The American National CattleWomen summer business meeting wrapped up in Denver with a strong emphasis on improving member education, expanding communication, and strengthening leadership development across the organization. American National CattleWomen (ANCW) President Casey Matzke told Associate Farm Reporter Carli Davenport that the organization’s recent gathering generated productive discussions and laid the groundwork for several initiatives that will continue throughout the year.
“We had a pretty great number of ladies that came out and joined us, and we had some really good conversations,” Matzke said. “We have a couple committees that were refreshing and revamping, and sitting in some of those committee meetings, there was a lot of great discussion coming out of it. So I’m pretty excited to see what the future holds for the remaining of the year.”
Communication and Education Remain Top Priorities
For Matzke, the organization’s biggest priority has been responding to member requests for more educational opportunities and stronger communication. “Top of mind for me as president has just been trying to get some more communication and educational opportunities out to our membership,” she said. “A lot of feedback I got coming up through the last few years has always been, ‘Hey, we want more communication and more education.'”
To meet those needs, ANCW has launched a webinar series and is preparing to roll out a monthly newsletter. “We started the webinar series. We’re going to implement a monthly newsletter that’s going out here shortly,” Matzke said. “Those are two different ways that we can communicate and educate.”
She noted that one of the goals during the summer meeting was making sure members knew those resources existed. “Even though you post on social or you send out emails, sometimes your email goes to spam or you don’t see that one post on Facebook,” she said. “Just making sure the ladies are aware of the things that we had going on.”
Leadership development also received significant attention during the meeting. “One of the things that we are working on as an organization is to make sure when people sit on the board and take on leadership roles within our organization, that they’re prepared and they understand all the responsibilities that come with it,” Matzke explained.
She praised the leadership training sessions conducted for state presidents, saying they encouraged valuable feedback and ideas for improving the organization.
Touring the National Western Complex
As part of the meeting, attendees toured the National Western Complex in downtown Denver, giving members an opportunity to see one of the country’s premier livestock event facilities. “We walked in through the Legacy Building, and we got to tour everything that they have going on there, and it was fabulous,” Matzke said.
She was especially impressed by the facility’s design and artwork. “They have Charolais cowhide on the wall, but it’s dyed different colors,” she said. “There’s a huge, beautiful sunset with people riding horses with cattle and everything. It was just so beautiful.”
Matzke also noted the venue’s outdoor event space and said it could be considered for future ANCW events.
Webinar Series Will Highlight Cattle Industry History
Looking ahead, Matzke said the organization’s next webinar will feature Hunter with NCBA, who will discuss the history of the U.S. cattle industry as America celebrates its 250th anniversary. “We wanted to try to capture the 250th for July,” she said. “We’re doing history on the cattle industry, the present of the cattle industry, and what the future of the cattle industry will look like.”
She believes understanding the industry’s past is essential to preparing for what’s ahead. “I think it’s very interesting to watch where we’ve come from, where we’re at, and kind of where we’re going,” Matzke said.
Reflecting on Her First Year as President
Matzke officially became ANCW president after serving as president-elect, and she admitted the first half of her term has gone by quickly. “It’s been great. It goes by so fast,” she said. “We’re already halfway through the year.”
Still, she believes the organization is making meaningful progress. “I think sometimes change takes time,” Matzke said. “I think we put some good steps forward into helping the organization keep growing.”
She also credited the team around her for helping move initiatives forward. “I have a really, really great team, and I’m super excited to see what happens in the following years after my presidency too, as well.”
Grilling 101 Toolkit Continues to Grow
One initiative Matzke remains especially passionate about is the organization’s Grilling 101 Toolkit (attached below), which is now available on the ANCW website as a resource for members conducting educational events. “It’s on our website under resources, and it’s just a full guide… basically a step-by-step guide. It has scripts and everything in there,” she said.
Matzke has already led three Grilling 101 events this year. “It was fantastic,” she said. “There were kids of all ages, non-ag kids. It’s always special just to watch and teach people and let them know, ‘Hey, you can go buy a cut of beef at the store for a decent price and a grill for $20 from Walmart, and you can make your own steak.'”
Preparing for the Rest of the Year
Following the successful summer business meeting, ANCW is already looking toward the remainder of 2026 with monthly webinars, committee development, state affiliate visits, and preparations for the annual conference. “We’ll continue to have monthly webinars,” Matzke said. “We’re revamping our Women in Leadership Development committee, and we’re also refreshing our WIRED committee as well.”
She said national leaders will spend the fall attending affiliate meetings across the country before shifting their attention to planning the organization’s annual conference. “In September we’ll start planning what we’re going to do and start planning a tour for annual conference,” Matzky said. “Next thing you know, it’ll be annual conference, so we’ll start prepping for that normally in September and October to be fully prepared whenever February comes.”
