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The Lowndes County Cattlewomen Association held its annual Father of the Year and Senior Scholarship Recipients event on June 20, at Harrell & Son’s Farms in Hayneville. 

Each year the group nominates two to three men, who are members of the Lowndes County Cattlemen Association, and selects one to honor as Father of the Year. 

“We want to recognize these farmers and fathers that are leading examples for the kids and community,” said Ann Louise Harrell, president of the Lowndes County Cattlewomen Association. 

The Alabama Cattlewomen Association was formed in 1953 to act as an auxiliary to the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, helping them promote, develop, expand, and encourage the production of beef cattle in Alabama.

This year’s Father of the Year was awarded to Garrett McCurdy. His wife, Rachel McCurdy, said the group tricked him into coming to the event under the guise that their daughter was going to give a speech. McCurdy was shocked to learn that the whole event was held in honor of him. 

“It was an honor and privilege to be awarded the Lowndes County Cattlewomen’s Association’s Father of the Year,” Garrett McCurdy said. “They are a well run organization that more women need to join. It’s important to educate our younger generations to understand the importance of agriculture and what it means to be involved in a group that cares about the future of agriculture. I grew up on a farm, so every chance I have I take my granddaughter to feed our cows and teach her about farming and cattle. She’s not quite two years old, but has already learned to call them up.”

The association also collects donation funds to award scholarships to high school seniors. The recipients must be a child or grandchild to a member that has served at least three years in the association. Students apply, write an essay, and are voted on by the cattlewomen at their spring meeting. 

This year’s scholarship award recipients were Ava Casey and Harley Hooper. 

The cattlewomen have four meetings a year, and raise their donation funds through their annual auction in February and another smaller event that changes each year. They use the donation funds for scholarships, food drives, school supply drives, cattlemen meetings, and other community needs.

The Lowndes County Cattlewomen Association are looking for new members who are ready to help their cattlemen and aid the community. Message them on their Facebook page if interested. 

“The Father of the Year event was fabulous,” said Harrell. “I want to give a big thank you to all the members who helped put the event on, to my in-laws for letting us use the location, and to everyone who came and was involved. I look forward to next year!”