Caring for animals is second nature for Kim Smith. Whether it’s the hundreds of doggies that visit her pet resort, Pawderosa Ranch, each month or the cattle, free-range chickens and honeybees she raises on her ranch near San Antonio, Kim loves critters of all kinds.
Over the Christmas holidays, Kim and her dogtastic team delivered a full four-course homemade turkey dinner to 200 shelter dogs at the San Antonio Humane Society. Kim is also actively involved with the cattle raising operation at her ranch, K Bar M. In 2018, one of her Belted Galloways was honored as a Reserve Champion Bull at the Gillespie County Fair. She and her husband Mike Mitchell are also hands-on in their beekeeping enterprise.
Caring about the wild things and wild places of Texas comes naturally to her, too. She became a member of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) last year when she was looking for a birthday gift for her mother.
“My mom is a big fan of the TV show, Lone Star Law,” she explained. “For her birthday, I wanted to donate on her behalf to the Texas Game Wardens. I came upon the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation website when I was looking for a place to make an online donation. I also saw a promotion about winning a weekend at an art show with western artist Teal Coke Blake if you became a TPWF member, so I did.”
A few days later she was surprised to get an email informing her she had won. Kim and Mike spent a weekend at the Cowboy Artists of America show in Fort Worth, where she was thrilled to spend time with artist Teal Coke Blake, who is a We Will Not Be Tamed ambassador for TPWF. The weekend was sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, a We Will Not Be Tamed brand partner.
“I started taking painting classes a few years ago, and it was so inspiring to get to know Teal over that weekend. He really encouraged me, and it was so amazing to watch him work.”
Kim and Mike observed Teal in action at an artist demonstration. They were mesmerized as Teal brought a bucking bronco to life on a sketchpad right before their eyes. Kim was delighted when Teal signed the sketch at the end of the demonstration and gave it to her as a gift.
“Being a TPWF member has been a wonderful experience so far, that’s for sure,” she said with a laugh. “I plan on being a member from now on. I really appreciate what y’all do for Texas. The weekend art experience was just icing on the cake.”
Kim said that before she made her first donation and signed on as a member, she did a little research to find out more about TPWF.
“Everything I read just convinced me what a standup organization TPWF is,” she said. “A+ ratings everywhere I looked. Since I joined, I’ve been telling friends and family that if you want your money to go to somewhere good, that’s going to do good things for your state, then send it to TPWF.”
One of the things that caught Kim’s eye when she was looking online was TPWF’s We Will Not Be Tamed campaign. The slogan caught her attention immediately.
“That really grabbed me when I saw that. I read more about it and wanted to be part of it,” she said. “Because we don’t want to tame Texas. Let’s keep it wild, and keep Texas, TEXAS. So, I signed on. I got the hat, I got the patch, and I have the sticker. I’ve got it all!”
Find out how you can live the wild life.
Find out more about TPWF’s charity rating.
