June 1, 2015 Program: C.J. Hadley / RANGE Magazine

When CJ was 17, living in Birmingham, England, her parents gave her a one-way ticket to Canada. Even though she says she was not bright enough to know if that was a plus or a minus, she never looked back. Instead, she hitchhiked her way around the world as a typist, file clerk, pig feeder, snowmobile racer, tuna fisherman, rodeo photographer, and amateur cattle driver. She became a U.S. citizen in 1972.
In 1991, after spending 10 years as editor of Nevada Magazine and six years as an international travel writer, she got together with a bunch of cowboys—thanks to John Ascuaga—who were confronted with mounting pressures on ranching and to counteract calls for “Cattle Free by ’93.” Their solution was to send a 32-page, full-color brochure, including stories of six Nevada ranches, to every member of Congress.
That was so successful, RANGE magazine was born.
Convinced that food producers are the most important people in the world, CJ publishes a national, award-winning magazine portraying “The Cowboy Spirit on America’s Outback.” RANGE includes beautiful photography and extraordinary copy. It has won the Freedom of the Press Award from the Nevada Press Association for each of the last three years. American Agri-Women presented her with their coveted Veritas Award—“for writing and speaking the truth in the media with intellect, integrity, tenacity and heart on behalf of the people who live and work on the land.”