On June 14, guests, family and friends gathered at Sankey’s 6N Ranch, Council Grove, Kan., to celebrate the painting of its barn with the Certified Angus Beef ® brand logo – the 17th stop of the brand’s 40th anniversary cross-country journey. Farmers, community leaders, brand partners and other special guests shared a meal with the Sankey family as they watched paint dry.
In 1978, the same year the first pound of Certified Angus Beef ® brand product was sold, Chris and Sharee Sankey graduated from Kansas State University, married and started their Angus cowherd. The couple used the brand’s standards to set its own from the very beginning. From cattle raised on the ranch that won National Championship titles to their adult children, who reside in different states, still playing a huge role in the business, the Sankeys have found success in the Kansas Flint Hills while staying true to their agricultural roots. Through Sharee’s time as the president of the American Angus Auxiliary and Chris’ service on the American Angus Association® Board of Directors, the couple has become an important supporter of Angus cattle and the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.
Among the 40 barns painted are Chris and Sharee’s daughter’s barn in Raymond, S.D., painted in July. And, their son family had its Economy, Ind., barn painted with the brand logo in August.
Painting the brand’s famous logo on 40 barns across America is a way to celebrate family, connections and community.
The Sankeys’ barns were painted by Troy Freeman, of Free Sky Studios of Springfield, Ill. Freeman is an experienced mural and large-scale painter for businesses, cities and townships, amusement parks, schools, residences and more, as well as the illustrator of 15 books and the founder of a graphics and web design business. While painting barns for the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, he enjoys meeting farming families like the Sankeys and learning more about their unique stories, while celebrating their shared goals and values.
