35 minute read
Pat Boone 2020 Cattleman of the Year
from NMS Nov 20
by Carol Wilson
The deep baritone drifts through the cedar and juniper trees before rolling out over the hills and breaks of eastern New Mexico. The rich tones belong to Pat Boone, a multi-generational New Mexico rancher, and the song is the song of a cowman. It’s lyrics are written by a life filled with faith, the chorus repeats themes of honesty and neighborliness and hard work. Its melody rings with service and perseverance, while the harmony fills in friends and family.
The song is filled with rocky canyons and wide open spaces, cows and horses, drought and horsewrecks and joy and pain. It is well known to the ranchers and cowboys of the Land of Enchantment, but most agree that no one sings it better than Pat Boone, the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Man of the Year.
Pat is comfortable on the family ranch, in the shadow of the cross, speaking of the things he knows best...faith, friends, and family. Or standing with a friend who has been through a rough patch, taking that friend before God. Or sitting through a long school board meeting, supporting students of the local school. Or neighboring with friends he has known his whole life.
Whether he is riding the big circle in a 25 section pasture or giving his time on a electric coop board in support of his community or leading the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, Pat’s life and actions are characterized by a deep faith in God, commitment to doing what is right, and serving his fellow man as his forefathers served in their time.
Prelude to New Mexico
Surrounded by the land which has supported Boone cattle and men for the last 137 years, Pat acknowledged, “this ranch is my heritage and my family. Is it not just a piece of land. It is part of my ancestors, a part of my children. We have poured ourselves into it. The ranch is what we are and we are what it is.”
Pat’s great-great-grandfather, Bill Littlefield, and his brother, George “Major” Littlefield, were some of the first cattlemen in the family. At one time, Major ran cattle on a million acres in the Texas Panhandle. He was a banker, cotton farmer and cattleman, and a key player in getting the cattle business established in Texas at the end of the Civil War. When the Texas government granted three million acres to a group of investors in return for finances received for a capitol building in Austin and those investors formed the XIT Ranch, Major Littlefield knew his days in the Panhandle were limited, so he turned his attention to New Mexico in the early 1880s.
Bill Littlefield also came to New Mexico and established the Bosque Grande ranch northeast of Roswell. Other family members, the Whites, started the LE and Four Lakes Ranch and the JP White industry, which included farms, ranches, and feed companies. On a ride through the country southwest of Elida, Bill discovered a spring on a hill and knew he’d found land he could call home. He later moved to the location, and started building the present day Boone Ranch. Bill bought out homesteaders as they left the land in the early 1900s and expanded the ranch every chance he got. His son, George T. Littlefield, Pat’s greatuncle, also started putting a ranch together near Kenna.
In the meantime, Major Littlefield bought the Yellow House Division of the XIT ranch and established the town of Littlefield, Texas. He developed some of the land to sell to people who wanted to move west, and kept a portion, called the East Camp of the Yellow House.
Bill kept ranching in the Kenna area. His daughter, Mildred, married Patrick Henry Boone, the first of an unbroken line of Pat Boone’s, of which the Cattleman of the Year is Pat Boone the fourth. After Pat’s grandfather, Pat II, graduated from Roswell High school, he was sent to the East Camp of the Yellowhouse. There he met and married Pat’s grandmother, a school teacher. Their only child, Pat III, was born while the Boone’s lived at the East Camp of the Yellow House near Littlefield. Pat II continued to live at the east camp, but partnered with
PAT BOONE We are proud to have you as our husband, father and Papa! And we are proud of the work you have done for the beef industry. Thank you
Congratulations PAT You richly deserve to be honored as Cattleman of the Year. — BFG
Grau Charolais Ranch Lane & Cheryl
Congratulations Pat &Cindy Boone
We Are Proud For You and Proud of You! Thank you for your tremendous contribution to agriculture in New Mexico. Gary & Rhetta Good
Our Best to You Pat Boone Cattleman of the Year ...our wonderful neighbor and mentor. Your compassionate friendship and selfless contributions to our community bring honor to all who know you.
Luke, Catherine, Jacob, John & Jerry Hisel GI Ranch
T & L CATTLE CO.
Congratulates Pat Boone IV on being selected “Cattleman of the Year”
WITH CHRIST’S LOVE, TERRY & LANELL
Pat — Congratulations on an honor well deserved. May your future be as blessed.
Betty & Family
his grandparents on the New Mexico ranch.
Pat III spent four years in the armed services, then earned a law degree from the University of Texas before marrying Chicago born and raised Janet Olson, daughter of Swedish immigrants and a graduate of the University of Minnesota. Their children, Pat and Betty, were raised at Littlefield but Pat spent every summer in New Mexico with his grandparents on the ranch. “It was the only place I ever wanted to be,” Pat remembers. “My dad wanted me to go to college and get an education, but I just wanted to go to the ranch.”
Movement to the Land of Enchantment
Pat’s father was a Texas lawyer and was a judge who served on the District Court bench for 32 years while continuing to partner on the family ranch. Though he had no intention of making ranching his life, he valued the land and the history and kept the ranch in the family.
Pat pursued a higher education at Tarleton for two years, then moved to New Mexico and enrolled in Eastern New Mexico University. “I wasn’t raised here, but got
PAT BOONE
CONGRATULATIONS on this well deserved honor! God bless you & youR family
Love,
Durward & tina dixon, and Herschel & connie dixon
Pat Boone & the work he loves.
here as quickly as I could,” Pat related.
One of Pat’s rodeo buddies was Gary Good, whose family had ranched in New Mexico since 1912 and neighbored the Boones near Elida. Pat and his sister, Betty, were often guests at Gary’s grandparents house. Gary’s younger sister, Cindy, remembers that Pat accompanied Gary to Cindy’s high school graduation. Though she grew up on a ranch 40 miles Northwest of Elida, Cindy planned to finish her college education and never return to small town life.
Two Part Harmony
It was July of 1974 when Pat Boone walked into the lobby of the bank where Cindy worked and Cindy found an excuse to visit with him. He called her later, they began dating, and knew pretty quickly that they wanted to get married. Pat’s parents wanted the young couple to wait until they graduated from college to wed, but Pat and Cindy didn’t want to wait that long. Cattlemen who have lived through 1974 remember it as a year when cattle prices took a devastating tumble, and times were hard. Pat and Cindy said “I do” at her Grandparent’s house in Kenna over spring break in 1975, then set up housekeeping in a little trailer house in Portales. Cindy continued
Congratulations PAT!
I am blessed with the best son-in-law ever and I couldn’t be prouder. You are an extraordinary person of faith and generosity second to none. Your wisdom and steady hand have served our family and the cattle industry to the fullest.
Charles & La Doris Good Elida, New Mexico
Charles Good Branding
her college studies, with Pat working at his father’s Kenna ranch and on a branding crew in Clovis to make ends meet.
In January of 1976, a man who had worked for the Boone Ranch for 42 years retired. It was Pat’s big opportunity to move to the ranch, but his father didn’t agree. “It took a lot of talking,” Pat remembers. “My parents didn’t like it, but we quit college and moved out here.” They moved into a rock home built in the 1880s, and began their lives as ranchers.
Pat and Cindy now ranch on Bill Littlefield’s original ranch, and Betty and her husband, Dan Howard, are nearby on George Littlefield’s ranch.
My very best to a very deserving Cattleman of the Year PAT BOONE You’ve been an inspiration and a role model to everyone in the livestock industry. I’m just very proud of you and thankful for your leadership over these many years.
Your friend, Tye Terrell
Terrell land & livesTock company
Tye C. Terrell – Qualifiying Broker - Lic# 4166
Selling Ranches For Over 45 Years 575-447-6041
Song of the Land
“Every generation that came before us gave their time on this ranch and sacrificed in their own way to hang on to this ranch,” Pat commented. “My Dad’s express intent was to save it for Betty and I. My grandfather as well, wanted to make it something that generations can hang on to.”
“Pat’s love of this ranch gave me a love for the land and life, even though I had married into it,” Cindy related.
Pat expanded, “Cindy is more protective of the ranch than I am.”
“When the kids were growing up and we’ve been away to rodeos or ballgames, whether we had done well or lost, when we crossed the cattleguard to the ranch, we knew everything was going to be OK,” Cindy continued. “We were home.”
Both sets of parents helped mentor the young couple. Pat noted that his in-laws were just another set of parents to him. “Cindy’s father, Charles, helped me in ways that my own Dad couldn’t,” Pat explained. “We’d always been cow people, and Charles helped me learn the ins and outs of running yearlings. We ran yearlings for 32 years. And her mother was another mother to me. I was very blessed.”
Pat and Cindy were conservative when it came to investing their time and money. Neither had an outside job, so they depended on the ranch. They dabbled with wheat cattle and feeding cattle in the feedyard, but decided that their time and attention were most needed on the ranch. “Dad always told me that when you get outside the fences of the ranch, you were asking for trouble,” Pat related. “We have found that to be true.”
“Cattle have been good to us,” he continued, “We’ve enjoyed them. We didn’t expect to get rich, but we wouldn’t take for it. We’ve met wonderful people and have exceptional neighbors and friends.”
Gary Good noted that Pat works hard at anything he does. “He studies things and has a brilliant mind,” Gary stated. “It is good to have someone like him in the family.”
He added, “Pat and Cindy have run the ranch for many years by themselves without much help, and they have done well.”
“Pat’s reputation in his community and the larger ranching community is outstanding,” agreed Bill Humpries, former NMCGA president. “Their cattle have a good reputation, and Pat is respected by his neighbors, which always tells you something.”
One of those neighbors is Jeff Bilberry, vice president of Singleton Ranches, Chavez County Commissioner and a multi-genera-
(Above) Charles, Gary, his wife Rhetta , Good with Cindy & Pat Boone. (Right) Jeremy, Sarah and Teal Ruiz
tional friend. “Pat is one of the premier cowmen that I look up to,” noted Jeff. “Cindy’s granddad, Stanley Good, said a cowpuncher was a man who was both a cowman and a cowboy. It was high praise for Stanley to call you a cowpuncher, and Pat Boone is sure enough a cowpuncher.”
“He is a true steward of the land,” agreed Neal Delk, “he runs a tight knit operation and takes great care of his cows.”
Eddie Benton has bought Boone calves or yearlings for 30 of the last 40 years. “Pat is just the best,” reported Eddie. “If he tells you something, it will be that way. You don’t need a contract with him. You just shake his hand and have an agreement. His word is his bond. You can go to the bank with it. He is just that kind of man.”
Notes of Joy
While raising cattle and battling to make a living on the New Mexico prairie, Pat and Cindy were also raising children. Sarah and Patrick Henry V (Cinco for short) feel like they hit the jackpot when they got Pat and Cindy as parents.
“Dad is probably the last of a dying breed,” noted Sarah, “He is the best of the best. Since
we were kids, his priorities were always God, then family and hard work. He has been an excellent role model.”
Sarah noted that when she and Cinco were small, Pat was a team roper and loved the competition. “When Cinco and I got involved in rodeo and sports, Dad got rid of his own horses and put all of his stuff on the back burner to make sure we had the best,” she stated. “Mom and Dad were at every ball game and every rodeo Cinco and I ever competed in. They put us first. It was definitely the best example ever.”
Sarah stated, “Mom and Dad pushed us and taught us to be the best at what we did. If we were doing anything, they wanted us to do it right and do it well. That helped set Cinco and I up for success in life.”
“He taught us that hard work always pays off,” added Cinco. “If I was playing marbles, we worked at it and practiced every day. When I was roping, we never knew if I would win or even place, but we went to the arena every day and saddled 8 or 10 horses. He has done the same thing in the cattle business, and that is why the ranch is in such good shape.” In the busy years when Cinco and Sarah were rodeoing and playing ball, Pat wore out several pickups serving on various rodeo boards. The family also made lifelong friends with other rodeo participants and their parents. Phil Bidegain, former NMCGA president, remembers being parked close to the Boone family at one rodeo. “Pat was going to show us a trick, and he told my son, Scott, that when Scott jumped, Pat would rope his feet out of the air. Scott jumped, and Pat got his feet roped, then pulled too much slack and Scott hit the ground hard on his back,” laughed Phil. “Pat felt bad about that
forever, but it was all in good fun, and we’ve laughed about it for a long time.”
Laughter has always been a part of the Boone family. “My wife and kids are my heart,” Pat affirmed. “I’ve got a lot of important things in my life, but those three are what make me function. They are the reason I get up in the morning.”
Servant’s Refrain
When Pat was 25, he was appointed to the Soil & Water Conservation board in Elida. He later served on the school board, several rodeo boards, and the Rural Electric Administration Board. “I didn’t do things for me... it was always something that directly affected us and our neighbors, and I could help,” he related, “that is just the way I was raised. My Dad and my granddad and great-granddad were all servants. I have one great-grandfather that was a Texas ranger and then a sheriff. My grandfather was a Swedish immigrant who became a blue collar worker in Chicago in order to become an American. There is a lot of diversity in my background, and it implanted in me a desire to serve.”
“His motto was always, ‘others have done
Cinco helping to brand!
“HANG IN THERE!” CONGRATULATIONS Pat From your friends at The Hat Ranch
The Lee’s • Hat Ranch, Alamogordo
Congratulations Cattleman of the Year Pat Boone Thank you for your sound and sensible leadership. José J. Varela López
Thanks for your many contributions. To Our Dear Friend ... Pat Boone Cattleman of the Year
We appreciate your leadership and solid values.
CATTLECOMPANY
MONTOYA, NEW MEXICO • SINCE 1902
Congratulations PAT BOONE Cattleman of the Year THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. The Clavels
Your leadership and sacrifice on behalf of the livestock industry are greatly appreciated.
Sato & Kathy Lee Ranch
Congratulations Pat
... from the Davis family to our Cattleman of the Year — Pat Boone
1873 CS 2020 CS Cattle Company, Cimarron, NM
Lunch Break
for me, and now it is my time to step up and do for others,” Cindy noted. “Our whole married life, he has served on boards. At times, there were struggles when the kids and I were home alone on the ranch. But I do see that helping others is his calling.”
Phil Wallin served on the rodeo and electric coop boards with Pat. “He was never quick to make a decision,” Phil remembers.
“He always reminded us that there were two sides to every story, and therefore he wouldn’t jump to a conclusion. I’ve always admired him for that.”
Eddie Benton agreed. “He tries to help everyone he can. That is just the way he is. A lot of people look to him and trust him and that is just the way he is. If he is your friend, he will be your friend forever. He is great to do business with, but if you have a personal problem and want to visit, he will listen. He won’t preach to you, but he will try to help solve your problems. His faith has gotten him where he is, and you couldn’t ask for a better person.”
Charles Good noted, “Pat helps everyone in the country work, and he is a good hand. He is willing to do anything to help. I
Congratulations PAT BOONE Cattleman of the Year We admire and respect you for your many contributions to the cattle industry. – Jeff & Cheree Bilberry
Congratulations PAT BOONE Cattleman of the Year
We admire the leadership and energy you’ve provided for the betterment of our industry.
Pat & Cindy
We were blessed to have the opportunity to know and work with you. We appreciate a friendship that will last through the ages.
Jerry & Michelle Maynard Glenburn, Maine
Hats off to PAT & CINDY
Congratulations on this recognition of all the work you have done... and will continue to do on behalf of the ranching community in New Mexico and beyond.
Bob & Jane Frost San Jon, New Mexico
Thank You Pat A role model for all of us
— Rex & Carol Wilson
Our best to you ... PAT
...and thank you for your steady and reliable leadership. Hall-Gnatkowski Ancho, New Mexico
ranched for 49 years in Lea county, and Pat went many times to help work cattle there. He was always congenial and happy to be there. Everyone respected him.”
Pat was helping Charles at his ranch west of Tatum and realized that another neighbor, Carl Lane Johnson, was always talking about what was going on with the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association. “I remember reading the Stockman when I was a kid and respecting the Cattle Growers, especially the Cattlemen of the Year, and the way they worked for the cattle industry,” Pat noted.
He attended a Cattle Growers summer meeting and ran into his old rodeoing buddy, Bebo Lee. He also met Bebo’s father, Charlie Lee, who patted Pat on the back and said, “Sure am glad you are here. Hope you come back.”
Pat’s history of neighboring helped him make the decision to become more involved in Cattle Growers’. “The industry wouldn’t be able to survive without Cattle Growers,” he noted. “It is like every cattle producer in New Mexico is our neighbor, and we want to help them. I know that every rancher can’t go to town and fight the battles that the industry must fight. So those of us that can, want to be able to help.” Pat started attending Fish and Wildlife meetings in the first round of the Prairie Chicken fight, and his involvement grew from there. He and Cindy were on their way to watch one of Cinco’s ball teams play a game when Bebo called and asked if Pat might serve as the Southeast Regional Vice President
Neighbors!
We’re Happy & Proud For You Cattleman of the Year Pat Boone Thank you for your many contributions to your community and your industry. Dusty, Carroll & everyone at Clovis Veterinary Supply
Our Congratulations ... Pat Boone Cattleman of the Year From our family to yours...
The Decker Family Lovington, New Mexico
Thank you for your leadership and service to the livestock industry... Cattleman of the Year PAT BOONE Proud to call you my friend — Brent Caviness, Caviness Cattle LLC, Prime Pursuits
OUR VERY BEST TO OUR FRIEND PAT BOONE
Your leadership has been an inspiration. You are one of those rare individuals who can translate vision into reality. We’re proud to call you our friend.
HENARD RANCH OSCAR & CAROLYN — HENARD RANCH — TATUM, NM
Cross from the road.
of Cattle Growers. Pat didn’t realize that allowing his name to be on the list tantamount to accepting the position, but soon learned. He served several years as a regional Vice President, then as presi-
Learning the Lyrics
But before accepting the nod as president elect, Pat had a long meeting with Alisa Ogden and Rex Wilson in Roswell. The problem: He and Cindy were committed to attending all of the college basketball games coached by Cinco, as well as many of the baseball and basketball games played by their only grandson, Teal. Cinco coaches in Texas, and Teal plays in Texas, which presented a problem to a man who, as president elect, was charged with representing Cattle Growers at the legislature in Santa Fe.
Rex and Alisa assured Pat he could both lobby in Santa Fe and attend the Texas games.
“Pat had been a leader on enough boards and committees that he understood the time involved,” Rex explained. “He already had a commitment to his family, and he didn’t want conflict within himself. And he was humble enough to wonder if he would measure up to previous leaders. We told him we needed him and asked him to prayerfully consider giving Cattle Growers his leadership experience. He took some time to think and pray, then decided to do it.”
While deciding, Pat also conferenced with Joel Moore, a friend who helps parttime at the ranch. After Pat explained the Santa Fe schedule, Joel encouraged him to serve.
Pat learned that he could indeed lobby legislators all morning and watch Cinco’s team play all night. One bright Santa Fe morning, he attended committee meetings until noon, when he and Cindy drove to Albuquerque and caught a plane to Dallas. They rented a car in Dallas and drove to
Thank You PAT!
Congratulations to our
Cattleman of the Year! We are so happy to send you our best wishes on this wonderful occasion.
Tom & Mimi
Sidwell, JX Ranch
Congratulations PAT & CINDY
We’re proud of you, our friends!
— The Pattersons — Loren, Kayce & Kelsie Patterson
Congratulations PAT
Thanks for all you do. Alisa Ogden
We’re proud to know you! Mike & Jennifer Corn and Family
Congratulations Pat! You have been a GREAT partner!
Bronson Corn — President
Congratulations Pat Boone Thank you for your unwavering dedication to the New Mexico livestock industry.
Randell & Lynn Major, and Family
Commerce to watch Cinco’s team. After the team won the game, the Boones drove back to Dallas and rented a room. After sleeping for an hour, they showered, drove to Love field, turned the rental car in, caught a plane, and were back in Santa Fe for the 9:00 committee meetings. ‘I don’t know if I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on that day,” Pat laughs, “but I was there.”
Pat noted that Caren Cowan, Cattle Growers’ Executive Secretary, and Michelle Frost both guided him through his time in Santa Fe. “They are very special to me because of what they sowed into me,” he noted. “They never lost patience with me or judged me in any way. I was dumb as a post, but they were Major Littlefield. good at stuff that no one ever sees. I never realized the depth of the political Jeff Bilberry noted that all of Pat’s service process, especially as far as our industry was on various boards was good preparation for concerned. We did amazing things for the his contributions as president. “I don’t feel ag industry, just by working together with like I made a big splash, but I did my job and others. Caren and Michelle are masters at it. what was in front of me,” Pat commented. It is an amazing process and I’ll forever be “My family is always first, but as far as the indebted to Caren and Michelle for what world goes, the cattle industry is what they taught.” makes me tick and to have been able to Leading the Choir contribute to it means a lot.” “We are fortunate that people like Pat are
When it became time for Pat to take the willing to step up and lead,” noted Bill Humreins as Cattle Growers’ president, Cindy phries. “He is a fifth generation rancher, and was reluctant. “You can’t be gone that that in and of itself is laudable. We all know much,” she told Pat. “But we will think of it.” how difficult it is to keep a place together It was the end of the 2012 drought, and the and keep it going through the genranch was lightly stocked. Five days later, erations.” Cindy gave the go-ahead. “If you are ever Phil Bidegain agrees. “Pat is the rock that going to do this, now would be the time,” the cattle industry can depend on,” he she acknowledged. noted. “He is solid and has a lot of common
Pat noted that his years as president was a special time of friendships with cattlemen from all over the state. “All the past presidents are always there to help at the drop Congratualtions of the hat,” he noted. “We talk and there is just a world of knowledge between all of those guys. They have taught me so much.” From the beginning, Pat wanted to see more young people get involved in Cattle Growers. “I talked to quite a number, and told them I know it is hard to come to meetings when you are a young married couple PAT trying to make a living, or if you have young kids. But I told them that we had to have on Cattleman of the Year them. And some of them started coming.” “I enjoy seeing the young people start to Well Deserved! come and get involved and be interested for the good of the industry,” he summa- Gary & Ginger Creighton rized. “I am pleased that is happening and and Purina Animal Nutrition! am proud to have been there.”
Congratulations PAT — From the Sharp Family & KC Cattle Company
Congratulations Pat & Cindy Boone
Cattleman of the Year
Carl and Tammy Hahn
We appreciate your genuine friendship and impeccable integrity. Congratulations PAT BOONE
Cattleman of the Year
Bob Homer Robert L. Homer & Associates LLC
It has been known to rain in New Mexico.
sense. He is one of the good guys.”
Melody of Faith
Pat’s mother was musically talented, always playing the organ for funerals and weddings and church, so Pat and Betty were raised with music. It was only natural then, that Pat would sing or preach, or both, when the family was at youth rodeos. His Sunday morning service was always well attended. “When that deep voice rolls over the crowd, it is just uplifting,” noted Phil Bidegain. Bidegain invited Pat to a Walk to Emmaus in 2001 after Pat had been through a bad illness. “It totally turned me around,” Pat noted. “It gave me hope again.” People remembered Pat’s preaching and singing, and he has been called on to travel throughout the state preaching funerals and singing at Christian gatherings, church services, and revivals. “It was just something I felt God asked me to do,” Pat noted.
“He is known all over the state for his ministry,” stated Phil Wallin. “He did Judy’s Dad’s funeral. He really has a way with words, and you hear so many people after a funeral say, ‘that was such a comfort,’ or ‘that was the way we saw our loved one.’”
Pat lives his life aligned with his favorite verse, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” –Jeremiah 29:11
He explained, “This tells the story. God said, if you will seek me every day, I have a plan for you.”
Those who look forward to the Cattle Growers’ annual worship service will be glad to know that Pat is planning a virtual service to go with this year’s virtual Cattle Growers’ meeting.
A Band of Brothers
Pat became more involved with the Walk to Emmaus, and ministered musically with Neal Delk, Billy Borden, Michael Dean, Chek Rippee, Cyle Sharp and Don Cates. “They play instruments and I don’t, so they have been essential for me,” he stated.
His brother-in-law, Gary Good, has always been an inspiration and mentor. “He has preached and performed weddings
Cattleman of the Year PAT BOONE You have our respect and admiration. Bill & Debbie Sauble CIRCLE DOT RANCH
Congratulations to Pat Boone & Family You have been an inspiration to everyone in the industry for all of these many years.
A Well Deserved Recognition BOB & RACHEL RICKLEFS
The Casabonne Family
Congratulations
Cattleman of the Year
PAT BOONE
Thank you for your strong leadership and dedication.
www.singletonranches.com
Our Best to you PAT
We’re proud of your unselfish service to the livestock industry. Congratulations on this wonderful honor.
Nikki Hooser & Kathy Longinaker
Congratulations Pat!
Thank You PAT BOONE We appreciate your unselfish service to the livestock industry.
Joan, David, Marc, Tammy, Cole & Clay Kincaid
Congratulations! To Pat Boone Cattleman of the Year From Curtis & Carol Fort
OUR BEST TO YOU PAT THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ~ BAYS FAMILY ~
Congratulations PAT BOONE
CATTLEMAN OF THE YEAR Thank you for your wonderful leadership and hard work for the livestock industry.
Producer-Lantana Ranch & NM Beef Council Member
Congratulations to my friend and... Cattleman of the Year Pat Boone Value your friendship over the many years. God bless you and your family. — Eddie Benton —
and funerals and has usually been the speaker at our Easter breakfast,” stated Pat. “He has encouraged me in my faith and my ministry greatly.”
“Music has been an important part of my life,” Pat stated simply. “I hope it will continue.”
A Harmonic Connection
While Pat was working an Emmaus walk, one of the pastors visited with him about emailing scriptures to his friends daily. The pastor described the practice as a way of encouraging people and also ensuring that the sender was grounded in the scriptures every day.
Pat liked the idea and began sending scripture to a group of a dozen people daily. More people asked to be a part of the list, and now Pat sends a daily scripture to approximately 200 people six days a week.
“Some of the verses step on my toes a bit,” he admitted. “Some of them are things that I see on Facebook or read in devotionals.”
Bill Humphries receives the daily scripture and remembers when his grandsons were sometimes with him early in the morning when his phone would ding, signifying an incoming message. “The boys would say, ‘that must be Pat’s verse,’” Bill remembers. “Then we’d stop and read it. When I’m feeding and hear a ding, I stop to read the morning scripture. I hear other
Congratulations PatBoone ...a well deserved honor and a tremendous accomplishment.
Not only are you a tremendous cattleman, you are also an incredible husband, father, friend and neighbor.
Congratulations — Price Carter
Singing Around the Cross
For the past 35 years, Pat has been gathering men the Saturday before Easter, feeding them both physically and spiritually in the heart of the family ranch at the foot of a 14 foot metal cross.
In the early days, Cindy and several good friends from Texas cracked 100 dozen eggs the day before the breakfast, laughing and visiting as they filled five gallon water jugs with pooled eggs. These days, Pat has volunteer crews serving up smoked pork chops, biscuits, eggs, gravy and coffee. Neal Delk and the Delk brothers provide music, and Gary Good provides a message.
The breakfast that started with 45 men now serves 400-500 men each year. “We never invite anyone,” Pat commented. “If a man hears of the breakfast, he is welcome to come. We will give you the best food we can fix, then give you a good message.”
A Team Chorus
Another highlight is the annual retreat of the Angelo State University Basketball team. Cinco, head coach, brings his team to the ranch for team building and bonding. They practice basketball in the gyms where Cinco used to play in Portales and Elida. As a whole ball team camps in the house, Cindy leaves the ranch to the men and Pat plays host to the mostly inner-city kids and their coaches.
“The team gets to see livestock and antelope and quail, and Dad cooks and hosts the whole weekend,” Cinco related. “On Sunday we take the team to the cross where Dad does the sunrise Easter service, and Dad gives a devotional. Being able to take my team to that spot every year and having my hero talk to them is just awesome.”
“Dad really spoils the team while they are on the ranch,” Cinco continued. “One year, a player ate five huge ribeye steaks in
— Berry Cattle, LLLP — Congratulates our friend Pat Boone & His Family on this special accomplishment Danny & Libby Berry — Eunice, New Mexico
one meal.”
“We get to bond with the players,” Pat added. “We introduce them to ranching and most of them already have a relationship with God. It is a full weekend and the whole house is full of blow up mattresses, but it is a good time to get to know the team and bond with the players.”
Perfect Pitch
In an industry that was once characterized by generations of the same family caring for their land and cattle, Pat and Cindy have noticed a gradual attrition of the families that have cared for the land for years. “The older generation has been selling or dying off,” Cindy noted. “They are replaced with other good people, and we still have a good relationship with them,”
That makes the friendship between the Boones and Bilberrys that much more precious. Pat’s great-grandfather and Jeff Bilberry’s great-grandfather came to Kenna at the beginning of the 20th century, and 120 years later, Jeff and Pat still rope and ride together, depending on each other for help and friendship, like the men four generations before them.
Jeff and Pat have been through family crisis, droughts, good grass years, and
school board and county commission meetings together. “In the best days of my life, he has been there for me. In the worst times of my life, Pat was standing right there beside me,” Jeff noted. “He truly is the best man on the face of this earth. We’ve punched a lot of cows, branded a lot of calves, and rode a lot of horseback miles together. God willing, we still have a lot to
Our Angelo State Family (ASU)
do. It is a special friendship.”
Pat equates the friendship to the one the Bible describes between David and Saul’s son Jonathon. “We are closer than brothers,” he noted. “We can meet on the road between our houses and lean over our pickup beds to pray with each other. Over the years, we’ve helped each other and been there for each other. When I have
We are grateful for your friendship Pat Boone
Congratulations on your selection as Cattleman of the Year
— Joel & Sue Crosthwait
A well-deserved recognition PAT We’re mighty proud for you.
— Joe and Diane Delk
Our best to a wonderful neighbor, friend, and ... Cattleman of the Year PAT BOONE Pat is a man of God who loves his family, country and his ranching heritage!
Sid & Betty Price
CONNIFF CATTLE CO., LLC
ANGUS Bulls - Cows - Heifers for Sale
John & Laura Conniff 1500 Snow Road, Las Cruces, NM 88005 575/644-2900 • john@conniffcattle.com www.conniffcattle.com • www.leveldale.com
We’re so proud of you, our Cattleman of the Year PAT BOONE
Thank You Pat Boone We appreciate your many contributions to the cattle industry! Wesley & Elnabeth Grau
Pat with brother-in-law Gary Good at fall works.
Congratulations to our friend Pat Boone
Cattleman of the Year We’re proud as we can be!
Arkie & Kathleen Kiehne
Congratulations Cattleman of the Year PatBoone We appreciate all you do for the cattle industry!
Robinson Cattle Company Eagle Creek, AZ, & Hillsboro, NM Rob & Dawnee Robinson
Thank You Cattleman of the Year PAT BOONE
We appreciate your years of serving the Cattle Industry. — Bruce & Trina Davis — troubles, he gets involved. When he needs me, I am there. He had a huge influence in my kids’ lives, and I helped his kids. We’ve done a lot, and it is because we resolved between us, long ago, that we were going to serve.”
“I’m blessed through that friendship,” Jeff added. “We’ve cried a lot of tears together, but we have laughed more than we cried.”
The Rhythm of Life
The cattle industry respects Pat Boone’s approach to life, his dedication to the industry, his thoughtfulness to the people of the land. Phil Bidegain spoke for the cattle industry when he claimed, “You want Pat on your side in life. He might keep you from over-reacting in a crisis. He is low-keyed, but as solid as a rock.”
Pat’s neighbors describe him as a man who lives out his beliefs. “He trusts in God,” noted Eddie Benton. “He believes in the good Lord and that is the way he does business.”
Pat’s son and daughter describe him as their hero. “He is genuine and honest. A great neighbor. People count on him,” summarized Cinco. “That is how he raised his kids, and that is the influence he had in his home.”
The tall man with the resonant voice commands attention and receives respect, whether the mellow baritone is belting out Josh Turner’s hit, Long Black Train, or speaking gently to a child or a colt, or leading a group of cowmen through a potentially divisive meeting. With Cindy, his bride of 45 years, Pat epitomizes the best of New Mexico ranchers, a fact his fellow cattlemen acknowledged when they honored Pat as Cattleman of the Year.
Pat sings them all, from old hymns to contemporary praise, but the song that fellow cattlemen will never tire of is the song he lives out in front of them, a song that is visible as he ropes and brands with neighbors, cares for the land and does the business of a cattleman. Because of his faithfulness, others can hear the song. ▫
