PRESIDENT DAVID MACEDO
TULARE SALES YARD, INC., TULARE, CALIF.

Macedo, LMA’s 2006 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion and president of Tulare Sales Yard, has operated the market for 27 years. At age 19, he bought half-ownership of the market, which has been in his family for 69 years. He was Tulare’s mayor from 2002-2004, and is currently on the City Council.

His industry activities include being the livestock market representative on the California Beef Council from 1998-2000.  He has been the treasurer of the California Livestock Markets Association since 1991, and a member of LMA’s Government and Industry Affairs Committee from 2005-2007.  He moves into the vice president’s position from LMA’s board of directors, where he was first elected in 2005.

VICE PRESIDENT TIM STARKS
CHEROKEE SALES COMPANY, CHEROKEE, OKLA.

Starks, who is a doctor of veterinary medicine, has been co-owner/manager of the Cherokee market for 12 years. At LMA, he has been on the board of directors and served on the Government and Industry Affairs Committee.

Starks received his DVM degree from Oklahoma State University in 1992, after receiving his bachelor of science degree from the same institution in 1989. He is a member of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, the Academy of Veterinary Consultants and the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD BOBBY SMITH
FAIRVIEW SALE BARN, FAIRVIEW, OKLA.

Smith grew up in the livestock market he now owns and operates.  His father owned it for 15 years before he sold it in 1967.  Smith has operated the market since 1975, and says at the age of 17, he “started my auctioneering career during one of my dad’s sales, with no formal training.”

Smith has a lengthy and varied career in industry affairs.  He has been a member of the Oklahoma Livestock Marketing Association (OLMA) for 30 years, including a term as president from 1997-98.  He has been the OLMA representative on the Oklahoma Beef Council since 2003, and was Council President from 2006-2007. He has served LMA in a variety of positions, including chairman of the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship Committee, and most recently, as vice president.

MARK MACKEY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
LIVESTOCK MARKETING ASSOCIATION

Mackey is a 1982 graduate of Kansas State University, with a degree in animal science. That was the year he joined LMA as a region executive officer, covering Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.  In 1997, he joined LMA’s management team.

In September, 2003, he was named CEO on an interim basis, and in February, 2004, was named CEO. In a recent interview, he talked about the people LMA represents in the marketing sector. Market operators, he said, “are innovators in technology, genetics and marketing itself. Producers can and should draw on the knowledge of these marketers.  Because of their knowledge, it’s important that marketers be at the table to discuss, with other organizations, issues we have in common.”

VINCENT NOWAK, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
LIVESTOCK MARKETING ASSOCIATION

Born in Nebraska, Nowak grew up in Iowa and Kansas.  He joined LMA as assistant CFO in 1997, and became CFO in 2003. Prior to joining LMA, he was the CFO for Walden and Sons Food Brokers, Inc., in Overland Park, Kan.  He also worked as a Certified Public Accountant in tax accounting for a local CPA firm.

Nowak attended Kansas State University, and got his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Kansas in 1973.  After graduating from KU, he studied accounting at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. Nowak said his primary after-work activities are cycling, hiking, and following the sports activities of his two children, Jacob and Rachel. 

JIM AKERS, DIRECTOR
BLUE GRASS MARKETING GROUP, LEXINGTON, KEN.

Akers is the chief operating officer for the Marketing Group, which has markets across Kentucky. These include, he said, Lexington, “the largest auction market east of the Mississippi, and Stanford, the newest, state-of-the-art facility in the country.” He joined Blue Grass in 2007, after working for the University of Kentucky as Beef Integrated Resource Coordinator, where he was instrumental in the formation and operation of the Kentucky Beef Network and Southeastern Livestock Network.

A native Kentuckian, Akers is a 1985 graduate of the University of Kentucky. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in animal science, he spent 15 years as a professional farm manager in Kentucky and Alabama. Akers is a member of LMA’s Government and Industry Affairs Committee. He was named to serve the remainder of the term that expires in 2011, which was held by Mike Bumgarner, Columbus, Ohio Bumgarner resigned from the Board after leaving marketing to take a position with the Ohio Farm Bureau.

JERRY ETHEREDGE, DIRECTOR
LINDEN STOCK YARDS, INC., LINDEN, ALA.

Etheredge has spent 27 years in Alabama livestock marketing, 16 of those at the Linden Stock Yards, where he is president.  A native of the state, he is a member of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association.

Etheredge received an associate degree from Wallace Community College, Selma, Ala.

E.H. FOWLER, DIRECTOR
CENTRAL MISSOURI SALES, SEDALIA, MO.

A native Missourian, Fowler has been with the Sedalia market since 1973, where he is part-owner with his son, Jay, and Cary Brodersen. He has also been an auctioneer for over 40 years, and gets into the auction block at his market “from time to time, if I’m needed,” he said, and also works the occasional farm sale.

Fowler has extensive experience in the Missouri livestock industry. He is a past president of the Missouri Livestock Marketing Association; served two terms as a marketing representative on the Missouri Beef Council, and served for over 12 years on the board of directors of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.

WAYNE GEISTWEIDT, DIRECTOR
GILLESPIE LIVESTOCK COMPANY, FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS

Santomaso is president and manager of Sterling Livestock, a market and family-run business that has served area livestock producers for over 50 years. He moves into the chairman of the board position after two years as LMA’s president, and prior to that, as LMA’s vice president.

He is a long-time member of the Colorado Livestock Marketing Association, and served a term as the group’s president. In addition to auctioneering at his own market, Santomaso steps into the auction block, as needed at other area markets.   His civic activities include coaching and serving on the board of a local community baseball organization, and handling the auction duties at fund-raisers for a wide variety of groups, including the 4-H, Red Cross, Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever.

DAN HARRIS, DIRECTOR
HOLTON LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE, INC., HOLTON, KAN.

Harris grew up working at the Holton market, which his family began operating in 1951.  He has owned the business since 1978, and began managing it in 1984.  For LMA, in addition to sitting on the board of directors, Harris is the current chairman of the Government and Industry Affairs Committee. 

A 1975 graduate of the World Wide College of Auctioneering, Mason City, Iowa, he and his brother also conduct all types of personal property and real estate sales.  He has held a number of livestock industry positions, including being president of the Kansas Livestock Marketing Association for two years; serving as his county representative for the Kansas Livestock Association, and he is a past president of the Jackson County Livestock Association.  Harris has been a member of the Kansas Auctioneers Association since 1975, and is chairman of the board of Trinity Lutheran Church in Holton.

T. PHIL HARVEY, DIRECTOR
MID-GEORGIA LIVESTOCK MARKET, INC., JACKSON, GA.

Harvey, who said he’s “been around livestock markets all my life,” has owned and operated his market for 12 years. He is also currently serving on LMA’s Government and Industry Affairs Committee, and holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Georgia.

Other current positions include being president of the Georgia Livestock Marketing Association, where he was also vice president, and membership as a marketing representative on the Georgia Beef Board.  He is also a member of the Georgia Cattleman’s Association, the Morgan County Dairy Association, and is a former director of the Piedmont Cattleman’s Association. His community activities include serving as the treasurer and on the board of trustees of the Piedmont Academy, an independent school in Monticello, Ga.

DWAYNE MAYS, DIRECTOR
OGALLALA LIVESTOCK AUCTION MARKET, INC., OGALLALA, NEB.

Mays has spent his entire livestock marketing career at the Ogallala market, joining it in 1975. He said he “worked my way up through the ranks,” and was assistant manager when he became co-owner and president in 2003.

Mays is a past president of the Nebraska Livestock Markets Association, and a former judge for LMA’s World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. He is the chairman of LMA’s Membership Services Committee, and his civic activities include being a former member of the board of the Evangelical Free Church of Ogallala.

RANDY PATTERSON, DIRECTOR
ANTHONY LIVESTOCK CO., ANTHONY, KAN.

Patterson began his career in livestock marketing in 1978, with the Anthony Livestock Co., a dealer-broker business.  Today he also owns two markets, Anthony Livestock Sales Co., and the Cherokee Sales Co., LLC, Cherokee, Okla.  He is also the owner-operator of Anthony Livestock Trucking.

He has served LMA in a variety of positions. He just completed a two-year term as chairman of the board, which was preceded by a two-year term as LMA president. He is a 1971 graduate of Chaparral High School, in Anthony.

CHARLES ROGERS, DIRECTOR
CLOVIS LIVESTOCK AUCTION, INC., CLOVIS, N.M.

Rogers has spent the last 22 years at the Clovis market, the last 15 as sole owner and general manager. Prior to coming to Clovis, he was part owner for nine years of the Roswell Livestock Auction, Roswell, N.M. He is a 1978 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business.

Rogers is a member of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, and “Ag 50” of Clovis, an area agricultural promotion organization. In addition to being an LMA director, he also serves on the Membership Services Committee.

JIM SANTOMASO, DIRECTOR
STERLING LIVESTOCK COMMISSION CO., STERLING, COLO.

Santomaso is president and manager of Sterling Livestock, a market and family-run business that has served area livestock producers for over 50 years. He moves into the chairman of the board position after two years as LMA’s president, and prior to that, as LMA’s vice president.

He is a long-time member of the Colorado Livestock Marketing Association, and served a term as the group’s president. In addition to auctioneering at his own market, Santomaso steps into the auction block, as needed at other area markets.   His civic activities include coaching and serving on the board of a local community baseball organization, and handling the auction duties at fund-raisers for a wide variety of groups, including the 4-H, Red Cross, Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever.