Joe Budd was a school board member and chairman from 1951 through 1963. He was in the state legislature for twelve years, was Speaker of the House for two years, and was instrumental in organizing the first Junior Legislature, in which students throughout southwest Wyoming still participate.
His many other contributions to public service are as follows: He was Republican National Committeeman for four years, a member and officer of the Green River Valley Cattlemen's Association and the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, a member of the first Colorado River Commission, a member of the Fish and Game Commission, President and member of the Board of Directors for the American Hereford Association from 1968 to 1976, and he organized and hosted many Junior Hereford Association projects. He was also Second Vice-President of the American National Cattleman's Association, was the National Western Stock Show Stockman of the Year in 1968 and was Northwest International Livestock Exposition Man of the Year in 1965.
Mr. Budd was deeply involved and committed on the local, state and national levels in political and industrial organizations. He established a nationally recognized herd of Hereford cattle and was recognized as a progressive leader in the agricultural and political world. Of all his achievements, he took greatest pride in his service to education and the young people.