Not present at the awards luncheon was Whitney Walker, Fayetteville, Ark. She is the 2021 recipient of the Tennessee River Music Inc., and Randy & Kelly Owen Scholarship.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — High achieving Hereford youth were awarded numerous scholarships during the 2021 American Hereford Association Annual Meeting and Conference in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 22. In a special awards ceremony, the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) and its army of donors proudly awarded $160,000 in scholarships to 24 National Junior Hereford Association members to help support their higher-education goals.

The Tennessee River Music Inc., and Randy & Kelly Owen Scholarship is a $2,500 scholarship by HYFA in recognition of the event Music on the Mountain. Music on the Mountain was a historic event held by Randy and Kelly Owen that grew the momentum for HYFA’s success and growth.

Whitney Walker from Fayetteville, Ark., is the $2,500 Tennessee River Music Inc. and Randy & Kelly Owen Scholarship winner. Whitney is a junior at Oklahoma State University, studying agricultural leadership. She and her family worked to establish the Arkansas Youth Expo, guaranteeing the livelihood of junior livestock shows in the state of Arkansas for years to come. During college she is employed by the Oklahoma Youth Expo and will be instrumental in the planning of this show as well as Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City.

The scholarship fund is the cornerstone of HYFA and countless youth are the benefactors of its mission. This last fiscal year, the foundation celebrated net assets reaching an all time high of 5.4 million dollars and $186,000 was given back to Hereford youth to assist with their college educations.

###

The Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) was established in 1986 and is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated exclusively to scholarship and educational support of youth in the business of raising Hereford cattle. The mission of the Hereford Youth Foundation of America is to encourage, recognize and reward the development of life skills and values in the next generation of leaders by providing education, scholarship and leadership opportunities for Hereford Youth.