FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Angie Stump Denton, or (785) 363-7263
Nov. 16, 2009
Killian Crowned First National Hereford Queen
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Katie Killian, Stratford, Texas, was crowned the 2009-10 National Hereford Queen during the American Royal National Hereford Show in Kansas City Nov. 1.
Katie is the first National Hereford Queen. The 2009-10 competition was open to state horned and polled queens. The queen program is administered by the National Hereford Women. Donors and sponsors, some of which have been with the queen program since its inception by the National Organization of Poll-ettes in 1974, allow it to continue and flourish.
Katie competed against nine other state queens for the title. First runner-up honors went to Courtney Tribble, Puyallup, Wash., and second runner-up to Kara Bielema, Ada, Mich., who was also voted Miss Congeniality.
Candidates were evaluated on their Hereford involvement, behavior, attitude, appearance and interaction with producers, as well as their résumés and interviews.
“Katie is a genuine individual,” says Ann Guess, Texas Hereford Association secretary. “Katie is tolerant of others’ ideas and solutions and willing to work unselfishly for the accomplishment and betterment of the organization.”
The daughter of John and Jill Killian, Katie is a senior at Stratford High School. She is also active in 4-H, FFA, National Honor Society, student council, church activities and volunteers in the community.
As a member of the Texas Junior Hereford Association (TJHA), Katie has participated in photography and livestock judging. She is currently a TJHA director and has also served as reporter in addition to her role as state queen.
Her Hereford ties run deep; Katies’s grandfather Alfred Pronger Jr. was recognized as a Century Hereford Breeder in 2004. Her family has been registering Herefords since 1860 when her great great great grandfather listed a Hereford bull in volume one of the Hereford Record. Katie says with so much Hereford history, she feels it was her destiny to be involved in the National Junior Hereford Association and to serve as National Hereford Queen.
She has already represented the Hereford breed at a grocery store event promoting Certified Hereford Beef, and is working toward her certification in the Masters of Beef Advocacy Program.
Katie will represent the breed and its breeders at shows, sales and other events throughout the U.S. “Being involved with the Hereford industry has given me so much knowledge and confidence, and I feel I have so much to give back,” Katie says.
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Cutline:
Katie Killian, Stratford, Texas, was crowned the 2009-10 National Hereford Queen during the American Royal National Hereford Show in Kansas City.
Hereford royalty honored during the 2009 American Royal (l to r) are: Kirbie Day, Waxahachie, Texas, 2009 National Polled Hereford Queen; Katie Killian, Stratford, Texas, 2009-10 National Hereford Queen; Courtney Tribble, Puyallup, Wash., first runner-up; and Kara Bielema, Ada, Mich., second runner-up and Miss Congeniality.