Politics take a back seat when the party's about beef

By STEVE BROWN
Capital Press

OLYMPIA -- Ranchers had a beef with their legislators, but there was nary a discouraging word.

Hungry people by the hundreds -- lured by the aroma of sizzling steak -- lined up for a tri-tip dinner on Feb. 25, courtesy of the Washington Cattlemen's Association.

The cattlemen have been serving up steak on the Capitol campus for the past three or four years, said Rick Nelson, a Tenino rancher and board member of the association. "This looks like the biggest turnout we've ever had."

Even intermittent light showers didn't discourage legislators, staffers, aides and Capitol visitors from waiting for a taste of steak.

"We brought 425 pounds of tri-tip," Jack Field, executive vice president of the association, said as he tended the grill.

"This is a shameless self-promotion of the beef industry, make no bones about it," he said as he offered "cuts" to people he recognized.

Field and Rod Wesselman, an association director, tried to dodge the smoke as it poured from the grill, all the while throwing fresh pieces of meat on the fire and checking the meat temperature.

While the two men were the center of attention as the line of diners filed past, at least one legislator was working the crowd.

Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, interviewed guests while an aide videoed the scene .

"I've been doing YouTube videos for the caucus," he said, "and we get way more hits on our Beef Day and Potato Day videos than any of the others."

Nelson said the Washington Cattlemen's Association purchased the tri-tips from Tyson -- "That's the only way we could get this amount of one cut of beef."

He said the Washington State Dairy Federation also provided cartons of milk and bottles of water .

Volunteers from both organizations pitched in to slice the beef, serve up the plates and keep the smiles fresh.

Online

Washington Cattlemen's Association: www.washingtoncattlemen.org

Washington State Dairy Federation: www.wsdf.org