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The 1975 first annual meeting, held at the Crown Center Hotel in
Kansas City, July 11, 1975, saw membership of the fledgling
organization doubled. It was decided to declare all publications
represented at the meeting, and with membership fee paid, charter
members.
Listed here are those publications in the order they joined:
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Weekly Livestock Reporter, Fort Worth, TX
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Florida Cattleman, Kissimmee, FL
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Livestock Breeder Journal, Macon, GA (Re-named Beefweek)
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Charolais Way, Mt. Vernon, OH (changed to North American Charolais Journal,
bought by American-International Charolais
Association upon launching Charolais Journal in 1977)
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Western Livestock Reporter, Billings, MT
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Drovers Journal, Kansas City, KS (later moved to Shawnee
Mission, KS, and today located in Lenexa, KS. Effective January
1998 issue, re-named Drovers.)
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Heart of America Horseman, Belton, MO
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Record Stockman, Denver, CO
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Western Livestock Journal, Denver, CO
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The Cattleman, Fort Worth, TX
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Livestock Market Digest, Kansas City, MO (now Albuquerque, NM)
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Brahman Journal, Sealy, TX (now Eddy, TX)
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Angus Topics, New Market, VA (now Carmi, IL)
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The Ranchman, Tulsa, OK
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Gulf Coast Cattleman, Beaumont, TX (now San Antonio)
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International Limousin Journal, Ft. Collins, CO (discontinued
when Runnion started Limousin World)
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Simmental Shield, Lindsborg, KS (discontinued in 1988)
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Focus on Beef, Edmonton, Alberta, CAN (discontinued)
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Polled Hereford World, Kansas City, MO (merged with American
Hereford Journal in 1995 to create Hereford World)
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Better Beef Business, Kansas City, KS (discontinued)
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Angus Journal, St. Joseph, Missouri
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Brangus Journal, San Antonio, Texas
Onset of a major depression in the livestock industry was becoming
obvious during LPC's formative years. A poll of members present at
that first annual meeting indicated a sharp drop in advertising
lineage, ranging from 6-1/2% to 35%. All present predicted a down
trend for the rest of 1975.
A significant portion of that day's session was spent on
roundtable discussions of collection problems and problems created
for publication staffs by sale managers. Other major topics: cost
of field service, advertising rates and financial matters of
concern in the depressed market for purebred and commercial
livestock.
First thrust of the organization toward making member publications
more professional was initiated at the 1976 annual meeting in
Denver. President Horn arranged the program headed by Courtland
Gay Smith, Plandome, New York. Smith presented a three-hour
workshop on publication layout and copy, using slide reproductions
of pages and spreads of editorial and advertising material in
member publications.
Smith called for audience opinion and discussion on each, and
offered verbal and illustrated proposals for improvement.
Twenty-three attended the session. It was the beginning of a trend
for several staff members from a member-publication to participate
in LPC meetings.
By 1978, LPC had 34 members and a cash balance exceeding $3,000.
Beef publications were predominant. The steady growth of LPC in
formative years, despite the cattle depression, is testimony to
the steady leadership of LPC Secretary-Treasurer Forrest Bassford
(Executive Director from 1980 until his retirement in 1992).
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