Copper CowBelle Meeting of January 20, 2026

President Cyndi Donovan called the meeting to order at noon. There were 14 members present. We recited the Pledge of Alliegance to our flag and the CowBelle Creed.  Cyndi Donovan brought the prayer.

Minutes for November were approved and the Treasurer’s report submitted for audit.

Pat Hunt shared the nice note from Shirley Franks, relating her good memories as a CowBelle member. Michelle Greeman mentioned that Owassa Hyman will turn 100 years old soon and family would love it if she could receive lots of birthday cards.

Carol Crosley wrote up a short piece reviewing the club’s past year for inclusion in the Jingle Jangle corner of the NM Stockman magazine.

 Kathy Davis is working on selling brand spots on our two CowBelle signs on U.S.180. She and her committee have sold 37 spots on the Cliff sign and 42 on the Tyrone sign. Now they will be engaging a welder to complete the project. Our thanks to Kathy, Rhonda, Misty, Lori Nell and Joanne for time served on this committee.

Cyndi encouraged us to reach out to get our friends to consider joining our club. Michelle Greeman said that this is a statewide need that NMCB has also addressed.  We discussed a questionnaire to our members who can’t often attend, asking what time slot would better allow them to attend. More hands make for lighter work! Michelle reminded us of the monthly NMCB Zoom Meeting at 7p.m. on the 2^nd Thursday of each month, next meeting being on 2/12/26.

Kathy Davis brought a flyer advertising “The Rhinestone Gala” on Saturday, Feb. 28^th at the Las Cruces Convention Center.  This event boasts dinner, dancing and live music, featuring Dzaki Sukarno of America’s Got Talent fame. The event is a fundraiser for Saddle up with Hope, providing young girls with hope, confidence and resilience through working with horses.

We talked about the possibility of hosting a joint meeting with other local Cowbelle clubs and building relationship with other members.

We again discussed our hope to host a fundraiser for the purpose of supporting our scholarship program and to provide a fun social activity for our community. We are looking at late May, early June or even a fall date, however, there is much to do and we may have started too late  for this year. Information is being gathered and the subject was tabled until our next meeting.

At the conclusion of the meeting, our 2026 officers were installed: President Cyndi Donovan, Vice President Leslie Crumbley, Secretary Carol Crosley and Treasurer Misty Pugmire.  Then we all enjoyed a pot-luck meal together. 

Our next meeting will be on February 17^th. Joan Dewbre and Carol Crosley will be our hostesses.

By Carol Crosley

         

 

 

 

  

President Cyndi Donovan called the meeting to order at noon on November 19, 2025. There were 11 ladies present. We recited the Pledge of Alliegance to our flag, the prayer, and the CowBelle Creed.

All current Officers are willing to continue serving for 2026. Pat Hunt made a motion that we maintain our current officers in 2026. Michelle Greeman seconded the motion, all agreed and the motion passed.  We will hold our installation of officers at our next meeting on January 20^th. This will be a potluck lunch and Kathy Davis will take care of decorations.

Pat was contacted by Shannon Lewis, wife of Evelyn Yate’s grandson, who was seeking to purchase several of our past cookbooks that contained Evelyn’s recipes to share with the family, she will see to it. Pat suggested that we send a condensed version of what we are doing at our CowBelle meetings to Janet Witte at The Stockman for inclusion in Jingle Jangle. Carol Crosley will do that. Pat also thought we might submit our favorite beef recipes to Patty Waid for her “For the Love of Beef” column in The Stockman.

Dissussion of CowBelle sign updates. Kathy Davis has worked hard and already has sold at least 30 brand spots on each of the signs. The signs will include the logos of Copper CowBelles, Cattle Growers and Freeport McMoran. Please be thinking about who else may want their brand on the signs.

Pat Hunt mentioned that we all might attend a Silver Consolidated School Board meeting to see how well the meetings are run and how Roberts Rules of Order help a meeting work well. Michelle Greeman let us know that the Team Reach App is available to all of us and is how the NM CowBelles are staying in touch and in step with each other. She is happy to answer any questions.  Also a reminder that our NMCB Zoom meetings are held 2^nd Thurs of each month.

 We had a lively discussion re: planning a much needed fundraiser (shindig?) Ft. Bayard Theater was mentioned as a possible venue and info will be gathered and shared. A band and auctioneer are being sought. It appears a date late in April or early May will work best. Stay tuned for more news.  

The CowBelle portion of the Annual Meeting will be held December 12^th at Hotel Albuquerque. Sign up on line a Newmexicocowbelles.org/event. Each local will bring a door prize to be awarded. Membership renewals were due Oct. 1^st.

Thanks to our meeting hostesses: Julie Mehan and Misty Pugmire!

By Carol Crosley

Dates to Remember:

December 12, Annual Meeting @ Hotel Albuquerque. Register at Newmexicocowbelles.org/events

Our Next Meeting – January 20^th   (Potluck and Installation of Officers for 2026)

President Cyndi Donovan called the meeting to order at noon on October 21, 2025. There were 11 ladies present, including our guest, Mackie Irwin. We recited the Pledge of Alliegance to our flag and the CowBelle Creed. Julie Mehan read the prayer. Minutes for the August 19^th meeting had been distributed electronically.

Shirley Franks sent a note expressing her continuing interest in CowBelles, but she regrets not being able to attend meetings these days.  She appreciates being kept in the loop. Mackey Irwin told us about her new career with Agri-RFC Farm and Ranch Consulting supporting farmers and ranchers by helping them with the time sensitive paperwork, dealing with records and government forms, etc.

Pat Hunt gave a review of our Fair booth and Ag Days. Attendance seemed down this year, but folks did utilize our photo backdrop and lots of activity with our corn-hole game. We distributed beef recipes, lollipops and beef jerky left over from last year. We sold 2 CowBelle Cookbooks, 2 packages of brand napkins and 9 Beef license plates. We held the drawing for winner of Claudia Toenies beautiful quilts and our lucky winners were Leslie Crumbley and JoA nn Miller. They brought in funds to be added to our Scholarship Fund. Thanks to Claudia for her very generous donation!

Kathy Davis reported she is having success selling brand spots on our new CowBelle signs for $50 each. She has sold 25 spots on the Tyrone sign and 27 on the Gila sign. Freeport McMoran has donated toward this project. We are grateful for their support.

Membership renewals are due now, so get your renewal to Misty Pugmire soon.  Please visit with your friends and neighbors about joining us.

We discussed appointing a committee to come up with a slate of potential officers for 2026. However, this year it appears that the current officers are willing to continue their responsibilities for another year. This will be discussed again next meeting.

Michelle Greeman was our hostess for today. The fall theme was timely and the chocolate she put out is, of course, always timely! Thanks Michelle. Hostesses for our next meeting will be Julie Mehan and Misty Pugmire.

By Carol Crosley

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Next CCB meeting – Nov. 18^th

Annual CowBelles Meeting, December 12th @ Hotel Albuquerque. Register now at Newmexicowbelles.org/events    

President Cyndi Donovan called the meeting to order at noon on August 19. There were 11 members present. We recited the Pledge of Alliegance to our flag, the CowBelle Creed and read the prayer. Minutes for the June 17^th meeting were approved. The Treasurer’s Report will be submitted for audit.

Trey Greeman sent a note thanking us for our CCB Scholarship! We wish him well!

Under “Dear to Our Heart,” Several local men have been ill. One with a serious infection and another with a snake bite. A camping group Cyndi was sitting with were nearly hit by a random lightning strike while out camping. God was faithful in all of these situations and we are very grateful!

The sign committee is making good progress attaining new CowBelle signs on Hwy 180 near Cliff and on SR90 near Tyrone. We were all encouraged to contact cattlemen, offering them opportunity to display their brand on our signs.  The fee is $50 per brand and Kathy has sold 27 spots so far.  Freeport-McMoRan Corp. is willing to provide us with a grant. This is an amazing opportunity for us and thanks to Kathy Davis and Misty Pugmire for their hard work on the project.

The Silver City Museum folks are grateful for our contributions of cakes for their 4^th of July Ice Cream Social.  We labeled our cakes with the CCB labels that Michelle Greeman provided and hopefully made some new friends!

 Leslie Crumbley reminded us of the ongoing quilt raffle to support our Scholarship Fund. Sell your tickets ladies! The winners will be drawn at the Fair in September. Kathy Davis brought some neat (lightly used) western garment bags to be used for future scholarship fund raisers.  

We discussed our plans for the Cliff-Gila Grant County Fair Sept. 17^th – 21^st. We will again occupy our corner location next to the Grant County Extension Office and will help cover their booth.  All hands on deck with CCB Members needed! Please contact Pat Hunt and let her know when you can work. Lots of help is needed for Ag Days on Friday. CowBelles will present the Beef By-Products display and possibly Brands as well. We can distribute beef jerky, sell raffle tickets and license plates.

There was a discussion whether to provide burritos to livestock exhibitors and their families as we did last year. Some key members will not be in town on Wed. this year, which will leave us shorthanded.  A decision was made to table the burrito distribution for this year. However, the Committee Chair (Pat Hunt) will make the final decision.

Anyone interested in helping with Happy Hour in the Ag Pavilion at the NM State Fair should contact Liz Roche at the Beef Council. Volunteers will receive free admission and parking pass. This is apparently quite a cool event highlighting NM Cattlegrowers, NM Wine Growers and of course NM CowBelles. 

The NMCB will raise membership fees in 2026. We discussed whether or not to raise our own CCB dues this year.  Our 2026 dues will remain at $40, which includes the State dues of $30.

NMCB is having a drive to sell Associate Memberships to businesses, etc. The CowBelle local selling the most memberships will receive $100 in merchandise credit (i.e. $100 worth of BEEF license plates or other merchandise.) The business joining CowBelles as an associate member will receive a certificate to display in their business and will receive news and updates.  

It is time to nominate the New Mexico CowBelle of the Year! It is also time to speak up if you are interested in serving in a state office!

Michelle Greeman demonstrated how to download the new Team Reach APP to help us all receive info updates and stay in better touch. Michelle will probably assist you if you encounter any problems!

Meeting adjourned at 1:25 pm.  

Thank you to our creative hostesses, Pat Hunt and Kim Clark! The Dolly Parton theme was fun and very sparkly! The cookies were great!

By Carol Crosley

 

DATES TO REMEMBER:

NM Beef Council Meeting during the NM State Fair – Sept 5th, 6th, 12^th and 13^th

Cliff-Gila Grant County Fair  –  Sept. 17^th thru 21^st  (Ag Day – Fri. Sept 19^th)

NMCB Associate Membership Drive – Now thru October 1^st.

YOUR COWBELLE DUES ARE DUE OCTOBER 1ST

State CowBelle of the Year Award Nominees Due – October 15th

President Cyndi Donovan called the meeting to order at noon on April 25.  There were 8 members present. We recited the Pledge of Alliegance, Creed and Prayer.  Minutes and Treasurer’s report were submitted.

Pat submitted a note from the Biebelle family, thanking us for serving the meal at Joyce’s memorial service.  Our state officers sent us a note of thanks for hosting the Western District Workshop last week. Carol Crosley also sent a thank you note for CowBelle of the Year designation.

Kathy gave a report on the progress of our CowBelle sign on Hwy 180. The 8’X16’ sign will have 16 panels on which to advertise brands.  She will soon have stats so that we can sell brand spots to cattle growers.

We discussed our Western District Workshop this past Saturday. It was a successful and enjoyable day. Thirty-two meals were served and the venue worked out well. Next time we might arrange tables so that it’s easier to interact with other attendees. Our drawing was held for the CowBelle Scholarship basket and the winner was notified. Thanks to all who donated items for it!

Ranch Days are quickly approaching on Tues. April 29^th and Wed. April 30^th. Michelle will do the Beef By-products presentation and Cyndi and Leslie will do their Butter presentation. Pat will be working on providing biscuits for the butter! This is a fun day and there’s always to do, so let’s show up big time! We should be there by 8:00 a.m. so please know there is highway construction going on out there.  Add 30 minutes to your regular travel time to Alma!

Kathy encouraged us to build our membership numbers back up by inviting friends and folks we meet. Many ladies may not be able to attend meetings, but they can help our cause by responding to “Calls to Action” for or against legislation.  Our phone calls to legislators really do work!

Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm. Thank you to Kathy, who somehow found the time to decorate the tables in a Spring/Easter theme and provide sweet treats!

By Carol Crosley

Next Meeting:  Tuesday, May 21, 2025

 COMING SOON:  Ranch Days – April 29^th & 30^th at McKeen Ranch, Alma NM

  W.A.L.C. Meeting:  Wed & Thurs, April 30^th – May 1^st in Ruidoso NM

Cliff/Gila Grant County Fair:  September 17^th – 20th   

President Cyndi Donovan called the meeting to order at noon on March 18.  There were 10 members present. We recited the Pledge of Alliegance, Creed and Prayer.

Minutes and Treasurer’s report were presented. Pat suggested a spread sheet be kept for expenditures made for Western District Workshop, so that we can stay aware.

Dear to Our Hearts discussion about a death in the family of a fellow Belle and recent passings of ranchers in our area.

Cyndi called for committee reports on our upcoming NMCB Western Districts Workshop on April 5^th. Michelle said that our 5 state officers will arrive on Friday, April 4^th. It was decided that a potluck welcome meal will be held Friday evening for the officers at Misty’s home.

We will convene early Saturday 4/5 to decorate the venue at Cross Point Church. CCB members will provide a light breakfast bar: yogurt, bagels n cream cheese, fruit tray, granola bars, etc. Coffee, tea and juice will be served.  Name tags and gift bags will be given to attendees at a registration table. A beef taco lunch will be served mid-day. During the day we will do our raffle for the CCB Scholarship Bucket. Members are asked to sell all of our tickets and turn in money and stubs that morning.  Door prizes brought by local clubs will be awarded during the day. This will be a fun and informative day!

McKeen Ranch Days will be presented on April 29^th & 30^th.  Lots of help needed. Michelle will do the Beef By-Products presentation. Cyndi and Leslie will do their butter presentation. (Always a kid favorite!)

NMCB still taking nominations  for the Diamond in the Rough award. If you have suggestions, please give her a call.

This meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Thanks to Hostesses Joan and Carol for the Irish ambiance and Irish Shortbread cookies!

By Carol Crosley

Coming Events:

Next Copper CowBelle Meeting:  April 15, 2025

NM State CowBelles Western District Workshop: April 5, 2025 at Cross Point Church in Silver City

Ranch Days: Tues. April 29th and Wed. April 30^th.

WALC Convention: Wed. April 30th & Thurs. May 1st, 2025  

Registration is open for the NMCB Western Districts Workshop on April 5 in Silver City, hosted by the Copper CowBelles with the program presented by the NMCB Executive Officer Team. You can register online at the link below with the option to pay with card or in person with cash or check. https://newmexicocowbelles.wildapricot.org/event-6089850 You can also print and mail the attached form:  West District WS Reg Form1.docx Registration is open to all New Mexico CowBelle members. Please submit your registration by March 20. See you in Silver City!