Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with the current president-elect of the Oklahoma CattleWomen, Amarie Bartel, about her passion for the group and her plans if elected as president.
“I have been involved with Oklahoma CattleWomen for about three years,” Bartel said. “I started as the secretary, then was the vice president of beef promotion, and now I am serving as president-elect. It has been a fabulous opportunity to stay involved with the cattle industry no matter what phase of life I am in, and I think that is one of my favorite things.”
One of the questions Bartel has been considering through her time as president-elect, she said, is “Who are we as cattlewomen?”
It is easy to be a gatekeeper in the cattle industry, Bartel said, because of the technical knowledge required and the years of hard work many put into their operations.
“Something I have been challenging myself lately is to be a gate-getter,” Bartel said. “I want to make sure I am opening the gate for other cattlewomen to come in and learn about our industry, so that is what I am excited about. We have the challenge to be a gatekeeper or gate-getter, and I am excited to cultivate a community of gate-getters in the Oklahoma CattleWomen.”
Also working as the Oklahoma Farm Buruea’s economic development coordinator, Bartel said her passions are able to overlap in both organizations.
“When I accepted my position at Oklahoma Farm Bureau, actually one of the first questions my supervisor asked me was, ‘You are going to stay involved in the CattleWomen, right?’”
Bartel said each time she steps away from her desk at OKFB to come to an Oklahoma CattleWomen event, she remembers they are working toward the same mission.
“I am glad to be part of an industry where we can all collaborate as a community in that way,” Bartel said.
