Hereford Women (AHW) annual meeting and brunch. The group will be honoring its past presidents, as well as the 2006 Outstanding Hereford Woman. No reservation is required and the meal is complimentary.

Delegate orientation will begin at 11 a.m. and includes presentations by the six Board candidates.

Saturday afternoon Hereford enthusiasts will visit the 14-acre American Royal facilities, just a few minutes from downtown Kansas City, for the 2006 Ladies of the Royal Sale. The sale, which starts at 3 p.m., features show heifer and brood cow prospects, Hereford steer prospects and elite embryo packages. For more information about the sale, contact Joe Rickabaugh at (816) 842-3757.

The HYFA Casino Magic Fundraiser is Saturday evening. Cocktails will be served at 6:30 p.m. in the Westin Crown Center Ballroom, with heavy hors d'oeuvres and casino games at 7 p.m. The event is planned around the sale of the Foundation Female package. The Jack Holden family of Holden Herefords, Valier, Mont., has donated the choice of two January heifers from the flush of the Holden matriarch HH Miss Advance 0023K and sired by the maternal trait leader CL 1 Domino 320N.

All proceeds from the casino night and Foundation Female auction go to the HYFA, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated exclusively to scholarship and educational support of youth in the business of raising Hereford cattle. Tickets are $50. For more information or tickets, contact Mary Ellen Hummel at (816) 842-3757. Reply by Oct. 6 to ensure your casino night reservation, as tickets will not be sold at the door.

On Sunday morning, the junior Hereford show will begin at 8 in Hale Arena. Don Boggs, Manhattan, Kan., will judge the show. Following the juniors will be the National Hereford Show, judged by Tyler Cates, Modoc, Ind. For those who can't make the shows, results will be available online at www.hereford.org.

The Westin Crown Center will be the AHA's hotel headquarters. The Westin is located at 1 E. Pershing Rd., Kansas City, Mo. The cutoff date for room reservations in the Hereford block ($113 per night) is Sept. 30. To contact the Westin, call (816) 474-4400 or (888) 627-8538.