B.J. Shoup comes to New Mexico from the state of West Virginia.  Starting his soil career in 2000 with WV-NRCS as a SEEP student in soils.  Graduated from West Virginia University in 2001 with a B.S. in Soil Science.  Member of the West Virginia University Soil Judging Team, and the West Virginia University Plant and Soil Science Club.  Certifications: PA SEO, Hydric Soils and Wetland Delineation, OSHA 40cfr.  Now currently a Field Soil Scientist for NM-NRCS in Las Cruces.

About the Vice-President:

Greg Cates is originally from Southern New Mexico.  Greg has worked as a soil scientist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Gallup, New Mexico and with the NRCS in southern New Mexico and West Texas.  He has a B.S. in Soil Science from New Mexico State University.  A member of the New Mexico State University Soil Judging Team while in school.

About the Past-President:

Charles Hibner is home grown New Mexican from the northern part of the state. Charles began his career with Bureau of Indian Affairs in Gallup in 1981, then moved up to Farmington with NRCS in 1987. He moved to Santa Fe in 1992 and became Project Leader there in 1998. He graduated with a B.S. in Soil Science from New Mexico State University and was a member of the Soil Judging Team while there. He has been married for 26 years (to the same woman, Verna) and has two sons (Tim and Kyle).

About the Secretary / Treasurer:

Kenneth F. Scheffe hails from Iowa Park, Texas and is a graduate of Texas Tech University with B.S. and M.S degrees in Soil Science. For 25 years, he has worked throughout New Mexico for NRCS as a soil scientist and now leads the National Cooperative Soil Survey in New Mexico as the State Soil Scientist for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.  He is married with two children and is a member of the Soil Science Society of America and the Soil and Water Conservation Society.