The New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association has awarded its highest honor – the King Service Award – to New Mexico State University Board of Regents Chairwoman Dina Chacón-Reitzel.

Named after former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King and his wife, Alice, the award recognizes individuals who “admirably represent” New Mexico, according to NMCGA, an organization that advocates to protect the rights of cattle producers in the state.

In selecting Chacón-Reitzel as the 2020 King Service Award recipient, NMCGA commended her for continually going above and beyond for New Mexico residents and the state’s agriculture industry.

“I am deeply honored to receive the King Service Award,” she said. “Alice and Gov. King were two of the finest people, both devoted to New Mexico agriculture, and true servant-leaders to all the people of the state. Their legacy will continue to benefit New Mexicans today and in the future.”

Chacón-Reitzel, a lifelong resident of New Mexico whose family maintains a ranch in Cebolla, has served on the NMSU Board of Regents since 2019. But her ties to NMSU date back decades.

In 1978, she earned a Bachelor of Science in home economics and business from what was then called the NMSU College of Agriculture and Home Economics. In 1983, she earned a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing and management from the NMSU College of Business.

She started her career as a home economist for NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service, serving for six years in Eddy County and Las Cruces. In 1989, she became the executive director of the New Mexico Beef Council, a marketing, research and education arm of the beef industry in New Mexico, and still holds that position today.

Throughout her career, Chacón-Reitzel has maintained a close relationship to NMSU.

For 30 years, she has implemented educational programs with NMSU's College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Experiment Station, Cooperative Extension Service and 4-H youth development.

Since 2003, she has served as the NMSU delegate to the Council for Agricultural Research Extension and Teaching, or CARET. In this role, she advocates for federal funding for NMSU and other land-grant universities across the country. She also served as the CARET chairwoman for two years.

Chacón-Reitzel, a graduate of Leadership New Mexico, has served on several national beef industry committees and currently sits on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Beef Safety Research Committee. She also remains deeply involved in many cause-driven initiatives throughout New Mexico, having served on the New Mexico 4-H Foundation, St. Pius X High School Foundation and the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital Foundation.

She previously received the New Mexico Outstanding Leadership Award, the highest honor bestowed by the College of ACES, the 1996 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of ACES and the Friends of Extension Award from the Cooperative Extension Service. She also received the Industry Partner Award from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the Vaquero Award from the Northern New Mexico Stockmen’s Association.