Mike Blasingame's involvement with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo began in the mid-1980s, when he became chairman of the Jacinto City subcommittee of the Harris County Go Texan Committee. Thereafter, he served as an area vice chairman over the Pasadena, Deer Park and Baytown subcommittees. Blasingame later served as chairman of the entire Go Texan Committee. In 1993, that committee changed its name to the Houston Metro Go Texan Committee, with Blasingame serving as the renamed committee's first chairman. In 1993, he was elected to the Show's board of directors.

For the past three years, Blasingame has served as officer in charge of the All Breeds Livestock Sales, Houston General Go Texan, Houston Metro Go Texan, Junior Commercial Steer Feeding and Management Contest, Safety, and Special Attractions committees.

Although Blasingame was officer in charge of only six of the Show's 91 committees, he said that being in charge of so many different types of committees was challenging: "I had no idea how diverse the committees were. Each committee serves a very specific purpose. My tenure as vice president in charge of these committees has been a true learning experience every step of the way. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is so large; I don't think you ever stop learning about the Show and what it has to offer."

Blasingame said that there were many benefits of serving as a vice president of the Show. But, for him, one of the most important benefits included spending an enormous amount of time with his fellow officers. "When you spend so many hours with these guys, you can't help but develop very close friendships." Blasingame believes that they are the kind of friendships that will last a lifetime.

Planning to stay involved with the Show, Blasingame stated, "I will contribute in any capacity they may need me in the future."

For John Ebeling, one of the most rewarding experiences of the past three years as a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo vice president has been working with the Show's dedicated volunteers. "We all know the amount of good the Show does for the youth of Texas. However, one of the perks of being a volunteer is meeting others who share the same goal. My association with so many wonderful people is priceless," said Ebeling.

Ebeling began his involvement with the Show 15 years ago, when he became a lifetime member. Before he joined a committee, Ebeling contributed to the Show as an annual steer buyer for many years. In the mid-1980s, he joined the Steer Auction Committee. He quickly rose to become vice chairman of the committee and took over the responsibilities of organizing the Hide Party, the committee's annual gala to honor the previous year's champion steer buyers. In 1994, Ebeling was elected to the Show's board of directors.

As a vice president of the Show, Ebeling was officer in charge of five committees: Agricultural Mechanics, Area Go Texan, Equipment Acquisition, Go Texan Contests and Swine Auction. Ebeling believes that the Show provides a benefit not only to the youth of Texas but to the city of Houston as well. According to Ebeling, the city of Houston is fortunate to have such a great organization like the Show as one of its tenants.

Ebeling believes he has been blessed to have been able to serve the Show as a vice president. "I have been on the boards of a bank, a major national company, a state association and several charities, but being a vice president of the Show has been, by far, my greatest honor."

 

Concluding their three years of service to the Show as a vice president are J.P. "Hap" Hunnicutt III, Carolyn Faulk, Mike Blasingame and John Ebeling.

Carolyn Faulk's involvement with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo began in the 1970s, when she started buying pigs at the Show's swine auction. Soon after, she joined the Swine Auction Committee, and, in 1984, was appointed as one of its first female vice chairmen. In 1987, she began a three-year term as co-chair of that committee, and, in 1989, she was elected to the Show's board of directors.

For the past three years, Faulk has served as officer in charge of the Corporate Development, Livestock, Membership, Poultry Auction and Trail Ride committees. Under her leadership, these committees have undergone significant development. "Changes were made to better the committees, improve communications, and show appreciation for the dedication and commitment that these committees make to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo," said Faulk.

Faulk attributes her successes to her fellow volunteers: "I owe it all to my chairmen and committeemen. It's a good feeling to be fortunate enough to be surrounded by such caring and dedicated people who become your close friends."

Faulk's dedication and commitment to the Show will not end after her tenure as vice president. She plans to stay involved with the committees over which she served as officer in charge. However, this time, she will be a committeeman. "I am on the Corporate Development Committee and on the Swine Auction Committee," Faulk said.

Thus, even though Faulk will no longer be a vice president of the Show, she will still be an active force in promoting the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and recruiting new members as volunteers.

Hap Hunnicutt began his involvement with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1977 when he joined the Parade Committee. The next year he joined the Breeders Greeters Committee and ascended through the ranks, serving concurrently as a vice chairman on both committees.

In 1988, Hunnicutt was elected to the board of directors. Since then, he has made the most of his time volunteering for the Show. He was appointed chairman of the Parade Committee in 1993. As a vice president, Hunnicutt was officer in charge of six committees: Facility Services, Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest, Llama, Parade, Rodeo Express and Veterinarian committees. These committees are comprised of more than 1,500 volunteers, and afforded him the opportunity to make many valuable friendships.

"While the Facility Services and Rodeo Express are large committees like I was used to, having served on the Breeders Greeters and Parade committees, it was fun for me to work with some of the Show's smaller committees like the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest, Llama and Veterinarian committees," he said.

Hunnicutt is proud of his association with all of his committees. "Each committee played an important role and made significant contributions to the overall success of the Show," he said. "Obviously, the Rodeo Express Committee will be of critical importance in the future, especially during all the construction at the Astrodome complex the next two years. This committee worked extremely hard to encourage more of the public and members of the Show to ride Rodeo Express.

As for his future involvement with the Show, Hunnicutt remains enthusiastic. "The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has an impressive past and an exciting future. I look forward to staying active and helping out in any way I can."