Joe Batson

President of Coldwater Cattle Company Joe Batson has served the family business for decades. In his earlier years, Mr. Batson functioned as a cowboy and Chief Pilot for the ranching business, after acquiring his pilot’s certificate for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. He eventually climbed to Vice President of the company before assuming his current position.

In addition to presiding over Coldwater Cattle Company and aiding in the family oil and gas business, Joe Batson has operated in a number of other fields, including the communications, political, and banking arenas. In the early 1970s he purchased Monte Rosenwald and Associates, a well-established advertising company located in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas, and launched Berneta Communications, Inc. in 1981.

Named for his grandmother, Berneta Bivins, Berneta Communications has garnered a multitude of local and national awards for its design and production projects. Its contributions to a United Way film earned first place in the United States. The company also received four gold, five silver, and two merit Mitch Wilder Awards from the Texas Association of Museums (TAM) and was recipient of a national award from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). Mr. Batson made his first foray into the banking industry upon purchasing the First National Bank of Dumas, for which he served as a Chairman of the Board for six years.

Committed to helping his community, Joe Batson has dedicated much of his time and resources to several local organizations. He served on the Executive Board of the Amarillo Symphony, the Board of Directors for the Humane Society of North Texas, and the Board of Directors for the Amarillo Tri-State Fair Exposition. He has also operated as Chairman of the Amarillo Muscular Dystrophy Foundation and participated in the University of Texas at Austin’s President’s Council and College of Fine Arts Advisory Council.

A founding member of the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation as well, Joe Batson recently donated $1 million toward restoring resources for the Foundation's enterprises. Its outdoor production of T