Clarence Scharbauer has a diversified livestock background. In 1947 he took over the active management of the Scharbauer Ranches, one of the larger operations in Texas and the Southwest. After more than 50 years of management, the empire has grown to nine ranches in West Texas and the upper Texas panhandle.

Jo Ann Smith made many contributions to the livestock industry. She was the operating partner and secretary/treasurer of Smith Brothers Farming and Ranching in Wachoota, Florida, from 1958 to 1988. Her service to the industry led her to become Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Inspection Services of the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C. From 1985-1987 she served on President Reagan’s United States Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations.

Hilmar Moore is a fifth-generation Texas rancher who owned his own cattle since he was six years of age. He and his family operate land that has been a part of the family ranching operation since 1824. His roots reach back in Texas history to Stephen F. Austin’s original colony of settlers. He has raised American Quarter Horses since 1938 and was a charter member of the American Quarter Horse Association.

Jim Barron gained first-hand experience in ranching through his family’s ownership of the Spur Headquarters and Tongue River Ranches in Cottle, Dickens, Motley and King counties of Texas. He chaired the National Beef Development Task Force in 1976-77 that won congressional approval for a national referendum on a legislative checkoff for beef research and promotion.

While Walter Pfluger was director of the Texas Sheep & Goat Raisers Association in 1949, he was instrumental in the passage of the National Wool Act. This gave price supports to American wool producers as incentive to stay in business, though their product was more expensive to produce than imported wools. Pfluger pushed for the act and then stood firm when mohair, a specialty fiber from Angora goats, was about to be written out of the act. In the end, thanks to his help, mohair was covered in the act.

When selected to receive the Golden Spur Award, Bill Farr was chairman of the board and major stockholder of Farr Farms, an integrated farming, feeding and ranching operation on 2,000 acres of irrigated farm land, a 26,000- head capacity feedlot and a 16,000-acre ranch near Greeley. He also owned the 21,000-acre Seventy Ranch Corp. He was renowned for his commitment to that industry, for innovations for its betterment and for his common sense approach to the business that has helped cattlemen squeeze profits out of tight margins.

Marie Tyler was a North Dakota rancher, horsewoman and national beef spokesperson for more than three decades. She was the first woman to receive the National Golden Spur Award. Tyler was labeled the First Lady of Beef Promotion during her leadership with the National Livestock and Meat Board because of her advertising, research, education and promotion of red meat. Tyler and her husband, Jim, introduced Santa Gertrudis cattle to North Dakota in 1954.

Foy Proctor was operator of the C Ranch north of Midland and the Proctor Ranch near Channing in Hartley County, Texas. He began ranching in 1917 and formed a cattle-buying partnership with Brass and Myers of Grand Island, Nebraska. During the partnership, he purchased between 10,000 and 15,000 head of cattle annually for shipment to Nebraska. Proctor’s legacy continues to support education and youth with the bequest of his Channing ranch to Texas Tech University.

John B. Armstrong was executive vice president of the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. In that position, he oversaw cattle, horse and sheep operations domestically and internationally which include those in Mississippi, Florida, Spain, Brazil and Australia. Armstrong also raised commercial and registered Santa Gertrudis on ranches and farms in Jim Hogg, Kleberg and Kennedy counties of Texas. He became managing partner of the John B. Armstrong Ranch, Kingsville.

J. Ernest Browning cowboyed most of his life and dedicated his lifetime of service to the ranching and livestock industry. Browning worked in and later owned a grocery store and meat business, and with his earnings he began purchasing land and cattle. In 1939 he was able to make cattle raising his only business. Browning, a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association, became a director in 1940 and was elected president in 1958.

Watt Matthews had a distinguished record of achievement in the cattle business. He was known and respected for his leadership in the preservation of the values and heritage of ranching. Perhaps his appreciation of the past grew from his living in a legendary pioneer family. Throughout his life he continued to play a vital role in the ranching industry. Matthews was known for his ability to make things happen and at the same time accept nature on its terms, “No need to complain about it being too wet or dry–it will change.”

“Fred H.” as he was known to friends and business associates, achieved international recognition for his progressive ranching practices, his leadership within the industry and his service to his fellow man. Dressler helped found the Nevada Junior Livestock Show and served on the board for 30 years. The Fred H. Dressler Cattle Co., a family business, in 1980 covered 20,000 acres in three counties and two states.

Jay Littleton Taylor’s lifetime career as a rancher, businessman and public servant paralleled the development of the cattle industry. Known as “Mr. Beef,” Taylor’s service to the livestock industry benefited all of American agriculture. He was owner of the HH Ranch near Magdalena, New Mexico, and the Rafter O Ranch near Vega, Texas. He was a partner in the world’s largest livestock auction, the Amarillo Livestock Auction Co..

Albert Knell Mitchell, whose life spanned the era from the 19th century free range to the age of the airborne cowman, was the recipient of the first National Golden Spur Award. The Tequesquite Ranch, founded in 1896, became a partnership between Mitchell and his father, T.E. Mitchell, who brought the first registered Herefords to New Mexico that year. In addition to assuming management of the Bell Ranch in 1933, Mitchell applied his talent, imagination and business acumen to all facets of agriculture and livestock production.