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HEMPSTEAD – No tall building stands without beams to support it.
The same can be said for the Waller County Fair and Rodeo, a 10-day exposition 45 minutes northwest of Houston. While the foundation is decades old and solid, the key factor for the event’s success is within the beams that surround it – those businesses and individuals that support it.
“None of these companies or individuals have any obligations to our fair,” said Susan Shollar, the chairwoman for the auction committee. “They see what we do. They see what type of people these kids turn into because of the fair, and they want to support that.”
It’s an ongoing trend for the expo, which takes place Thursday, Sept. 25-Saturday, Oct. 4. Renovations have been made across the complex over the years. Much of that has to do with an impressive capital campaign, but nothing happens at the fairgrounds without people who want to be involved.
“Sponsorships and capital campaign are two different things, and the building, the add-ons and all that stuff doesn’t come from corporate sponsorships,” said Dustin Standley, the sponsorship chairman. “There is some crossover with some sponsors who are involved with the capital campaign, but they are separate deals altogether.
“I have a hard time determining one sponsor is different than any other. I treat everybody the same, whether you’re a $500 sponsor or a $5,000 sponsor. You’re one of our partners in what we do.”
Partnership is an important word to Standley and the Waller County Fair Association. They realize for businesses and individuals to invest in something so magnificent, there needs to be a solid relationship. Partners are valuable to the overall mission, and most have been involved every year for a long time.
“We do that by giving them a package, then we deliver on what we’ve promised in that package,” Standley said. “Their expectations of what they want when they come to the event are met so they can have their companies advertised and get to entertain their guests, their customers and their employees.
“These partners want to build within the youth of our Waller County organization. They want to put money into our fair and see our kids grow.”
The cornerstone of any community event is having people willing to do that. In order to have world-class events at the rodeo arena or great artists during the concerts or commit to helping fund the scholarship program, it takes financial backing.
“The level of support we get across the board – whether at the auction or showing up to watch the kids at the sale or event he participants who come through the back gate for the PRCA Rodeo – is incredible,” Standley said. “You have to have that, but we’re also blessed because we have people who are paying their hard-earned dollars to come watch the entertainment and have fun at the carnival, too.”
Those are just pieces to the puzzle for the fair association. There’s so much that goes into producing the exposition, and a look at the schedule reveals all the happenings that take place in late September and early October in Hempstead, the seat of the county with roughly 65,000 people.
The work for the youth involved in the fair goes well beyond that. Most have been laboring all year to prepare to show their exhibits, and the culmination is the Junior Livestock & Exhibit Auction at noon Saturday, Oct. 4.
“Last year, we raised in excess of $1.4 million at our auction,” Shollar said. “In comparison, we were at $402,000 in 2005. In 2015, we were at $707,000. In 2018, we hit the $1 million mark. Since 2021, we’ve been at $1.3 million or higher. Our goal this year is $1.5 million.”
That’s a big adjustment over the last two decades, but it’s reflective on the community. One thing that’s stayed the same is the number of lots for sale, which averages at 220.
“We haven’t increased our total sale earnings by increasing the number of lots we sell,” Shollar said. “We’ve done it by having the best supporters in the state of Texas.”
There are big dollars invested in Waller County youth, but the fair organizers have taken it a step further with a bonus bid that helps raise more funds for the scholarship program. That comes with taking an animal up for bid; when that animal is sold, the price is set by the buyer. The animal is then auctioned off at a decreasing value.
“We have a lot of people who want to be involved and want to give back to the kids, but a lot of times the bids for these exhibits are much bigger than they are able to give,” Shollar said. “By doing this, we’re giving them an opportunity to be part of it. Usually we raise $100,000 for that lot, and all that money goes into the scholarship fund.”
It’s proof of the supportive nature the folks in Waller County have for the fair, the rodeo and the community’s youth.
“The people who support us are very community-minded,” she said. “We also treat our buyers right and let them know we are very appreciative of them. We keep them informed. The individual exhibitors will send letters prior to the auction inviting them, then they’ll send out thank yous after it’s over “We just want our supporters to know that we appreciate them.”
