In all of my travels across Texas, I never come home without a great story from a good friend. The Lone Star State is overflowing with entrepreneurial men and women, whose pioneering spirit has helped shape us into the greatest state in the Union.
Jimmie Powell is one of those men. A native Texan, Powell resides in San Angelo, where he manages several banking interests. Among other things, he is a former chairman of the Texas State University System Board of Regents, an investor, a philanthropist, and an Eagle Scout. Perhaps most importantly to Jimmie himself, however, he is a rancher.
When asked once by a newspaper what keeps him in the business [ranching], Powell said, “I have a deep desire to raise livestock and participate with others to provide a source of food for the people of the nation. In addition, I welcome the challenges to manage the ranch operations.”
Indeed, Powell has taken the challenges of ranching head on, with a vigor and determination that can only be admired. I had the opportunity to tour the country side with Jimmie one Wednesday afternoon in West Texas, and he wanted to drive out to the ranch and show me what he had been working on. Research has recently been performed outlining the effects of brush management on water shed recharge, and Jimmie Powell was determined to be part of the equation.
Across vast acreage of what was once thick brush county, Powell’s ranch has been transformed into beautiful pastures adorned by native grasses and wildflowers. Not only has his management of the land improved his cattle operation, but the repercussions of his actions are undoubtedly having positive impacts on the area’s water sources.
I salute Jimmie Powell and his commitment to agriculture and education. It is because of Texans like him that we enjoy a safe and affordable food supply, that our natural resources remain in the forefront of conversation, and that our long standing Texas heritage remains intact.
