Mark Crowley ~ GrEAt family MaN, CoWboY, 'neighbor' to aLL

The following article was previously published in the November 2010 Washington Cattlemen's Association periodical, The Ketch Pen. This article is dear to my heart for a few reasons. Mark was the first person to contact me after my very first foray into WCA involvement and ultimately the cattle industry.He graciously "welcomed" me to the fold and small gestures like that are rarely forgotten. Also, this article was "anonymously" written by our then-president's wife, Paula Coon. Paula and Mark share a humility that I great admire and continue to be humbled and inspired by the work they accomplish through their strong dedication to the industry and its people.Paula lent these words after I ingquired about posting this piece, "Mark is one of the many who live quietly and are the backbone of their communities, where their contribution is felt, but sometimes unrecognized." 

The kind of person who holds our world in place....

Mark Crowley

Veteran Secretary of Board

A native of Kansas, Mark Crowley, has served as WCA’s secretary for six out of the last eight years. Working with Sid Viebrock, Jim Sizemore, and now Dick Coon he takes care of recording the minutes of the meetings.

Mark served four years in the Army stationed at Fort Lewis and reaching the rank of Sergeant and serving as Squad Leader. A major in Agriculture Economics with an Animal Science minor he’s a 1992 WSU grad and a loyal Coug. He was hired by Gerry Pittenger, who raised Wagyu cattle. Mark had experience working under Dan Coonrad at WSU. “It was a big change for me and Gerry was pretty patient with me right out of school.” “Those nine years with Pittenger and that job provided me the opportunity to get involved in the cattleman’s association.”

He met his wife, Raquel, in Ellensburg. She is the Vice Principle at the Granger High School, and they have three children: Jessica, 21, Elizabeth, 20 who both work in Ellensburg, and seven year old Wyatt.

Using the Internet to find job leads is a modern day trend and that’s where Mark found his present employment. Mark works at the Kittitas County Conservation District as Resource Technician where he works mostly with irrigation but also fills in with many other aspects of the Conservation District’s mission. “It was a steep learning curve to catch up on water rights and irrigation design. It was on the job learning.” They deal mostly with endangered species issues and water quality and quantity.


Like so many of the ranchers I’ve been privileged to visit with, Mark enjoys working with the youth in his community. He has led the Get Up & Go 4-H Club for sixteen years. He’s a past president of the Yakima Valley Team Penning Club, current president of the Cascade Team Penning Association as well as an an event announcer for them. YVTPC has eight events a year. This February a cowboy event, Californios (http://www.thecalifornios.com/), a companion to Spirit of the West is something Mark is looking forward to. It’s described as a ranch roping and stock horse competition involving working and doctoring cattle comprising the least amount of stress.

Mark sees the new HSUS invasion into our state as something to watch out for. HSUS has eight ‘Grassroots Meetings’ scheduled in Washington in October and November. He adds, “Water issues are central because you can’t live without water; both stock water and irrigation. WCA does what it can but unfortunately many cattlemen are not members of the WCA and don’t get the information about some of the important impending issues that will affect them. It’s essential; educating other cattlemen to realize how important these issues are, even team penning members should support these things or they won’t have cattle to pen. Everyone I work with, all types, need to be paying attention and helping out too. I always wanted to be a cattleman”, Mark notes, “cattlemen are steady people, they are people you can count on, the ‘go to’ people of the community.”

(Article written by Paula Coon)