VOLUNTEERS HELP THE RODEO RIDE HIGH
On the heels of Super Bowl LI, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is rolling out its red carpet for millions of attendees. And not one part of the nearly three-week event — from the carnival to the concerts and every other detail down to the design of rodeo signs — would happen without its 33,000-strong volunteer force.
“The rodeo is like 23 days of Super Bowl, and the role of volunteers is amazing,” said Jack Lyons, chairman of the board for HLSR, who started as a volunteer 36 years ago and hasn’t taken a season off since. “All of a sudden, it just gets into your blood!”
Each year, volunteers work a combined total of more than 2.1 million hours, and that entails rolling up their sleeves during the offseason and all throughout the show on one of 107 committees. Divided into service, sales and a mix of both, committees range from recycling and wrangling calf scramble donations to writing for Bowlegged H Magazine.
“Some people don’t like to sell, but they like to give sweat equity,” Lyons said. “Offering (different) types of volunteer opportunities is why we’ve been so successful.”
Rookie volunteer Andrew Gee, an immigration attorney, gravitated
toward the international committee, which hosts international business visitors at the rodeo, because it plays to his strengths and interests.
“It’s a good feeling giving back, and hopefully, it will be a great way to start engaging the Asian community,” Gee said.
Like the diversity of the committees themselves, volunteers range from Houstonians to residents of surrounding cities; people who run multimillion-dollar companies; full-time students; retirees; newbies; and seasoned committee members and officers. The only requirement is that volunteers be at least 21, but there is a Junior Rodeo Committee for those age 17 to 20.
To become a volunteer, the first step is to become a member of the HLSR. It’s $50 for one year — or a one-time $500 fee for a lifetime. An annual membership runs from May 1 through April 30.
The next step is to apply for a spot on a committee, many of which conduct interviews. Each has its own dues and requirements, from service hours to sales goals, and its own process, Gee said. And because all 107 have a membership cap, don’t be surprised if there’s a waiting list to apply for historically popular committees (Mutton Bustin’, wine).
Once selected for a committee, new members are known as “rookies” for a year and “wear a colorful flag bandanna to show you’re learning the ropes,” Gee said.
Committee service is not without its perks, including free parking and entry to the rodeo (but not a reserved seat in the stadium). The biggest honor is receiving a gold badge, which signifies a volunteer has met all service responsibilities for the year. But perhaps most heart-warming are the lifelong friendships forged between volunteers and the opportunity to interact with the scholarship recipients and see it all come to fruition through a student’s eyes.
“At the end of the day, we’re here to give away scholarships,” Lyons said. “The initial mission of the show was to support livestock and promote agriculture, but in 1957 we began supporting education and helping young adults in the state of Texas go to college. We’ve given $430-plus million in scholarships and have helped 17,000 scholarship recipients go to school since its inception, which is pretty unbelievable.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON VOLUNTEERING: rodeohouston.com/Get-Involved/Volunteer