17th Annual Meeting & Fundraiser

Demographers tell us that the population in Texas will double by the year 2050. That reality dictates that private lands stewards will experience ever-encroaching pressures on the natural resources and way-of-life with which we have been blessed. These changes are inevitable and they will be dramatic. The question is: how will we best deal with them? Our answer is that we will do it as a community, one that values our heritage and is willing to join forces to accomplish positive outcomes. It is imperative that we participate in this process with a strong, united voice to ensure that our state grows in a sustainable and prosperous manner for many generations to come. At this year's annual meeting and fundraiser, we are assembling a stellar line-up of speakers who will keep us informed and up-to-date on topics that are important to our future. This is a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors, have fun, and give to an organization that gives a voice to landowners in south Texas! Help us continue building the legacy!

SCHEDULE
Registration Opens
1:30pm
Members Meeting
2:30pm
Speaker Presentations
3:00pm 
Mayra Flores, United States Representative   3:00-3:40
Dr. Steven D. Emerson, "The Great Freeze of 2021"  3:40-4:10
Adair Margo, Founder, Tom Lea Institute  4:10-4:50
Social Hour
5:00pm
Live Auction
6:30pm
Seated Dinner
7:00pm

 BREAKFAST & PRIVATE MUSEUM TOUR
before the meeting begins, we invite you to join us at the
MUSEUM OF SOUTH TEXAS HISTORY
for Breakfast & a Private Tour guided by Francisco Guajardo
Saturday - October 8, 2022 at 9:00 AM
200 North Closner Boulevard Edinburg, Texas 78541
The price of admission is $20 per person
Register by September 23, 2022

Join us for a BREAKFAST and FUNDRAISER to support the STPRA FED-PAC 
Sunday - October 9, 2022 at 9:30 AM
The Wine Room at Casa de Palmas
101 North Main Street in McAllen, Texas
Eric Opiela, STPRA Board President & Charles Maley, STPRA Austin Consultant, will lead a discussion on the political climate and the upcoming elections
The price per person is $250 and checks are payable to STPRA FED-PAC (PO Box 886, Falfurrias, TX 78355). You may also pay over the phone by calling (361) 522-5193.

RAFFLE
1/$10 or 11/$100
$500 King Ranch Gift Certificate
Yeti Nordic Blue Tundra Haul Wheeled Cooler & Yeti Nordic Blue Hopper M30 Soft Cooler, Donated by: Sarah & Whit Jones
A400 Upland Beretta 20 Gauge Shotgun, Donated by Bob Glick & STPRA
Purchase your raffle tickets!
*Under 'Ticket Options'

ACCOMODATIONS
Room block rates are available at Casa De Palmas under "STPRA" for October 7-8, however, please reserve your room as soon as possible because the special rate ends September 30th!
956-631-1101
Reservation Desk

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Mayra Flores was born and raised with humble beginnings in Burgos Tamaulipas, Mexico. Her parents and grandparents raised her with strong conservative values and to always put God and family first. She came legally to the United States at six years old with the help of her father. Her father gave her family the biggest gift, the gift of becoming a proud, naturalized American Citizen.

Her parents were migrant workers, and like all migrant kids, she moved a lot growing up. She spent most of her life in the Rio Grande Valley and in 2004, she graduated high school in San Benito, TX. Growing up, Mayra worked alongside her parents in the cotton fields in Memphis, TX to earn extra money for school clothes and supplies. Instilling the value of hard work and the importance of education in her at a young age, Mayra remains a firm believer in the American Dream and will always fight so that others can achieve it as she has. She is eternally grateful to her parents for providing her with an opportunity to come to this amazing country to live the American Dream. Mayra graduated in 2014 as a Respiratory Care Practitioner with the support of her family. She currently works caring for the elderly and disabled with chronic respiratory issues and has been on the front lines helping patients combat COVID-19. She continued her studies and graduated with a Bachelors in Organizational Leadership from South Texas College. Mayra currently serves as the Hidalgo County GOP Hispanic Outreach Chair and has played a critical role in growing and maintaining Republican support across South Texas. She believes that having a strong relationship with the community and understanding the needs of each individual should be a requirement for any political candidate.

Mayra believes in fortifying our legal immigration system, in securing our borders, lowering the costs of healthcare, lowering taxes, promoting small businesses, and less government. She is a Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment, and Pro-Law Enforcement candidate that wants to earn your vote. She is a proud U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wife and a mother, fighting for a better future for the children of South Texas.
 

Dr. Steven D. Emerson is President and Founder of Emerson Technical Analysis, LLC. The company is headquartered in Corpus Christi, TX, with a branch office serving Las Vegas, NV. He is a recognized expert in the safe management of hazardous, explosive, energetic and flammable materials.

Dr. Emerson has been active for many years in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and especially with the Global Congress on Process Safety. He chaired a number of technical sessions in Mechanical Integrity, and was Chair of the Process Plant Safety Symposium for two terms. He was elected Fellow of the Institute in 2014.

He is also an active member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M University.

His Professional Engineering Licenses are in Chemical Engineering. He received his BSc from the Colorado School of Mines, his Master of Engineering Administration from Bradley University, and his PhD from the University of Arizona.

Adair Margo chaired the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities during the two-term presidency of George W. Bush (2000-2008). She joined First Lady Laura Bush in Paris, France for the United States’ re-entry into UNESCO and was appointed by Secretary of State, Colin Powell, to the US National Commission of for UNESCO. She received the US Presidential Citizens Medal in 2007 and the Mexican Aguila Azteca in 2008 for using the arts to strengthen relationships between the United States and other nations, beginning with Mexico. In 2021 she was recognized as the Promotora del Ano by Mexican President Lopez Obrador at the Tanguis Turistica in Merida, who cited her walking tours to Ciudad Juarez across the bridge from her hometown.

She owned Adair Margo Gallery from 1985-2010 in El Paso, Texas, exhibiting over 400 artists from 12 countries. She became especially devoted to Tom Lea, founding the Tom Lea Institute in 2009 and establishing the Tom Lea Trail, which connects the histories of 19 communities in Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua through Tom Lea’s art and writing - the first bi-national artist-named trail in the world. She has authored or contributed to seven books, including the award-winning Tom Lea, An Oral History (1995) and Jose Cisneros, Immigrant Artist (2006), published by Texas Western Press.

A former First Lady of El Paso, she earned her B.A. in Art History from Vanderbilt University; studied Italian and Renaissance art with Syracuse University in Florence, Italy; and completed her M.. in Art History from New Mexico State University. She is married to The Honorable Dee Margo and has three children and nine grandchildren. She teaches and writes on the arts, culture, and the history of the U.S./Mexico border, while continuing to give tours of her bi-national community.