Recently, I was graced with the Southwestern Cowbelle/Cattlewomen of the Year award. The most honoring and cherished part of winning this award is that I was nominated by my peers, people that I deeply respect and admire.

In order for you to qualify and nominate for the Southwestern Cowbelle/Cattlwomen (SWC/C) of the Year, you shall be a member with good standing. And to be a nominee, you shall be a member with good standing and hasn’t received the award before. The nominations shall be prepared and signed by the nominator to be submitted to the SW Cowbelle/Cattlewomen of the year Committee at the January meeting; the committee will be consist of the past three recipients of “SWC/C of the year”  and shall be chaired by the third year honoree.

The format of the letter shall be as follows: Short history of nominee SWC/C past and current activities, to prove that the nominee is an active member. The letter should also include the reason why you think this nominee deserves the award as the “Cowbelle/Cattlewomen of the Year.”

The committee will meet and make the selection. The name will be kept confidential except for the organization's president and a family member of the Cowbelle/Cattlewomen of the Year”, this is to ensure that the award comes as a delightful surprise to the recipient. The committee will prepare the letter of presentation. The presentation shall be made by member (s) of the Cowbelle/Cattlewomen of the year committee at the SWCLA (Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association) Annual Banquet. 

                                              The Letter

The Southwestern Colorado Cowbelles/Cattlewomen’s 2024 Cattlewoman of the Year

LANEA DONAHOO

She grew up in the Arriola area. She attended schools in Montezuma County and graduated from MCHS in 1989. She attended University of Arizona, participating in rodeo and majoring in Agriculture. After graduating college, she taught High School Ag in North Carolina before returning to the 4-Corners area where she taught school in Aztec, NM while raising her four children. As an educator with a strong belief in the importance of education, she has also taken advantage of being a part of the Western Colorado Cattlewomen's Council, learning from other strong Cattlewomen here on the Western Slope. She regularly reports on what she's learned at these many conferences at our monthly meetings.

She received the nickname “Podunk” from her grandfather, and now utilizes that cherished nickname as her trademark for the successful VRBO she runs in her childhood home where guests can relax in the country and learn about cattle ranching at “Podunk's Ranch”. After many hours of online study, she has started her own successful marketing company “Podunk's Beef”, selling her high quality beef to the public. She started with one steer she was able to salvage from her father Gary's herd after his passing and was able to purchase a handful more. She went from selling 7 head in her first year to 50 processed steers this past year! That's pretty impressive!

Her ability to problem solve while maintaining a positive attitude has served her well and she has experienced great success in a niche market that is serving a need, not only in our community, but in our state and others. She has cultivated relationships and sought grants that allow her to follow her passions in providing nutritious, quality beef products to fight hunger and food insecurity in South West Colorado.

Her daughter told me that her mom always said, “Whatever you do in life, do it with your heart!” She definitely follows her own advice as she joined the SWC/C organization a couple of years ago and literally jumped in heart first. Nothing slowed her drive to get involved with every aspect of our organization and her enthusiasm is contagious! She took on one of our major projects— the creation of the cattle brand napkins you find on your table this evening. Not only did she head up that project, she spearheaded a new item, the cattle brand shopping bag! Her organizational skills allowed both of these monumental projects to move forward with great success.

Her ability to successfully network with various organizations has allowed our message, “Eat Beef!” to be heard loud and clear and we thank her for being instrumental in that, and for being such a welcome part of our organization. Please, help me celebrate our 2024 Southwestern Cowbelles

CATTLEWOMAN OF THE YEAR, LANEA DONAHOO!!

How my day went before winning the Southwestern Cowbelle/Cattlewomen of the Year.

The day started at my son's High School District Swim Meet where he not only set a district record, he also beat the school record in the 200 freestyle. He had been working toward that goal all swimming season. Tears began running down my face before he ever entered the water. It was an elating moment when he realized he had beaten the school record by more than 2 seconds. I left the district swim meet in bliss for my son's achievement and proceeded on to the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association Annual evening Banquet where I was completely surprised by my SWC/C of the year award winning. My day was one of the best days to date. I felt like I was floating on the clouds. Family and friends were beaming with pride for the day's awards.