In 1970 Evans graduated from Kansas State University, where he was herdsman of the college's cattle division. After graduating he managed Flint Hill Hereford Ranch in Eureka, Kansas; Higgens Hereford Ranch in Nowata, Okla.; and finally EE Ranches Inc.'s Mississippi division in Winona, where he remains after 23 years.

State delegates elected Evans to the AHA Board of Directors in 2003. This past year, he was chair of the show and sale committee, and also served on the building and marketing committees. In addition, he serves on the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) board of directors.

Evans says the Hereford-cross is the �natural answer� for commercial cattlemen looking to take advantage of the powerful and profitable effects of heterosis. He asks that Hereford breeders heavily promote this advantage in order to grow market share and to help commercial cattlemen reap the benefits of careful crossbreeding.

Hank DeShazer, Hearne, Texas, will team with Evans as the AHA vice president. DeShazer owns DeShazer Cattle Co. in Hearne, where about 400 Hereford calves are born each year and 150-200 commercial bulls are sold private treaty.

DeShazer was elected to the AHA Board in 2004. He also serves on the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) board, and is a member of the Texas Hereford and Texas Polled Hereford associations, as well as the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

The AHA Board also gained three new directors on Oct. 23: Marshall Ernst, Windsor, Colo.; Bob Harrell Jr., Baker City, Ore.; and Denny Hoffman, McArthur, Calif.

Ernst and his family own and operate Ernst Horned & Polled Herefords. His career also exceeds 30 years in the meat industry. He has managed both hog and cattle harvesting facilities as well as further processed and cooked meat operations. Ernst has been responsible for 35 meat-processing plants in 20 states.

He served as Wisconsin Polled Hereford Association president twice and as a director for six years. His career moved him from Wisconsin to Ohio, where his family was active in the Buckeye Hereford Association, and then to Colorado. Currently he is working with other Colorado breeders to reorganize the Colorado Hereford Association. Ernst is also co-chairman of the 2007 Junior National Hereford Expo.

Harrell Hereford Ranch, located in eastern Oregon, is a second-generation operation that was established in 1970. It is a family-run operation and consists of 300 registered cows, 400 commercial cows, an 800-head feedlot and 20 Quarter Horse broodmares.

Harrell has served as a director and as an officer in the Oregon, Washington, Northern Idaho Hereford Association (OWNI) and is past president of the Baker County Livestock Association. He served on the 2005 AHA Strategic Planning Committee and on a past AHA nominating committee. He has been asked to judge shows on the national and international level, and has had exposure as an exhibitor in the showring, coming up through the ranks of the American Junior Hereford Association. Harrells exhibited the 1984 reserve grand champion bull at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) and have shown several carloads in the NWSS Yards.

Hoffman has been actively involved with Hereford cattle for nearly 50 years. He started his career with a 4-H project. His involvement progressed to being a herdsman, a manager and now an owner of 100 registered Hereford cows, plus a small registered Angus herd and 150 commercial cows that are used in an embryo transfer (ET) program. Hoffman Herefords is a family-run operation.

Hoffman's background with Hereford organizations includes serving on the California-Nevada Hereford Association board of directors and the OWNI board. He has been president of the OWNI and also has served on the president's council. He has extensive showring experience and, like Harrell, has been asked to judge at major cattle shows.