DENVER — The Livestock Marketeers — an informal fraternity of livestock fieldmen, auctioneers, sale managers and related livestock business leaders — met for their 52nd Annual Banquet at the National Western Club on January 14. The event was hosted by American Live Stock; master of ceremonies was J. Neil Orth, executive vice president of the American-International Charolais Association and 1984 Hall of Fame inductee.
The Livestock Marketeers group was formed in 1965 by Harry Green, Ross Miller and Claud Willett. Their purpose was to establish a fraternal organization of livestock professionals, and to make annual awards in order to encourage younger members of the industry to succeed in their chosen profession.
Bill Angell
You’ll find Bill Angell in the livestock barns directing operations or visiting with exhibitors; in his office producing premium books or schedules and finalizing rules and regulations; or along ringside taking bids.
Raised on a stock farm near Lansing, MI, Bill competed on the Michigan State University livestock and meats judging teams under Harlan Ritchie before completing his undergraduate degree. He earned a graduate degree in animal science and coached the meats evaluation team at the University of Wisconsin, and then taught and coached the livestock judging team at the University of Kentucky.
As a member of the Michigan National Guard, Bill proudly served his country during the Vietnam crisis.
His livestock marketing career started with the American Polled Hereford Association, covering Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, and increasing advertising for that territory by 200% in the first year. He also worked for Superior Livestock Auction, The Record Stockman, International Arabian Horse Association, and Southern States Cooperative.
Bill made his mark at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, serving as Yards and livestock manager for 10 years. He has also supervised the Weld County Fair in Greeley, CO, and currently serves as livestock manager of the Nebraska State Fair.
Despite the full show schedule, Bill can be found turning in bids at about 50 sales annually throughout the West. He’s the ringman wearing a patriotic tie featuring the American flag.
“He wants to work every sale,” noted auctioneer John Korrey of Iliff, CO. “The drive and passion that Bill has for the industry is second to none.”
“I’ve been blessed to work with some of the greatest professionals in our great industry. I tried to learn from the best, and it’s been a great ride for me,” Bill said. “We are professionals, and I think I’ll always be a Marketeer.”
Bill and his wife of 45 years, Donna, live at LaSalle, CO. They have three children: Blake, Miki and Missy, and three grandchildren.
Doug Paul
From the first steps of his career, Doug Paul has embarked on a path encompassing a broad range of livestock marketing and sales experiences. This path stemmed from a passion first fueled on a family acreage in Edna, KS, where he was involved with raising Suffolk sheep and Quarter Horses as 4-H and FFA projects.
Doug’s interests continued into collegiate years as part of successful livestock judging and rodeo teams. He attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Miami, OK, and then Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, graduating with a degree in agricultural education.
Doug went to work for the Drover’s Journal. He traveled as a fieldman for the publication, working sales primarily in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
In 1987, Doug moved to the American Simmental Association to help with The Register. As the magazine and association grew, so did Doug’s family. In 1989, he married his wife Leslie, and they soon had daughters, Brooke and Alexa.
“He was hard working even as a young man, and I feel fortunate to have discovered him early on and to have had him be a part of our team,” said Ken Holloway, a longtime Oklahoma cattleman, founder of American Cattle Services and 2002 Livestock Marketeers Hall of Fame honoree.
Holloway hired Doug as a young man to work on his purebred cattle operation, Coyote Hills Ranch and later as a ringman for American Cattle Services sales.
“I am very proud to say he was part of our team and is still part of our team,” Holloway continued. “Too often, many of the other industries grab talented individuals in marketing and sales, and we don’t have the fortune to get them in agriculture. But we have had that fortune in Doug — to get and keep a talented individual among us.”
In the fall of 1989, Doug started DP Sales Services, Inc., a sales management company that heads up purebred cattle sales throughout the United States. He followed with the 1997 purchase of The Stock Exchange, a semi-monthly livestock sales publication. Involvement with The Stock Exchange would later prompt Doug’s affiliation with DV Auction; the Internet marketing service helped take The Stock Exchange online in 2005, and continues to reach customers across the country through online sales broadcasts, totaling more than 800 in 2016.
Among his expansive management and sales support has been the NAILE Select Simmental Sale for 15 years, the National Simmental Sale at the National Western Stock Show for 10 years, as well as the National Maine Anjou Sale at the National Western for 19 years.
“With this group, we all work together,” Doug told the Livestock Marketeers. “I’ve had a lot of fun with my friends . . . and I have a lot of friends.”
Jim Danekas
James “Jim” A. Danekas (1947-2016) of Wilton, CA, was honored posthumously. Born in South Dakota, he was very active on his family’s Blue Top Angus Farm, raising and exhibiting market steers and breeding heifers as he developed a strong passion for agriculture. Jim graduated from South Dakota State University before joining the U.S. Army, and was named manager of the Western States Angus Association following his discharge. This position took him to California, and helped him learn the ways of a livestock sales manager and auction ringman.
He later started his own entity, James Danekas and Associates. Jim and his wife, Sherry, grew the business with the incorporation of a publication division. They published the California Cattleman Magazine and Angus, the Magazine. Later they would move on to start another, Western Cowman. The firm currently produces the Western Cowman, Angus Icon and Wagyu World.
As an Angus breeder himself, Jim had very strong ties to the Angus community across the United States. He was a member of the National Western Club, served on the Livestock Publications Council board, was a longtime member and director of the Western States Angus Association, a lifetime member of the American Angus Association, and numerous other livestock affiliations. He was a diehard fan of the San Francisco Giants.
“Jim was absolutely one of the most organized people to work with,” said C.D. “Butch” Booker of Colfax, WA, who presented the Hall of Fame award. “He attended to every detail. And there was nobody who could talk someone into bidding one more time like Jim Danekas.”
“He was the most knowledgeable person you’d ever meet, regarding pedigrees of cattle. He brought a very professional side to the business that went back to the roots he came from,” Booker added. “He represented the total package — knowing the cattle, knowing where we were in the marketplace — and he really cared. He was always very fair.”
Survivors include his wife, Sherry; daughters Danielle Danekas and Mercedes (Matt) Danekas-Lohse; and mother Valois “Frenchy” Danekas.

The Livestock Marketeers honored three inductees to the Hall of Fame for 2017: Jim Danekas, Wilton, CA, was honored posthumously and represented by his son-in-law, Matt Lohse; Bill Angell, LaSalle, CO; and Doug Paul, Edmond, OK.

The Livestock Marketeers inducted Bill Angell, LaSalle, CO, and Doug Paul, Edmond, OK, into their Hall of Fame during the group’s 52nd Annual Banquet, held in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show in Denver on January 14. Jim Danekas, Wilton, CA, was honored posthumously. Shown here are Butch Booker, Colfax, WA; Matt Lohse, Wilton, CA; Jim Gies, Eaton, CO; Bill Angell, LaSalle, CO; Doug Paul, Edmond, OK; Mark Smith, Ankeny, IA; John Korrey, Iliff, CO; and Neil Orth, Kansas City, MO.