Following a long history with the Angus breed and the society throughout her life, Erica Halliday has been elected the 47th President of Angus Australia by the Board of Directors at their meeting held in Armidale on Thursday May 26th.
Hailing from New South Wales, Mrs Halliday is a fourth-generation producer and partner of Ben Nevis Angus, Walcha NSW and comes into the position following out-going president and board chair Sam White, Bald Blair Angus, Guyra NSW.
With her husband, Mrs Halliday runs Ben Nevis Angus, a seedstock operation established in 1947 by Mrs Halliday’s father Bruce Steel.
Mrs Halliday has a long history intertwined with Angus Australia, dating back to 1986, where she competed in the inaugural Angus Youth Roundup. Following this Mrs Halliday was heavily involved with the society at a Youth level and in 1994 was selected for the Angus Youth University of Illinois Scholarship following her win of the National Judging Competition.
From 1995 to 2000 Mrs Halliday served on the staff of Angus Australia as Youth Coordinator, where she worked in the development of the youth members of the organisation. Mrs Halliday has served on the board of Angus Australia since 2018 and was previously chairman of Angus NSW (formally the NSW State Committee).
Mrs Halliday is a strong advocate for the Australian Beef Industry and has previously served on a number of board committees including the New England Girls School and the Australian Beef Industry Foundation and is currently an Elected Member of the BREEDPLAN Advisory Committee – Meat and Livestock Australia, an appointed member to Namoi Unlimited Industry Steering Committee and a director of Rural Aid Australia.
In taking over the helm Mrs Halliday paid tribute to Mr White and his leadership of Angus Australia.
‘Sam is a man of great substance, a man of honour, integrity and pure kindness, but at the same time someone who is not afraid to pull the hard punches when required.’
‘If there were ever the hard questions to be asked or the courage needed to get something done to get to the heart of an issue, Sam was always up to the task.’
‘This is something that the Board has really appreciated and admired from Sam as he has an amazing business brain coupled with being extremely ambitious and looking for opportunities in every problem that he sees.’
‘It has been absolute honour to work with Sam and while we will miss his presence on the Board, I look forward to working with the current Board and our CEO Scott Wright to continue to drive the success of Angus Australia and the Angus breed.’
In wrapping up his term Mr White thanked his fellow directors for their support and guidance during his time on the Board and in particular during his term as president and board chairman.
‘I would also like to acknowledge the many members that have contributed to the continued success of Angus Australia over the past twelve months, particularly those that have contributed to the governance of the organisation, including Board members, state affiliated members and consultative committee members.’
‘On behalf of the Board and the broader membership for I would like to thank the staff of Angus Australia for their efforts in maintaining a high level of uninterrupted service to members during the challenging times and circumstances that presented in 2021’.
Mrs Halliday will be supported by newly appointed incoming Vice-President James Laurie, Knowla Livestock, Moppy, NSW.
Feature Image: Angus Australia President Erica Halliday, CEO Scott Wright and Vice President James Laurie.
