Valerie Beard, Consulting Board member
Poet
Valerie is a rancher's wife, teacher, writer, crew cook, quilter, reader, and Nana. She and her husband, cowboy poet Floyd Beard, live in Southeast Colorado and run cattle to stay honest. They also keep a few Border Collies around to stay humble. Valerie and Floyd are situated twelve cattle guards from the pavement, and though they are not at the end of the world, you can pretty much see it from the south pasture.
She has been writing poetry for about eight years, but thinking about it for her lifetime. Her first cowboy poetry CD, No Better Life, was released in 2022 and won the International Western Music Association's Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year in 2023. She was also named Female Poet of the Year by the IWMA in 2022 and 2023.
Website: valeriebeard.com