Vina cattle woman awarded Common Threads honor
Feb. 16—Among six Northern California women to receive the 2024 Common Threads award is Tehama County CattleWomen member Sue Knox, a multi-generational cattle rancher in Tehama County.
The Common Threads award honors women who have shown extraordinary contributions to agriculture and their communities.
Knox, and the other five recipients will be honored during the 2024 Common Threads North Award dinner to be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Chico on Wednesday, April 3 in Chico.
"All of the award recipients have deep roots in agriculture, and each has demonstrated a history of service to agriculture and her community through volunteerism and philanthropy," shared the award committee.
Common Threads is an annual award coordinated cooperatively by California Women in Agriculture, the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, Center for Land-Based Learning, multiple county Farm Bureaus, several resource conservation districts, California State University, Chico, the University of California, Davis and California Agricultural Leadership Foundation.
"I never expected to receive such a big honor in my entire life," Knox said. "I was totally shocked when I was notified of the recognition as there are so many others in the county worthy of this award. It is truly an honor and a blessing to be numbered among the other ladies who have received this recognition."
Knox was born into a ranching family in southern Tehama County. Her family were early ranching pioneers, settling in Butte and Tehama counties in the early 1800s.
At a young age Knox learned to love work, from marking and branding calves to irrigating pastures, and helping in the hay fields.
Her start into cattle ranching began when her grandfather, who raised Hereford cattle, had her pick out a heifer calf from among this herd.
As a youngster, Knox was a 4-H member who raised beef steers and enjoyed her time showing and selling animals at the county fair.
After graduating from Los Molinos High School, she married Curtis Knox. The couple began a cow-calf operation, with Curtis raising registered black Angus and Sue raising Hereford cattle.
The young ranchers soon started a family having one daughter and two sons. Knox is now blessed with three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Through the years, she has been a 4-H leader, a member of the El Camino Grange, member and past president of the Vina Community Club, member of the Deer Creek Watershed, and manager of the Vina Resource Conservation District, which worked side by side with California State University, Chico on issues concerning water, soil, and streams.
Knox is an advisor for the Tehama County Farm Service Agency committee, and board member for the Los Molinos Unified School District, Tehama County Museum and Deer Creek Irrigation District.
She continued membership in the Tehama County Cattlemen's Association, even after Curtis' passing in 2013, and was named the association's Cowbell of the Year in 2009, and was very honored to follow in the footsteps of her mother, Romayne Brown, who received the award in 1974.
Knox was presented with a special recognition in 2012 by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen for the Knox and Brown family's 67-years of service as election poll volunteer workers in Tehama County.
As a member of the Tehama County Farm Bureau, she worked on the 100 years project in 2017 and was honored as Member of the Year. She was also recognized as Farmer of the Year by the Red Bluff Kiwanis Club in 2023.
In addition to Knox, receiving the 2024 Common Thread award will be Colleen Cecil of Orland in Glenn County, Terry Dereniuk of Kelseyville in Lake County, Carol Dobbas of Sattley in Sierra County, Kelli Evans of Live Oak, in Sutter County, and Robin Flournoy of Roseville in Placer County.
Tickets for the April 3 award dinner and reception are $85 each. For tickets or sponsorship information, contact the Butte Agriculture Foundation at 530-533-1473 or visit www.CommonThreadsNorth.com.
