John and Dee Lacey Recognized for Decades of Dedication to Beef Industry

Phoenix, Ariz. (Feb. 2, 2018) – John and Dee Lacey of Paso Robles, Calif., have received the esteemed 2018 Swan Family Leadership Award for their decades of service to the beef industry. The prestigious award was made at the Best of Beef Breakfast Feb. 2 during the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz.

The service of the husband and wife Lacey team to the beef industry has been extensive at the local, state and national levels.  Dee Lacey has served on numerous local community boards and as the California State CattleWomen’s president from 1996-1998. At the national level, she was chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board in 2002 and also served as chair of the industry’s Long Range Planning Committee in 2005.

John has the distinction of being the only person who has served as both the president of NCBA and its predecessor, the National Cattlemen’s Association. He is currently the chairman of the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, and in 2016 was honored by the California Cattlemen’s Association with the first-ever Centennial Cattlemen Award for a lifetime of dedication to the Beef Industry.

The Swan Family Leadership Award is named for Bill and George Swan of Idaho and Utah, who each served in various local, state and national leadership positions before eventually being elected NCBA president. Bill Swan served as president in 1981, and his son, George, followed in his father’s footsteps as president in 1999. Both continued to serve the industry following their presidencies. Bill Swan passed away in 1997; George in 2001.

Established in 2001, the award honors worthy individuals who have made a difference to the beef industry through a lifetime of dedication and leadership. Recipients are judged on the length of service, breadth of service and the impact of their service and leadership to the beef industry.

Awards are presented at the discretion of the NCBA Executive Committee and the president of the Idaho Cattlemen’s Association, and are not given on an annual basis. The last Swan Leadership Award was given to industry leader JoAnn Smith of Florida in 2015.