San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo

Helping Youth Today so that Agriculture Can Grow Tomorrow

by Michele Krier

When you think of San Antonio, its rich western cowboy tradition come to mind, celebrated in grand style each year at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

Prominent San Antonians founded the Annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in 1950, with the goal of providing Texas youth with a venue for competition and a market for their agricultural and livestock projects. Since then, the event has grown to become one of San Antonio’s largest and most prestigious single events, attracting over one million visitors each year.

This year, the Stock Show set another bronco-bustin’ record, raising the total amount the San Antonio Livestock Exposition (S.A.L.E.) has contributed to education scholarships to more than $79 million since inception.

“Volunteering for more than half a century to recognize our area’s basic industry, agriculture, has been most rewarding by encouraging young people to participate and understand the role of producing food and fiber for our lives”, says Tom Frost, a leading community supporter and long-time S.A.L.E. volunteer. “At the same time, S.A.L.E. offers so many of our youth the opportunity to go to college by granting thousands of scholarships. This gives me great satisfaction to be involved in something basically valuable to our whole area and specifically to so many young people.”

S.A.L.E. organizers and volunteers are committed to education and to their mission, “Helping Youth Today so That Agriculture Can Grow Tomorrow.” This year, more than 1,000 active scholarship recipients, all of whom are using their degrees to serve the agricultural community,

are enrolled in 65 colleges and universities throughout Texas.

Tres Kleberg has served for a total of six years and is the current board chairman of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition. He joined as a volunteer in 1971, quickly became a life member, and served initially on the auction committee. He had the honor of being president during the Stock Show’s 50th Anniversary in 1998-99.

“Our goal is to support our mission, which is to perpetuate the role of agriculture and to educate the public by keeping the image, as well as the role of agriculture, visible in our community,” says Kleberg, who adds that S.A.L.E. encourages young people to stay in the traditional ranching and farming industry as well as to explore new research and science opportunities such as A&M’s agricultural byproducts. Scholarships are also provided to nurses and doctors who serve in small communities to further support rural families.

“Each year we offer scholarships, grants, and programs that we feel will enhance the promotion of agriculture and education. It’s exciting to see the third generation of kids showing their animals, getting their scholarships and a chance to go to college. The families are so happy that they fall to pieces when the kids win their scholarships. That’s what keeps us all motivated to volunteer and work long hours,” says Kleberg.

Held each February, The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and all of its associated events benefit Texas youth and their educational endeavors. In 2006, the organization set a new record, raising $7.6 million in scholarships, grants, endowments, junior livestock auctions, the calf scramble program, and show premiums paid to youth. San Antonio raised its purse prize to over $1 million this past year, making it one of the top two paying regular season rodeos in the country.

For the second year in a row, San Antonio’s Stock Show & Rodeo brought home the “Rodeo of the Year” award from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Stock Show Executive Director and CEO Keith Martin attributes S.A.L.E.’s success to the dedicated efforts of 4,000 volunteers and to the generous sponsors who together contribute thousands of hours of hard work.

S.A.L.E. and its volunteers are proud to help preserve the ranching tradition in Texas, as well as its history of stewardship to the community, agriculture industry, and young people of Texas. To learn more about the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, visit www.sarodeo.com