Have You Met Mark Alford?
By Colleen Westberg, Blacktie Staff
A television news anchorman by profession, but a cowboy at heart, Mark Alford has managed to combine these two passions into benefiting the Kansas City nonprofit community. “I have very two very distinct occupations that allow me to pursue my diverse interests. I enjoy the best of both worlds; I’m committed to the news, but I love horses and love working at the barn!”
He continues, “ I have been with the morning news for the past 10 years at our local Fox affiliate, Channel 4. I grew up in Houston, Texas, and did a news internship at the ABC affiliate in Austin. Then I was a reporter and anchor for TV stations in West Palm Beach, FL, Dallas, TX, and Houston, TX after that. I always knew I wanted to be a newsman since I admired an uncle of mine who was an anchorman in Oklahoma City.”
Then three years ago, Mark and his wife Leslie purchased the former Amaro Arabians horse- training center, creating the Lone Star Ranch. Today they offer horse boarding and training, lessons in both English and Western styles of riding, horse sales, calf roping clinics and hay rides, besides hosting several annual horse shows at their facility. “ We even have the Seven Oaks Chapter of the Johnson County 4H meeting at Lone Star Ranch every week.” You can find much more information on their outstanding web site, www.lonestarranchkcmo.com
And for the past ten years Mark has supported the Fox 4 Love Fund for Children. “I have been the Vice President of the organization. This year we will be putting on a horse show at our ranch, called the Horses and Hogs Event, combining motorcycle Harleys with horses to benefit the needy kids of Kansas City.”
The Fox 4 Love Fund for Children was established to improve the quality of life for children in need, ages 18 and under, in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, when funding from other sources is not available. Abuse counseling, durable medical equipment, eye exams & glasses, school uniforms, beds & cribs, personal hygiene items, and a vast array of items are all aspects of the Love Fund.
Since he is a professional, Mark also often volunteers to emcee many charitable events. “Coming up soon I’ll be emceeing the Kansas City Hospice dinner. I’ve also emceed events for "Jazz in the Woods" and the American Cancer Society.
Mark appreciates the Kansas City area because “I really enjoy the change of seasons we have here, and the terrain is interesting to me, as I grew up around flat rice fields. Also there is a friendly atmosphere here, people have a spirit of friendliness. And it’s great that we have a central location; it’s easy for us to reach friends and relatives all over the US.”
The Alford family also includes two sons, M.A. and Spencer and a daughter, Alex. “ We don’t have a lot of leisure time, but we enjoy trail rides and horse shows. I do a lot of manual labor and training of horses during my spare time. We are working together to make Lone Star Ranch the best horse stable in the greater Kansas City area!”
Alford shares some wisdom in how he handles all the facets of his life: “What I’ve learned is to not wear yourself out- pace yourself. If you over-commit, you will underachieve, and then you will disappoint.” But it’s seldom that newsman and rancher Mark Alford ever disappoints!
