End of an Era: SBL Dispersal Sale ~ 1981

On April 21, 1981 SBL had a dispersal sale in Calgary, Alberta as the "old" shareholders were selling the company to three new owners: Ken Bester, Jerrold Amonson, and Dennis Bumanis. Simmental Country magazine reported on the event in the July 1981 issue where the dispersal summary and SBL "Thank You" were printed.

The three buyers of the SBL company are pictured at the bottom of this page (page 20)
of the Simmental Country magazine, July 1981, and other cattle buyers at the dispersal are listed on page 21

In one of their first promotional flyers (“Simmental Breeders TAX PROGRAM”), the buyers of the SBL company described themselves as:

“Mr. Dennis Bumanis has been a resident of Southern Alberta for over three decades. A preoccupation for many of those years has been the operation of the family ranch located in the southern part of the province. Dennis was first exposed to Simmental cattle in 1972 and has been associated with the breed ever since. Mr. Bumanis is a director of Simmental Breeders Limited as well as Universal Semen Services and has been very active in the Alberta Financial environment as a mortgage and loan company executive. The Bumanis family, three children and wife Peggy reside on an acreage at Millarville, Alberta.”

“Mr. Jerrold Amonson has been an Alberta resident for 18 years and over the past 15 years has been very active in the Land Development and Construction Industry. Jerrold is President of Investors Development Corporation Limited and a Director of several other firms active in the Calgary market. Mr. Amonson’s agricultural involvement extends beyond his principal role in Simmental Breeders Limited and Universal Semen Services to the initiation of a major Canadian Dairy Herd with the acquisition of the herd’s first seed stock holsteins. The Jerrold Amonsons, wife Joanne and son Johnathan, live on an acreage at Bearspaw, west of Calgary.”

“Mr. Ken Bester, a native Albertan was born in Fort Macleod. Since 1974 Mr. Bester’s agricultural holdings have been centered in Alberta and Saskatchewan. To remain current and to optimize returns on his agricultural investments Ken has broadened his knowledge with courses in cattle nutrition and farm management. Besides being a director of Simmental Breeders Limited and Universal Semen Services Mr. Bester is active in land investment and the management of mortgage portfolios. Today Ken and his wife Marlene raise quarter horses on their acreage near Dewinton, Alberta.”