HONORARY ADVISORS
Mark Alvarenga
Mark Alvarenga, an Arlington, TX native, has been with IBC-Zapata for 11 years after graduating from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio with a B.S. degree in Business. In 2005, he was hired as an Operations Coordinator for IBC and has since been promoted to Corporate Sales Manager and is also the 1st Vice President of Sales. Alvarenga is an active member of the community. He has served on the Board of the Boys & Girls Club in Zapata for nine years and has also served as Vice President of the Board for the past 2 years; Vice President of the Executive Committee Board for Zapata for United Way Laredo; and a volunteer for the Lady Giants Softball Club. He is married to Rachel Medina Alvarenga and together they have three daughters.
Frank Armstrong
Frank Armstrong was born in Laredo, Texas and raised in Hebbronville. A fifth generation Texan he obtained both a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering and a Bachelor of Laws degrees from The University of Texas. He is Manager of Armstrong Ranch, Ltd. which owns and operates cattle ranching operations in Jim Hogg County. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of The First National Bank of Hebbronville. He resides in Corpus Christi where his law practice is limited to representing land and mineral owners. His community involvement in Corpus Christi includes serving as Chairman of the CHRISTUS Spohn Development Foundation and past member of the Board of Trustees of St. James Episcopal School. He is a member of the King’s Men and was named King Alonso 56th in the annual Buccaneers Day celebration.
Giovana Benitez
Giovana Benitez grew up around a family owned stocker and pre conditioning yard in Edinburg, Texas. She has been actively involved in the management of the operation since 2011. Giovana has participated and volunteered in several community regional and state organizations and is a senior at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, majoring in Finance and Economics. Giovana is eager to help promote South Texas agriculture, cattle industry and landowner property rights.
Mark Burroughs
Mr. Burroughs is on the investment staff at EnCap Investments, a Houston-based energy private equity firm. Prior to joining EnCap in March 2007, Mr. Burroughs worked in UBS Investment Bank’s Energy Group. While at UBS, Mr. Burroughs worked on over 20 capital markets transactions raising over $11 billion in capital and worked on several M&A advisory assignments. Prior to joining UBS Investment Bank, Mr. Burroughs spent three years at Sanders Morris Harris, Inc., an investment banking firm in Houston. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Jesse H. Jones School of Management at Rice University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Burroughs serves on the board of directors of several EnCap portfolio companies and is a member of the Houston Producers’ Forum and the Independent Petroleum Association of America. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the Broach Foundation for Brain Cancer Research, Small Steps Nurturing Center and the Galveston Bay Foundation.
Presnall Cage
Presnall Cage is a third generation South Texas rancher who operates his family’s property in Brooks County, Texas. Presnall was raised in Falfurrias and graduated from Texas A& I University in Kingsville where he was an officer in the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force and became an instructor pilot at Laredo Air Force Base and a forward air controller in Vietnam. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, he was discharged from the service in 1973with the rank of captain. He is currently a pilot of both fixed wing aircraft and a helicopter…the latter used primarily for cattle work.Presnall raises commercial Hereford and crossbred cattle and manages the family’s mineral holdings in Brooks and Maverick Counties in Texas as well as Lincoln and Cheyenne Counties in Colorado.
Presnall and his wife, Stephanie, reside on the ranch near Falfurrias, where Presnall is a director of the First National Bank, having been a founder and director of the Greater South Texas Bank. They have three children, Grady Cage, Valerie Ziegler, and William Cage and three grandchildren. Presnall serves as a director of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, is a member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Texas Order of St. Hubertus (a hunting and game conservation group) as well as several San Antonio social organizations, among them, The Order of the Alamo, The German Club, The Argyle, and The San Antonio Country Club.
James "Jim" Gibbs
James Gibbs, currently the owner and operator of San Pablito Ranch in Jim Hogg County, brings a wealth of business and ranching experience to the STPRA board of directors. Prior to his 18 years as chairman and CEO of Frontier Oil Company, he served in senior officer positions in another business concern and with a major Texas bank corporation. Originally from Kilgore, James holds a PhD in Economics and Finance from SMU, where he was also a faculty member in its graduate and undergraduate programs. Additionally, James holds a BS degree in Engineering, also from SMU. James currently serves on numerous corporate and professional boards, mostly in the Houston area, and pursues his primary interests of ranching, hunting and horses.
Bill Guerra
Billy Guerra, a native of Roma, TX, currently helps operate the family ranch in Starr County. Prior to returning to the ranch, he was in the automotive industry for over 25 years. Billy's love for the property he grew up on made him instantly attracted to the South Texans' Property Rights Association and its mission. Billy has served two terms as a director and has agreed to serve as an advisory board member for 2023. Billy currently lives on the ranch and has one son Will, who lives and works in Austin.
J.E. "Eddie" Guerra
Pharmacist, Oil/Gas Investments and Oil/Gas Development, Real Estate Investments
Eddie currently serves as the Sheriff of Hidalgo County after winning the position during the 2014 mid-term elections. Current Hidalgo Co. Sheriff, former Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Constable, landowner from Linn, his family has owned property in South Texas for over two centuries, a STPRA member since 2010.
W.T. "Tommy" Guerra
Tommy Guerra of Guerra Ranches is a fourth-generation rancher from Starr County. He graduated from Rio Grande City High in 1960 and received a BBA degree from UT Austin in 1964. In 1964, he married Corinne “PeeWee” and they have been married almost 49 years. Tommy and PeeWee have one son, Billy and two daughters Jeannie and Sissy.
Tommy worked for 7 years at First State Bank in RGC. He is also a member of a number of organizations: TSCRA, NCBA, and TLMA. He was on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) for six years. He served as State President for two years on the Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas. In addition, Tommy has also served on various state and national committees through the years. He currently serves on the STPRA Board of Directors.
Sarita A. Hixon
Sarita Armstrong Hixon is a former member of the Texas Historical Commission and currently serves on the board of the Texas State Historical Association. She has previously been on the boards of the San Jacinto Museum of History Association, San Jacinto Historical Advisory Board, Friends of Communities in Schools, San Jacinto Museum of History Association, Contemporary Arts Museum and Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia.
Professionally, she is the Kenedy County Commissioner Precinct 3 and was an associate attorney with Andrews & Kurth, LLP.
Sarita received her BA from the University of Texas at Austin and her JD from Southern Methodist University School of Law. She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and currently resides in Houston.
Bruce P. Hoffman
Throughout his 29 years in the financial services industry, Bruce has shown an unyielding dedication to helping his clients pursue their goals and preserve their wealth. As someone who for many years has tended his family’s ranch in Alice, Texas - established in 1897 - he knows a thing or two about being a proud steward of precious resources. His clients look to him for straightforward advice and insight into the big picture of their finances. He uses a thoughtful approach that takes into account their needs and risk tolerance.
He became a financial advisor in 1990, driven to do something to help people plan their financial future. Over the course of his career he has become a well-respected financial advisor. In 2019, Bruce and two other financial advisors established Coastal Bend Wealth Partners in Corpus Christi and have continued to provide personalized services to their clients.
A native of Alice, Texas, Bruce earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin and is a Life Member of the University of Texas Exes. He has served his community as a member of the Corpus Christi Rotary Club for 25 years, including 3 years as a board member, he has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow and was awarded the Spirit of Rotary Award by the club. He is now a member of the Alice Rotary Club, where he currently serves as President; Episcopal Church of the Advent, where he has been a member of the Vestry for three years as well as serving as Junior Warden; Corpus Christi Mustangs; Alice Chamber of Commerce member; served as a member of the board of South Texans’ Property Rights Association and now serves on its Advisory Council.
Bruce served as a STPRA director from 2013 – 2019 and now serves in an advisor. He is a firm supporter of wildlife habitat and conservation, serving as a board member and past president of Wildlife in Focus, Texas Cattle Raiser’s Association and as a member of Texas Wildlife Association.
Bruce and his wife Gail, live on their ranch in Alice. They have two children and three grandchildren.
Jesse W. Howell
Jesse Howell has lived in southern Jim Wells County his entire life and is active in several agricultural operations, including a cattle feedlot, silage operation and liquid feed plant. He is president of Jim Wells Company LLC, Jesse W. Howell Cattle LLC, Howell Industries Inc., Howell Cattle Co., and part owner and an honorary director on the board of South Texas Property Rights Association. Since 1982, he has been on the Board of Directors of Texas Farm Credit.
A.C. "Dick" Jones IV
A.C."Dick" Jones IV of Hebbronville,Tx. manages his cattle operations through Jones Ranch LLC. His ranching headquarters are at Jones Borregos Ranch south of Hebbronville in Jim Hogg Co.
In addition to ranching, Jones' other business activities include directorships with First National Bank of Hebbronville, First National Bank of Beeville,and Mestena Oil & Gas Co. He is also a director of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Wildlife Association, advisory director Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and trustee of Texas A&M Kingsville Foundation.
He and his wife Ann have three children, Katherine Camille, William Whitby III and Laura Christina.
Joe Maley
Joe Maley is a life long resident of Bee County where both sides of his family have farmed and ranched since the 1890's. Joe graduated from Pawnee High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Education from Southwest Texas State University: now Texas State University. He taught school for three years before joining the staff of Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) as a Field Representative in South Texas, while maintaining a family ranch. He took of leave from TFB for a period of time to do agriculture consulting and development in several foreign countries, primarily Saudi Arabia. After return to TFB, Joe managed the Austin legislative office, before moving to the main office where he was Director of Organization, with emphasis on Public Policy at the State and National level. Joe's and Martha's son and daughter and their families live close by and are involved with the ranch in South and Central Texas.
James A. McAllen, Sr.
James A. "Jim" McAllen was born in Brownsville, Texas. He has spent his whole life on the McAllen Ranch, 35 miles north of Edinburg. Jim is an eleventh-generation rancher in south Texas and head of the McAllen Ranch, McAllen Land & Cattle Co., Inc., McAllen Communications Co., and Ranch Specialties Co. in Hidalgo County. McAllen Ranch is involved in various conservation projects and is recognized as one of the oldest ranches in Texas still in operation by the same family. Jim is one of the founders and former president of the Museum of South Texas History and the Valley Land Fund. He serves as a director for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and was awarded the National Beefmaster Breeders United Environmental/Conservation Award. Jim was also presented the “San Antonio Conservation Society Publication Award” for a book he co-authored with his mother and daughter entitled “I’d Rather Sleep in Texas.” Jim and his wife Frances have five children, Mary Margaret (Amberson), Melissa (Guerra), Elizabeth (Roberts), James Jr., and Stephanie (Moore) and fifteen grandchildren.
Beth Knolle Naiser
Beth Knolle Naiser is part of a family which has ranched in Texas since its members arrived with Stephen F. Austin’s first colony. Beth grew up in Houston, where her father was manager of the Houston Livestock Show for 22 years. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1971 and has lived in the Coastal Bend area since that time. She now raises beef cattle on the Knolle Farm & Ranch, which was once one of the nation’s largest dairy operations. In 1997, she opened a bed and breakfast on the ranch, specializing in hospitality and "country luxury". Beth is married to Stephen Naiser, who has been in the custom grass planting business for 27 years. Besides her service on the STPRA board, Beth is a member of the board of directors of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and is very involved with that organization’s promotional activities.
John Prukop
John Prukop lives in Jim Wells County and has been farming since 1974 in Jim Wells, Kleberg and Nueces Counties. Mr. Prukop holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A & I University in agricultural economics. Mr. Prukop serves as chairman of the Kleberg-Kennedy Soil and Water Conservation District and is Vice Chairman of Texas AgFinance, where he has served as a director since 1990.
Neal Wilkins, PhD
Neal Wilkins is President and CEO of the East Foundation, where he is responsible for leading the Foundation’s mission of supporting wildlife conservation and other public benefits of ranching and private land stewardship. With Headquarters in San Antonio, the East Foundation owns and operates about 218,000 acres of South Texas ranchland as a working laboratory for its research, education and outreach programs. Before joining the East Foundation in 2012, Neal was a Professor of Wildlife Science and served as the Director of the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and the Texas Water Resources Institute where he coordinated the programs of more than 45 scientists and professional staff. Neal has more than 28 years of experience leading research and conservation efforts across private lands in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Washington, and Oregon. His primary focus has been habitat management and conservation of land, water, and wildlife resources on private lands. His work integrates science, policy and economics for developing wildlife conservation programs. Until 2006, Neal was statewide program leader for wildlife and fisheries with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Prior to joining the Texas A&M faculty in 1998, he directed wildlife and fisheries programs for Port Blakely Tree Farms, a 150,000-acre forest landholding in the Pacific Northwest. Neal is a Director and former Vice-President of Texas Wildlife Association. He serves on the board of Texan-by-Nature, the Management Council for the King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management, and is a Professional Member of the Boone & Crockett Club. He and his wife Sandra have two grown children, Ashley and Matt.