Encouragement for New Designers

Here at RHD we have a lot of young designers who email us or tell us in person that they wish they could work at RHD, or have a business like RHD, or design ads like RHD.

Well, this morning I was going through some old boxes and I came across this little gem....

What is this piece of work you ask? Well, it's the first ad I ever designed. This was designed in 1997 when I was an intern at The Showbox magazine. I worked there for 3 months, and for the month of June and July, all I was able to design was 1/4 and 1/2 page black and white ads for shows. Which are pretty much template based. 

By August, Cherie gave me the go-ahead to get to design the ad for V8 Ranch, since it was my family, and for Wessington Springs Club Calf Producers, and R&R Cattle. 

I estimate I probably spent 10 hours on this ad. I remember pestering Laura Stanley to death about how to design an ad. (Laura was The Showbox editor at the time). I spent HOURS searching for this background. I tried every font on the computer. I mean, this was going to be my debut design in a magazine like The Showbox so I was pumped. 

I remember when it came out, I couldn't wait to show all my friends. My friend Matt Leo had spent the previous summer working at Pacific Showcase magazine and I felt like he was the friend who probably knew the most about ad design. I couldn't wait to show him.  Of course I was wanting some major bragging. 

But what did he say? "Rachel, this looks like crap!" 

WHAT???

He said, "You can't even read the headline! It looks like it says Congratulations V8 Uniors". 

Needless to say I was disappointed, but in the long run, that was the best thing that anyone could have said. Aside from the poor background and typography choice for a headline, it still was a pretty nice ad.  Good layout, good picture size, and legible captions. But ever since that day, I have always felt that typography and font choices were my first priority in designs. Because I always hear that old friend saying "It looks like V8 Uniors!' 

And, I post this to show any aspiring designer out there who's wondering how they get to be "like Ranch House Designs".....that it's not where you start...it's where you finish :)

Goal Accomplished: Article in Angus Journal

I've always felt that journalism was my passion. Though today my career finds me doing more PR and graphic design work, it was writing that first drew me into the field of communications.

My college major was animal science. But that wasn't exactly how I planned it. I first applied to Texas A&M University under the Ag Journalism department. When I went for my new student conference and it came to the point where you go meet with your department advisor to schedule your classes, no one from the Ag Journalism department showed up. So there my mom and I were sitting alone in Kleberg looking around wondering what the heck do we do now??

After sitting there, feeling stupid, and waiting for the ag journalism people to show up, Dr. Chris Skaggs came in and saw us. We knew Dr. Skaggs from showing and judging. He asked what was wrong, and said hey, don't worry, come with me...we want you in animal science! So I switched my major and Dr. Skaggs got me enrolled. I always say that was probably one of the most pivotal moments of my college career. Just think how my life would have been different if it wouldn't have been for the great people of the animal science  department like Dr. Skaggs, Dr. Boleman, and Dr. McNeill who shaped my life so much.

Despite the obvious shunning from the Deparment of Ag Journalism, which I've never quite got over, I graduated with a degree in animal science but I always had the passion for writing. When I was a junior at A&M, I wanted to take journalism classes for my electives. So I took the dreaded GSP (Grammar Spelling Punctuation) test that you had to pass to get admitted into the regular communications program. Made a perfect score. But since I was an animal science major (not communications) they still wouldn't let me in the journalism classes.

So, what did I do? Well, to be honest, I never gave up. I tried a different route...doing things on my own. I bought journalism textbooks and read them even though I wasn't in the classes. I got a mentor, Martha Garrett, who let me do some writing for her and she critiqued and edited it for me. I volunteered at The Eagle (Bryan Newspaper) and wrote for them to gain experience under the mentorship of Beverly Mosely. I volunteered with the TAMU Ag News team and wrote news releases. I joined the AgriLeader staff. I stalked news releases put out by the TAMU public relations office and I tried to learn everything I could in every way I could, even though Texas A&M journalism department seemed to keep closing the doors on me.

At that time, I idolized the Angus Journal. To me this was (and still is) the premier beef cattle breed association publication. I applied for their internship. Made the finals, went to St. Joe to interview, but didn't get selected. So, I then applied for a program they had at that time called the "Young Guns Writer Program" or something like that. It was for college students and you wrote articles kind of as mini-internships. I wrote several, submitted them, but none got published. I remember looking each month at the other ag journalism students who's stories made it and I'll admit, I was jealous.

One of my favorite songs of the summer is Eli Young's Keep on Dreaming. There's a line in that song that says "Some dreams stay with you forever, drag you around and bring you back to where you were. Some dreams keep on getting better, gotta keep believing if you want to know for sure." That is one of my favorite lyrics ever, because it's true.

I'm 33 years old, and it's been over 10 years since I sat there in my little office at Kleberg looking at the Angus Journal online and wishing it would be MY name on the byline. Between then and now, I've become a leading ag communications professional in the world, written a book, won 30 national design awards, and won Aggie 100 5 years in a row. But as they say, some dreams stay with you forever. And I'm proud to say that this May, I finally accomplished that goal. One of my stories was published in their May issue, and you can read it here: http://www.angusjournal.com/ArticlePDF/Pro%20Judge.pdf

You're never too old, or too professionally successful to re-visit old goals, set new goals and accomplish them. And it's true, if you keep on dreaming, and keep on trying, you CAN accomplish anything you want. It might take you 10 years, or even longer, but you CAN.

History: Conoco

Our first "History Lesson" on our RHD facebook page of course had to be this famous steer!!!! Here is what we have learned from each other about this significant historical animal!

• Chris Terembes first identified the steer as "Conoco", followed by Sarah Abatti adding that he was the first crossbred steer to win a national show, judged by Dr. Don Good.
• Jeannine Doughty (who happens to know a lot of history by the way) added that indeed, Conoco was the Grand Champion Steer at the 1969 International, a Charolais x Angus steer who weighed 1250 pounds.
• John Dickinson (of course he had to get an Angus plug in there) noted that the steer was sired by an Charolais bull and out of an Angus cow from North Dakota. 
• Curtis Ohlde taught us that Dr. Good was a professor at Kansas State University, then Chris Cassady shared that the steer graded Choice and was a Yield Grade 2.  
• Beth Riffel told us that Conoco's picture still hangs in Weber 123 on the campus of K State University.
• Holly Martin knew that the exhibitor's name was Brad Lindskog and shared a great blog about this story that was published in the High Plains Journal:  http://www.hpj.com/archives/2012/feb12/feb27/0222EditMR27_hm.cfm. John Dickinson shared that Lindskog had won in Illinois a lot with the steer and then went on to win Chicago. Les Reel is on the halter on this picture. Chicago Mercantile bought the steer for $12/pound.
• Dr. Twig Marston, beef cattle professor, added that Conoco was the beginning of the modern beef industry, and Debbie Crow shared that she was there that day and remembers the show!

Then, we all got a treat!! Kris Miller (sister to Brad, the exhibitor) shared: "That is my big brother's steer Conoco!" At that point everyone was delighted to get the birds eye view of the show from the people who experienced it first hand! Kris shared that the family also won the show a few years later with a steer named Bold Move. Conoco was presented to a Japanese official in Washington, D.C. and lived out his life there. He was never butchered.

THANKS everyone for sharing and helping us learn about a great piece of history!

History: "The White Heifer that Travelled"

In August we posted this famous Shorthorn photo to our facebook page where our friends take part in our "History Lessons" where we post old photos and then everyone shares what they know. This photo features "The White Heifer That Travelled", an old Shorthorn photo.

Here are some great tidbits about this significant animal.

• J.E. Ranch first identified her as "The White Heifer That Travelled", and later Jeannine Doughty identified that she lived in the early 1800s and was a freemartin heifer.
• Charles Anderson helped us learn that she was bred by Robert Colling and that the freemartin weighed over 2,300 pounds at maturity! He also said that she was so fat that the groove down her topline was so deep that locals would drink their favorite "beverages" out of her back with straws!! John Mason corroborated this story, adding that the drink of choice was whiskey!
• Grant Alexander (a Canadian Shorthorn breeder) helped us learn that she got her name because she was displayed all across England as "the model beef animal" of that time.

And finally, WB Show Cattle intrigued us with the question of: "Wonder what would happen if we bred her to Heat Wave!"

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History: "David" The Hereford Bull

One of our popular facebook fun items is our "History Lessons" where we post old photos and then our friends share what they know about the significant animals. It's an awesome way to hear good old stories from people nationwide.

One of these recent "History Lessons" included this family bull, named "David." As we gathered comments and stories on facebook, here are the great stories behind this famous bull.

• David was owned and exhibited by Bright Bros. Herefords of Le Grand, California. Sandy Meyer shared that his sire was the bull named "Lerch"
• 1981 Denver, National Western Stock Show
• Caroline McMahon shares:  It sold for a record $301K at auction!
• Matt Leo (James Bright's son), shares:  As the story goes Goliath was his competition and a popular bull at the time James Bright thought he could beat him so he named him "David" . Lerch was his sire the 1978 Reserve Grand Bull. David won Denver in 1980 under Bill Jacobs and in 
  1981 got beat by another Bull Bright's sold named Centenial shown by V Bar Ranch af Stanton, Tx . " David was bought buy Born Herefords and Granite Hills for $301,000 and still the Denver record. We still to this day work out of the showbarn and ranch " David" built! 
• Val Reiss of Kansas shares: " David was very line bred, same grandfather both sides. Legend has it David was conceived when Lerch jumped fence and got in with show heifers next door. Our black baldy steer that was Reserve Grand at Michigan 5 years ago shown by Ryan Smoes had a Hereford grandmother by David. Good genetics fit everywhere"

To this day, David holds the record of the highest selling bull of the Hereford breed. And, the Bright Bros. and Leo Bros. is still a great cattle operation in California. Thanks for sharing the photo with us!