Bacchus Marsh woman retires from national stud sheep role after two decades

A Bacchus Marsh woman has retired from a stud sheep role after nearly two decades.

Karen Bond will step down from her position as federal secretary of the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association (ASSBA) in September.

Ms Bond, a well-known face amongst the country's stud sheep breeders, has held the position of secretary for 18 years, taking on the mantle in 2007.

She previously worked for the Royal Agricultural Society of Australia and has been involved in agricultural shows since she was just 12 years of age.

Ms Bond has been known for her diligent secretarial work and became a master of record keeping.

Colleagues from across the industry congratulated her on her retirement.

Kelvin Cronk, Junee, NSW, who is the secretary of the NSW branch of the ASSBA, has worked with Ms Bond for many years.

"I've seen her appointment and retirement," he quipped.

"She's been an absolutely magnificent secretary all that time.

"She had great attention to detail and she was an absolute pleasure to work with."

Mr Cronk described Ms Bond as "very dedicated" to supporting those who breed pedigree sheep across Australia.

Ms Bond said her favourite thing about her role was the people and sheep breeders she worked with through the years.

She said she had always loved going to the shows and meeting all her "lifelong" friends and colleagues from the industry.

"I've made some lovely friends," she said.

Ms Bond said record keeping was a core part of the ASSBA and she had worked to produce an Australian flock register every year.

"It's a big job," she said.

She said the Starritt family, Tatura, and Womboota, NSW, had been a huge support to her down through the years.

She also thanked the current federal ASSBA president Brenton Heazlewood for all of his support.

"I've been fortunate enough to have good presidents all through the years," she said.

Australian Sheep Breeders Association president Peter English leads a different organisation but worked alongside Ms Bond for years.

"I think very, very highly of Karen," he said.

"We think the world of her both personally and professionally."

Avoca Studstock principal Ben Campbell, Gulgong, NSW, was set to replace Ms Bond as ASSBA federal secretary.