The daughter of Timothy and Gwen Broussard,
Leah is a 16-year-old 10-grade student at
Abbeville High School. She is the third of
seven children; her siblings include Jared,
Nicholas, Britney, Marcus, Annemarie and
Christopher.
Leah has been an active 4-H member involved
in the Beef Project for the past eight
years, raising and showing Braford cattle.
She began her 4-H career while in the third
grade at the age of nine.
Some of Leah’s major accomplishments in the
Beef Project and the show ring include:
winning first place four years in a row in
the parish Beef Premier Exhibitor Contest,
which earned her belt buckles. She is very
competitive in showmanship, earning numerous
prizes and awards. Leah and her family
travel to 10 cattle shows every year, where
she continues to perform very well with her
Braford heifers and bulls.
Leah is also very active in other 4-H
projects and activities. She has
participated in 4-H University since the
seventh grade. She was the state winner in
Ag Products Demo and Horticulture Use Demo.
She was awarded all expense-paid-trips to
Chattanooga, Tenn., and San Antonio, Texas,
for her efforts.
Leah has also been very active with record
books, competing on the parish and state
level. With her state records, she has been
awarded a $75 savings bond, an
all-expense-paid trip to New Orleans, and
most recently, won a trip to Club Congress
in Atlanta, which will take place this fall
during the Thanksgiving holidays.
Leah is also dedicated to promoting the beef
industry. She has been competing in the Beef
Ambassador contest for several years and has
won the state title of Beef Ambassador,
which has allowed her to travel around the
parish and state promoting the beef
industry. She has given numerous speeches on
the local, parish, state and the national
levels, informing consumers about beef and
its benefits.
Leah is also involved in the Vermilion
Parish 4-H Junior Leader Club, where she
serves as the historian. This club has
allowed Leah to participate in community
service learning projects concerning
citizenship, coastal erosion, meningitis
awareness, and this year will be focusing on
children with special needs. Leah is also a
leader in her school 4-H club, where she has
been serving as president for the past two
years.
In addition to 4-H, Leah is active in the
Louisiana Junior Braford Breeders and the
National Junior Braford Association (NJBA).
She has served on the board of directors for
these organizations for the past five years
in several officer positions and is the past
president of the NJBA. Leah is also a member
of the Louisiana Junior Cattleman’s
Association and was honored as the Junior
Parade Marshall of the 2007 Louisiana Cattle
Festival.
Leah is a very hard worker, dedicated,
dependable and loves to help others. Because
of her efforts and many accomplishments,
Leah is most deserving of the honor to be
named Junior Cattleman for the 2009
Louisiana Cattle Festival.