Sylvia Gann Mahoney, a fifth-generation Texan raised in New Mexico, holds an A.A. from New Mexico Junior College and B.A. and M.A. degrees (summa cum laude) from Eastern New Mexico University. She taught literature, writing, and research in New Mexico and Texas public schools and colleges and was a college rodeo coach, earning induction into the Western Junior College Athletic Hall of Fame.
A founder and former executive director of the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame, Mahoney has long been active in heritage and preservation initiatives, including co-chairing Rotary’s Marking the Great Western Trail project. She is the author of College Rodeo: From Show to Sport (Texas A&M University Press, 2004) and Finding the Great Western Trail (Texas Tech University Press, 2015), the latter named Best Book of the Year by the West Texas Historical Association. A WTHA Fellow and its 2024 president, Mahoney is a past president of the Texas Folklore Society, a life member of the Texas State Historical Association, and a past trustee of the Vernon College Board.
