A prestigious cattle industry award and 10 scholarships to deserving students were presented by the National Cattlemen's Foundation during the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, Feb. 2, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.

Developed in honor of Max Deets, who served as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association president in 1997, the Max Deets Scholarship Award was established through contributions from the Kansas Livestock Association and NCBA. The award is presented each year to the chairman of NCBA's Young Cattlemen's Conference on the basis of outstanding leadership.

The 2012 Max Deets Scholarship Award was presented to Levi Berry of Happy, Texas.  Berry is manager of Smith Cattle Co. Ltd, headquartered in Amarillo, Texas. He grew up on a stocker cattle and farming operation in Texas and attended Texas A&M University, where he majored in animal science and was a member of the livestock judging team.

Ten $1,500 scholarships were also awarded by NCF to students pursuing careers in the beef industry. These scholarships are sponsored by CME Group. The top winner was Malorie Bankhead, a student at California Polytechnic State University, who also received a trip to the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention.

Also receiving scholarships were Megan Webb, Texas A&M University; Meghan Blythe, Kansas State University; Maci Lienemann, Norris High School (Nebraska); Trenton Blythe, White City High School (Kansas); Matthew McQuagge, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Florida); Valene Lickley, Valley High School (Idaho); Katie Ochsner, Casper College (Wyoming); Reagan Kays, Kansas State University; and Cade Sallee, Fowler High School (Colorado).