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Sylvia “Tweety” Trahan has been named the 2024 Cattlewoman of the Year.
Trahan’s honor comes as part of the 74th Annual Louisiana Cattle Festival, which will begin on Friday in Abbeville.
Tweety, as she is known by family and friends, has been a member of the Vermilion Cattlewomen's and Louisiana Cattlewomen’s Associations for 30 years. She has been a member of the American National Cattlewomen's Association for 25 years. She is married to Michael P. Trahan, and they have two children, Christy Schexnider and her significant other, Blaine Griffin. She has one son, Brant. Their son, Brandon Trahan, is married to Andrea Quibodeaux Trahan, and they have three children, Bryce, Marlee, and Tripp.
Learning about the cattle industry became an important part of Tweety’s life when she married Michael almost 50 years ago. She grew up in Kaplan, but when she moved to the farm in Forked Island, she soon learned about working cattle, cattle nutrition, and the importance of the beef industry to her family and the world. It quickly became a passion for her to teach others about the industry.
Tweety has served both her parish and state organizations in many capacities. On the parish level, she has served the association as secretary, vice-president, and president. She has been in charge of planning and organizing many of the Vermilion Parish Cattlewomen’s past activities and service projects including 4-H Beef Appreciation Day, Beef for Father’s Day, Beef Cookery Contests, and beef promotion events for Beef Month each June. Tweety has overseen the Vermilion Parish Cattlemen’s Association Queens Contest for the last 20 years and has trained several contestants who went on to become the Louisiana Cattlemen's Association - LCA Queen. She has worked tirelessly to both educate young people about the beef industry and give them opportunities to educate others.
On the state level, she has served the Louisiana Cattlewomen’s Association as a board member, treasurer, and is currently serving as president of the state association. Tweety served for eight years as chairperson of the Louisiana Beef Ambassador Program where she trained contestants each year to compete at the National Beef Ambassador Contest. She also served as a planning committee member for the 2010 National Beef Ambassador Contest, which was held in New Orleans.
Her children showed Brangus cattle as one of their 4-H projects and Tweety became an active member of the Louisiana Brangus Breeders Association. She helped at many parish, district, state and national livestock shows and served as chairperson for the 2000 National Junior Brangus Show held in Lake Charles. Over 200 participants competed in various industry-related contests at the event, in addition to showing their Brangus cattle.
Tweety has completed several educational programs to increase her knowledge of the cattle industry. She is a Master Cattleman and completed the Masters of Beef Advocacy training program sponsored by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The program teaches participants how to educate consumers and promote beef as a “healthy” and “sustainable” food choice. In 2010, she was selected as Cattlewoman of the Year by the Louisiana Cattlewomen’s Association and in 2013, she received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the Louisiana Cattle Festival Association. Tweety has been employed by the LSU AgCenter for 23 years, where she works as the 4-H Administrative Coordinator. She has received several outstanding service awards including 2005 Secretary’s Award, 2022 LSU Foundation Outstanding Staff Service Award, and 2023 Administrative Coordinator of the Year award.
Please help us in congratulating Sylvia “Tweety” Trahan in her outstanding commitment to the cattle industry as our 2024 LA Cattle Festival Cattlewoman of the Year!