Karen Yost of Billings, Montana, and a member of Montana Agri-Women was recognized with the LEAVEN Award at the recent American Agri-Women (AAW) National Convention.
The LEAVEN Award was first awarded in 1977. That selection committee came up with the acronym LEAVEN (Loyalty, Enthusiasm, Anticipatory, Valiant, Effectiveness and Nurturing) to evaluate the candidates.
“Leaven” (yeast) is a small element that can interact and influence everything around it. It permeates and raises the elements it's mixed with. Leaven multiplies its effectiveness for good.
AAW presents the LEAVEN Award to those persons who, to an outstanding degree, have acted as leaven, a truly feminine concept since “lady” means giver of bread. Winners are nominated by an AAW Affiliate.
Karen is a past president of American Agri-Women and has been a member since 1996. She served two years as AAW President and an additional two years in a past-president advisory and sponsorship-raising capacity. She has also served as Montana Agri-Women president.
Her nominator said that without Karen the Montana Agri-Women would not exist today. She is described as someone who steps up to take leadership roles and encourages others to do the same. Her nominator said, “she has recruited her own daughters to join American Agri-Women and taught them to fight for ag with the same tenacity as she.”
Karen married George and they purchased a small place of their own to raise their children and they developed their family rodeo passion and team roping. They have put up an arena on their 10 acres and became quite well known in the team roping world.
The Yost family owns and operates, Nutra-Lix, Inc., a liquid feed company in Billings that serves the ranching community with quality feed supplements in six states and Alberta, Canada. Karen has also had a unique business called “The Family Farm,” a place where kids of all ages come to get a hands on farm experience.
Karen said, “I am grateful to have received the AAW LEAVEN award. Working together with my American Agri-Women friends and colleagues for many years has given me respect for each of them: for their talents, abilities and passion for agriculture. So I'm honored to be recognized by them with this much coveted award.”
Source: American Agri-Women news release sent via AgPR
