Stanley B. “Seco” Mayfield of Sonora received the Dietret Memorial Award during the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers’ 107th annual convention on Friday, July 15, 2022 in Kerrville.

For five generations, Seco’s family has been involved with sheep and goats. Seco continues to be involved in the industry with his sister Gerry, raising commercial angora and fine wool sheep west of Sonora. His son Ed Mayfield now helps run the ranch and is a partner in the goat operation.

Seco started learning about mohair working on his father’s ranch during summers and holidays while he attended school in San Antonio, Texas. During and after high school Seco interned on the Whitehead Ranch where he honed his skills at soring mohair. At age 20, Seco leased the Edwards County ranch from his grandmother, Zena Wheat Mayfield, and started his own commercial flock.

Seco is quick to credit several mentors, in addition to his father Stanley Mayfield, who helped him learn more about the land, livestock and adding value to mohair and wool. Those people include Armer Earwood, Fred Campbell, Glen fisher, David Lawford and Fritz Kuebel. The Earwood family helped him early on to establish guidelines for his Angora goat commercial breeding program.

In the spring of 1997, Seco was asked to be the interim manager of the Sonora Wool and Mohair Warehouse, which was established by area ranchers in 1929. He presently serves as manager. He is known for being a proponent for the producer while being respected by the buyers and working closely with fellow warehousemen and industry leaders.

Seco has served as the President of the Mohair Council of America, the Texas Wool and Mohair Warehouse Association, the Sonora Caverns and the Sonora Chamber of Commerce. He is currently President of the Mohair Producer Board and Honorary Director of the TSGRA. He remains active with ASI and TSGRA, addressing issues that affect the Wool and Mohair industry. He says his most rewarding part of running a warehouse is the quality of people on both ends of the trade.

Rick Powers of Sonora was named 2nd Vice President of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers’ Association. Rick was raised on family ranches in Sutton County, primarily raising Rambouillet sheep, Angora goats, Spanish goats, and Angus cattle.

He graduated from Sonora High School in 1982 and Texas A&M University in 1987. After graduating from A&M, Rick was the Assistant Warehouse Manager of Sonora Wool and Mohair. In 1992, he joined Chargeurs USA in Jamestown, SC, as a Wool Trader, and was named Trading and Topmaking Manager from 1999-2004. From 2004 - 2020 he joined Lempriere as Commercial Manager/Director. He was also the Commercial Director of Global Wool Alliance, a wool combing mill in Thane, India for Lempriere, and is the recent past owner of Rafter Seven Merinos, Inc. in Nevada.

Presently, Rick is the managing director of American Wool Services, based in San Angelo, and jointly manages the Bar 7 Ranch in Sonora with Mother Claire Jones, sister and brother in law Rebecca and Andy Stokes, and wife Melinda.

The Bar 7 Ranch raises commercial Merino sheep, Spanish goats, Angus cattle, maintains hunting leases, and raises Spanish Billies for sale to local ranchers.

He and son Vance Powers are now leasing the Sawyer-Davis Ranch in Sonora, running meat goats and Rambouillet/Merino sheep
He has served on various committees with the United Methodist Church, Isle of Palms, SC, and within the American Sheep Industry, he has served on the Let’s Grow, Fine Wool Consortium, and as an advisor to ASI’s Fine Wool Breed Index Development Team.

Rick and his wife Melinda have three children, Claysen, Elise and Vance.
The 2022 Winner of the Outstanding News Media Person of the Year is Randy Mankin of Sonora, Texas.

Randy and Kathy Mankin own and publish three community newspapers in West Texas including The Eldorado Success, The Devil’s River News in Sonora, and The Big Lake Wildcat. They also own and operate a commercial print shop and a photography studio in Big Lake.

Randy was born and raised north of Abilene in Jones County where his grandfather was a sharecropper who raised cotton, peanuts, hogs and grandkids. He attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock where he met his wife, Kathy. She is an Amarillo native and a first generation American on her mother’s side of the family. Kathy’s mother was born in Kiev, Ukraine and made it to the United States when the family ended up in a displaced persons camp in Bremerhaven, Germany at the end of World War II.

Randy and Kathy have two children. Their daughter, Sarah Mankin, is a family practice physician in Lubbock. Their son, J.L. Mankin, is the editor of the Big Lake Wildcat newspaper and the manager of Illusions Photography. The Mankins have three grandchildren, Kenna, Landon and Wyatt, all in Big Lake.

Randy served five years on the Eldorado City Council and another five as the city administrator. He has been on the Schleicher County Hospital District’s board of trustees for 25 years, including the past 22 as the board president. In 2011, he led the hospital district’s efforts to pass a bond election to build a new hospital, clinic and nursing home. The new facility opened in 2013.

Randy has twice served as president of the West Texas Press Association and is a past president of the statewide Press Association, where he continues to serve as a member of its board of directors. He is also on the board of the Texas Newspaper Foundation and is on that group’s Hall of Fame selection committee.

The Mankins’ newspapers have won numerous awards at the state and regional level, including seven sweepstakes awards in the Texas Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

Curry Campbell of Sonora presided over the convention as the TSGRA President.

The TSGRA also honored other individuals who contribute to the advancement of the sheep and goat industry in Texas. They include:

• Bob Buchholz of Eldorado – TSGRA Earwood Award;

• Kerr Wardlaw of Del Rio – TSGRA Young Rancher Award.

• Parks Tucker III of San Angelo - Outstanding Agriculture Science Teacher Award;

• Josh Kouns of Seymour – Outstanding County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources;

• Shea Nebgen of Fredericksbur – Outstanding County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Community Health;

• Ed Smith of Schleicher County - Outstanding Trapper of the Year;

• Edie McDaniel of Round Rock and Amanda Foust of Lampasas – TSGRA
Special Award for their work with the Chisholm Trail Youth Dorper Association
The association elected new officers during the convention including Jim Quinn of Brady who was named the group’s President. Other officers are Rodney Kott of Fredericksburg, First Vice President; and Rick Powers of Sonora, Second Vice President.