Trustee Bill Wallace III at main entrance to his office
When Bill Wallace III (at left) was first elected to the FASF Board of Trustees, he was the full-time manager, in Columbus, NM, of the CATTLEMEX corporation’s local cattle marshaling and Auction facilities on the Mexican Border a few miles South of Columbus.
But, some three years ago, Bill purchased a new home in Santa Teresa, NM, in the same private development in which another former Trustee and now Advisor, John Orton, lived. This new home put Bill in much closer proximity to his new work place, the Santa Teresa Livestock Auction, located at the large U. S. Border Port of Entry at Santa Teresa, NM.
In another few months, Bill’s relatively new enterprise will celebrate if fourth year of successful business at the new facility. Just today, Bill successfully auctions about 600 head of cattle to American cattlemen. Most of the cattle auctioned by Bill’s business come from Mexico, while most of the buyers are American Ranchers and Cattlemen. His average number of livestock being held at any given time is now approaching 1,000 head. Bill’s operation is the largest such U.S./Mexican Border auction enterprise anywhere on our border with Mexico.
In constructing the new facilities, just as he had done at the CATTLEMEX operation in
Dr. Grandin
Columbus, at Santa Teresa, Bill again had the internationally famous, Temple Grandin, PhD, an animal/cattle behavioral scientist, design the cattle holding pens and chutes. Dr. Grandin is well known for her ability to configure cattle handling facilities that minimize the stress that once posed such a traumatic experience to the cattle that were being processed.
Cattle Pens designed by Dr. Grandin
One immediately noticeable feature of Dr. Grandin’s designs is that there are no sharp corners nor straight fence lines. Everything she fabricates for the livestock handling is composed of curves. Here (at left) is and early example of what such Grandin pens look like.
Bill is a partner in the new operation at Santa Teresa and is its full-time manager. This Trustee
L to R: Sr. Vega Vega, and Bill Wallace in Auction Hall
was raised in Mexico at the historic family ranch, Hacienda Rancho Corralitos, the very same ranch at which Bill’s great-grandfather once housed General Black Jack Pershing’s famous Buffalo Soldiers, during the same Punitive Expedition, which gave rise to the First Aero Squadron’s pioneering operation out of Columbus. While your webmaster was visiting with Bill, yesterday, he was regularly interrupted by business cell phone calls, one of those calls is show in this post’s short (:47 second) video clip immediately below.
L to R: Mr. Vega bids goodbye to Bill.
Because Bill deals on a daily basic with both Mexican cattlemen and Americans, his bi-lingual language skill comes in more than handy. Because of the international nature of the FASF, we always endeavor to have a number of Trustees that are also fully bi-lingual. Our other two Spanish speaking members are our Treasurer, Alma Villezcas, who, like Bill, is also from Casas Grandes, Mexico, and our retired professor of Cultural Anthropology, Dr. Kathleen Martín, our previous 1st Vice President.
Bill stands behind his Auction Auditorium and nearby his new corrals and chutes.