Laura is the second child in the Locke Red Brahmans family. Born and raised in Wharton, she grew up actively showing cattle and participating in agricultural activities in junior high and high school.
Laura headed off to Texas Tech University in 1993 to major in Animal Science. After getting over the first semester of being extremely homesick, Laura became active in many different acivities campus- wide.
After Laura finished a dual Bachelor's degree in Animal Science and Agricultural Education in 1997, she took a full time job running the research laboratory in the Meat Lab at Texas Tech where she did research on meat tenderness and meat microbiology. After two years as a "lab rat," Laura knew it was time to move on and go back to school, so she began looking at opportunities elsewhere.
In January of 2000, Laura moved to Fort Collins, Colorado and started graduate school at Colorado State University in the Beef Industry Leadership (BIL) Master's program. Graduate school was great, and Laura learned so much and met some really great people while on the path to learning. Her thesis dealt with Beef Cattle Management Practices in the United States. These are Laura's BIL classmates Bryce Moore, Sam Hodge, and Holly Foster.

Laura graduated in December of 2001, and Coleman, Regina, John, and our grandpa, John Gayle, came for the ceremony. Coleman, John, and Laura enjoyed skiing in Wyoming for a day, and yes, Coleman was on skis!
After graduating, Laura worked as the Specialty Show Coordinator for the National Western Stock Show in Denver followed by employment as the Director of Technical Resources for the Colorado Livestock Association where her job included being the state coordinator for Beef Quality Assurance.

The opportunity of a lifetime came for Laura in 2003 when she was hired by Danny Williams as a partner in his lobbying practice. Danny is one of the most respected lobbyists in Colorado, and he and Laura have built a solid clientele of business interests ranging from the Colorado Cattlemen's Association to Williams (Exploration and Production) to the Colorado Retail Council and many more. Her job keeps her busy during the months of January through May when the Colorado Legislature meets. In her "down" time, she works on political issues and gets ready for the next session.
In her free time (all that she finds!), Laura keeps busy with CSU athletics, professional hockey, baseball, and football, and lots of other stuff. Laura is a Sunday school teacher and Youth leader at Heart of the Rockies Christian Church in Fort Collins. She is also a College District President for Kappa Alpha Theta and oversees 15 college chapters in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. As always, it seems like there is never a dull moment!

Laura tries to see the sights and sounds of Colorado when she can, and she gets back to Texas to visit as much as possible! She misses the ranch and the day-to-day activites of Locke Red Brahmans, so when the heavy cow work comes around, she schedules a trip to Hungerford.
So there is the story of Laura, or at least a few of the highlights! While she resides a long way from the ranch, she still does her part to remain true to her roots.

Locke Red Brahmans is an important part of Laura's life, and she is fortunate to have such a great family and to be associated with this great breed of cattle. Laura loves visitors in Colorado, so if you ever get out her way, drop her a line when you can!

Laura
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