By Mike Fitzgerald

 

 

In his too-short life, Jim Hanna contributed much to Nebraska’s beef industry. He was a leader because he listened to others and served the industry. When he spoke he did so with an end in mind and a strategy for gaining the support of other cattlemen. Parliamentary procedure was one his most honed tools.

Nebraska Cattlemen president in 2003, Hanna died May 28 at the age of 47 after a short fight with cancer. Born James Milton Hanna in Valentine, he was the fifth generation of his family to own and operate the Pass Ranch near Brownlee in north-central Nebraska’s Cherry County. After high school in Thedford, Hanna earned a bachelor’s in geography at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a master’s in geography at Oregon State University. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, and two children, Megan and Seth; his parents and several other family members.

Hanna brought a wide range of experience to his presidency. He heard stories from a great-uncle who served as Nebraska Stock Growers’ Association president, and he earned a master’s degree in geography and worked at a top-secret Defense Department mapping facility.

His great-great-great-grandfather John P. Hanna and a partner were cattle traders in Iowa and Missouri. They knew some of the largest ranchers in Nebraska, and in 1883, the pair put together 1,000 head of cows in Omaha destined first for North Platte.

Hanna’s great-grandfather Don was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 1940. During his fourth term in 1948, he was a co-sponsor of the brand law that made brand inspection an arm of state government. Hanna’s great-uncle “Bob” (Samuel) served as NSGA president from 1968 to 1970. His grandfather Don Jr. also served a term in the Nebraska Legislature and was active in the NSGA. His father, Don E. III, was more involved in local civic organizations and focused on maintaining the family enterprise during the turbulent markets of the 1970s and ’80s.

“Our ranch originally belonged to Jim’s great-uncle and is down the road and around the curve from Jim’s home ranch,” say neighbors Ray and Jeanne Blackford. “Jim Hanna and that family are the type of people you can always count on – always showing up on branding day with a full, dependable crew. Jim was a doer. He was alwaysquick to offer to get cattle straightened out that had gotten mixed, fix the fence, fight fire and always with a quiet presence that was ‘his way.’ America has lost a fine leader far too young. Together as a community we will carry on the ranching tradition here in our beloved valley – but there are a couple buckskin and red dunn horses without their rider.”

Pat McNitt’s land also neighbors the Hanna ranch, and she has dealt with Hanna, his father Sonny and Hanna’s grandfather Don Hanna Jr., as their landlord on part of her ranch. The good, neighborly relationship between the McNitts and the Hannas spans five generations, back to when both families homesteaded in the late 1800s. “If there were ever any questions about their lease in terms of fencing supplies or who was responsible for well improvements or maintenance, Jim always gave me the better end of the deal in the settlement. He was so fair to me!”  McNitt says. “He was a young man who will be sorely missed by the whole neighborhood.”

Like other aspects of the cattle business, Hanna believed that tried and true methods are best. Speaking directly with producers at local, regional and state meetings is how much of the most important work gets done, he said, preparing to be NC president. “It’s a matter of using the tools that are best, whether it’s a horse or four-wheel-drive truck, a speech to a local producer’s group or an update e-mailed across the state,” Jim said.

He was most taken with horses and cattle. His father later urged him to be involved with local civic groups in addition to cattle associations. “I knew that was good advice, so I started participating in Nebraska Cattlemen Natural Resources and Environment Committee meetings and was also elected to our local school board,” Hanna once said. “Later, after I presented testimony at a property tax hearing, I was invited to serve as NC’s Taxation Committee vice chairman under Dave Burkholder. That was a great experience, and before I knew it, I was asked to fill the chair vacated by Dave.

“In a way,” he continued, half joking, “I guess you could say I gained some of my leadership experience by making the mistake of speaking out.”

Hanna said his comfort with speaking publicly was inherited, and speaking out was in keeping with his grandfather’s advice that a man who stands up for his convictions is going to have some conflicts with other people or organizations.

In that vein, Hanna said he brought to the table “ideas of producers who aren’t as comfortable with what the Nebraska Cattlemen is about as they should be. We need to consider their concerns and meld their interests as best we can,” he added. “I don’t think this is a task one person can do in a year – it needs to be an ongoing part of what we do with our state and national organizations.”

Dave Burkholder recalls Hanna’s involvement in NC was spurred by frustration with the state aid formula when he was a Thedford High School Board of Education member. “Jim correctly concluded that NC would work to help small communities address the issue, and that he could play a large role. 

“International trade issues were also a passion, and Jim worked to find middle ground among producers when he was president. But property tax is where I think he made his mark,” Burkholder says. “Jim can be credited with sparse and very sparse classifications being recognized, even though they were never fully appreciated. The fact that they got no money is not Jim’s fault,” Burkholder says.

Allen Bright served as NC president in 2004 and remembers that Jim was among the “very few, besides Sen. Raikes, who understood the school aid formula and was able to analyze the impact of proposed changes for cattlemen. Jim worked hard and did a lot of good for the association and its members. He took the time to understand the formula, many proposed changes and then would come to our Legislative Committee and articulate the importance of proposals with merit,” Bright says.

Dave Hamilton got to know Hanna best when they both served on the Thedford High School Board of Education. “Jim had such a good command of the financial responsibilities required of a school board member when it came to valuations, tax levies and evaluating state aid to schools. He was always so well prepared for any public service that he contributed. His honesty, judgment and articulation of the issues were so valuable to me as a fellow board member,” Hamilton says.

Hanna was a master of Robert’s Rules of Order, Bright adds. “I especially remember the NC Business Meeting at the end of his term. There was an issue being debated that had amendments upon amendments. Jim kept track of all of them and correctly steered the process. In addition, at the national level, Jim worked within policy discussions at NCBA to get NC’s position approved. He was good at finding a place where everyone could live and accept the policy. To that, I would add this: It may be a foregone conclusion, but it still does not hurt to mention that Jim was a poster child for the maturity NC has gained in recent years. That is, even if you don’t agree with NC on everything, you have to stay engaged,” Bright says.

Another example of his leadership involved addressing flaws in the original country-of-origin labeling proposal. To protect producers, Hanna took the lead and appointed a committee, Bright says. Because animal identification would be essential for producers, Hanna insisted that the identification goods and services in NC’s partnership with APEIS be made available not just to NC members, but to all producers across the U.S., at the same price. “This was a great of example of Jim’s forward thinking,” Bright says.

“It is true that with much ability comes much responsibility, and Jim played a key role in NC’s growth to a national leadership organization. I believe NC is handling more issues that are more difficult, and Jim was an integral part of NC’s growth in its abilities,” Bright says.

On a personal basis, Bright bred heifers for Jim. “He was an outstanding businessman, fair and honest. He took good care of his animals and was a good friend.” Y By Mike Fitzgerald, NC’s vice president of communications.

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