 Welcome to this episode of Fort Worth Forward. We're here at Dickey's Arena and the Will Rogers Memorial Complex because it is rodeo time in Fort Worth, Texas. On today's show, we have representatives from the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, as well as the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, Women's Steering Business, and Methodist Justice Ministries who's doing some great work in the community. Let's go. Welcome everyone. I'm excited to be here with Matt Brockman and Cal White, who are part of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. And this is the 125th year of the rodeo. And so I thought it appropriate to be out here, talking to them and learning a little bit more about what makes this show tick. So Matt, Cal, thanks for joining us here. Thank you. It is the 125th year, right? This is the 125th show. Show, okay, thanks. We've had two cancellations, one in 1944 and obviously last year because of the pandemic. Right. So, but you count up the number of total shows, 125 this year. 125th show. I'll make sure I get that correct. But that's awesome. Yes, we all opened this facility right, I guess the 2020 year. And that was the first show in here and the last show. So this will be the next show. And so what's new and exciting about this year's rodeo? What are we doing here, Cal? So again, we'll have 25 performances of rodeo here in Dickies Arena. Very excited. Obviously you can see state-of-the-art venue. We have all the bells and whistles when it comes to technology. From the actual rodeo format standpoint, the newest event is our Texas Champions Challenge. And it will feature five champions from each of the Texas rodeos competing for the championship of the Texas Champions Challenge. They'll be a bullfighting component. We'll have a mutton busting finals as part of that event. Always fun for the kids. Always fun for the kid. Very dynamic, very different style event. Then we'll also have our pro rodeo, among other specialty rodeos. But in our pro rodeo format, we are taking seven qualifiers from seven different qualifier rodeos around the local Texas region. And we're very excited about that because it gives folks some opportunity to come and compete with the big dogs here in Fort Worth. And then we've also got a new barrel man this year, Matt Merritt, and has a lot of experience with the PBR and traveling around. And we're very excited about having him part of the show to reach out and touch the fans as they're sitting in the stands and interact with them. That's always a great part of the bull riding to see what the clown does and everything else out there is part of that process, right? Yes, sir. Yeah, he's always the clowns and the barrel man are always a fan favorite because they're the ones getting the fans pumped up. They've got the close calls with the bucking bulls and getting run over. And so, yeah, they're always a vital part of the show. That's great. Well, I know we've talked about those parts, but there are youth programs as part of this too, right? So let's talk about that, Matt. Yeah, boy, you know, the mission of the stock show goes right at the heart of providing opportunities for the youth of Texas to come here and compete for H and FFA members from around the state. Last year or in 2020 show rather, we had youth from 240 of Texas, 254 counties come here and show animals compete in judging contest and things like that. So providing those opportunities are really important. Last year, we provided almost a little, right at $750,000 in scholarships. Even though we didn't have a show, we still provided scholarship funding to different programs. Our sale of champions, which the Fort Worth Stock Show syndicate and the other buying groups do such an awesome job with. Last year or in 2020, I should say raised $4.7 million for the youth of Texas. So when you think about that impact, it's tremendous. So we're helping these young men and women pay for their college education. Some of them are starting their own cattle herds and things like that. But I think importantly, and I think for even a city like Fort Worth, is it's an incubator because a lot of our exhibitors, youth exhibitors, don't come from Sonora, Texas. Some of them come from Arlington Heights High School or Southwest High School. And they happen to be able to come here and participate in our art contest, our ag mechanics contest. That introduces them to the livestock industry that provides some meat protein that feeds this world. So it's really, I think that youth component is so important to our mission. Also, the development and the update and maintenance of the Will Rogers Memorial Facility is also an important part of our mission. But that youth thing goes right out the heart of it. Well, that's wonderful because really what you talk about and we talk about youth is this is something that cuts across every gender, every ethnicity, every socioeconomic level, that there's a way that youth can get involved and really be a part of the rodeo, but also learning and then maybe it's some scholarship or some business money to think. Yeah, and the cool thing about that too is the entry points are really affordable. We had a young lady a couple of years ago that participated in our equine IQ contest. She could. I have no equine IQ, so. She didn't know what that is. She did. She was one of these horse crazy young ladies, couldn't afford a horse, but came here and competed in that equine IQ contest, which is basically taking an exam on your horse smarts. Wow. $30,000 in scholarship funds. So it provides an access point for all socioeconomic levels. We're really proud of that. Do you know what happened? Did she use that for scholarship slavery instead of the business? Oh, yes, she used, I believe at A&M right now studying. That's a great school. Yep, exactly. Giggle. Giggle. Wonderful. I know that this, people that look at the stock show and it's a big rodeo, et cetera, but I think the research I've seen, it's about a $110 million impact to the city of Fort Worth. Yep. Let's talk about that. What does that mean for the city and what we're doing? Well, it's really important. On top of that one point or 111 million, 110 million in economic impact. Around that $110 million. When you use a conservative multiplier of two, that's roughly, you know, it's gonna come in just under 200 million. So, you know, when you look at how that reverberates across the economy, it's really important. 3.5 million in direct taxes to the city of Fort Worth. 11 million in tax revenue to the state of Texas. So, you know, it's, and again, I'll circle back to the thing, that the stock show then, part of our mission, is the enhancement and expansion of the Will Rogers Memorial Center. So, since we moved out here in 1944, we pumped, the stock show has pumped $70 million in improvements here to the Will Rogers Memorial Center. So, when you see the Mon Creek Building or the Justin Arena or, you know, all of these other facilities, the stock show played a very important role in creating that infrastructure that the city then uses throughout the year. Amazing, I'm glad the investment's happening there. I know there's some more investment happening as part of this from some of the things that we're doing at City Council. But the way I'm looking at this, and you tie it back to citizens, a lot of the money generated here may be used here, but it's used throughout the city, potholes, streets, lights, all the other things that happen throughout the city. And that doesn't even include the small businesses around here or restaurants that get in hotel rooms and other nights that are part of that process too, right? Exactly, exactly. Well, that's wonderful. So, I know we had a year on and a year off, world kind of changed and went topsy-turvy for a while, but what do guests need to know about accessing this building and accessing the grounds in general as part of this process? We're doing our dead-level best to keep it safe. Right. Vaccines are a game-changer. And last year, we didn't have the vaccines we had to cancel in 2021. The vaccines are a game-changer. So when people come on to the complex, they can be assured of several things. Number one, you're in a state-of-the-art facility here at Dickey's Arena with all the- That Cal helps run here, right? Yeah, Cal helps run here. That's got the air purification systems and things like that in it. This is an amazing facility. The Will Rogers Memorial Center has earned the Global BioRisk Advisory Council's star accreditation. That's a cleaning and sanitation criteria that public facilities can apply for and earn. They've earned that accreditation. That's important. They've installed bipolar ionization technology and all their HVA systems, which do a good job of removing the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the air. We're doing our part by providing plenty of mass distribution points, hand sanitation points across the complex, signage that reminds us that we need to take action and do things to protect our health and the health of others. We're working with the city of Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Fire Department. They will provide a COVID testing site here on the complex at the Will Rogers Center throughout the 23-day run of the show. So if you get there and you're not 100% sure, we're gonna have a Fort Worth Fire Department testing site there. Also working with Tarrant County Public Health to provide a vaccine site, a vaccine clinic throughout the 23-day run. You want the Moderna, the Pfizer, the Johnson & Johnson Shot, the boosters. Get any of them here. You get any of them here and we're glad to provide that service. There are no mandates. There's not a mass mandate. There's not a vaccination mandate. Okay. You don't have to show your vaccine card to get a vaccine. You don't have to show your vaccine card. You don't have to wear a mask. We make the mask available. We've been doing this now for 18 months or so. People know what to do to keep themselves safe. We're gonna provide measures to help you keep safe. We just ask that our guests be mindful and do the things they need to do to protect their health and the health of others. Do that and we're gonna have a heck of a stock show. Thank you. We want everybody to be safe. People have their different definitions if they need to wear a mask or what makes them comfortable. So I'm glad there's some flexibility there, but also you're providing the services with COVID testing and vaccinations if people want them on site. So I think that's wonderful. One sort of last question since we're sitting in this beautiful building, what has this added to the stock show having Dickie's arena as part of this? It's allowed us to better utilize all of the Will Rogers Memorial Center. So whereas in 2019, the Will Rogers Center or the Will Rogers Coliseum was just used solely for professional rodeo and our other rodeo performances, it's opened up that Coliseum where we can do other things there. And again, expand the impact we have. Cal here is a former high school rodeo athlete with a North Texas High School Rodeo Association. Bull riding, no bulls. My brother was 1985, North Texas High School Rodeo Association Bull Riding Champion. Well, that's great. We have a scholarship rodeo over there in the Coliseum. On the 29th, I think, right? Yes, sir. 29, Saturday to 29. All the champions of each event get $2,000 scholarships, a buckle, and a jacket. And so it's a great thing for the North Texas High School Rodeo Association. Yeah, wonderful, yeah. So if I might, since we're on the rodeo topic, if I might make mention, we're also going to be broadcasted on the Cowboy Channel. All 25 performances of our professional rodeo will be on the Cowboy Channel. Among other events, such as the North Texas High School Rodeo Association Scholarship Rodeo, and a variety of other competitions. So we're looking forward to having that. That's wonderful. Can you still get tickets? Oh yeah. Absolutely, yeah. Where can people find the tickets? FWSSR.com. All you have to do is go to the upper right hand corner of that website and it says tickets. Click and you're there. Wonderful. And that's just not the rodeo too. Remember, there's all the stock show piece that's on the other side of World Rodgers. That's what you're talking about, the complex is there. So you can make a whole day of it. I grew up coming here with the kids, or as a kid and now with my kids and going to see the chicken playing tic-tac-toe, still a favorite. So that's what I'll tell everybody is come, come spend the day. Yeah, museums. And even if you're not coming here, the museums, you're right. There's so much to do around here. Yes, sir. Well, Cal, Matt, thank you so much for having us here. We're looking forward to the rodeo and Rise and Shine, right? Rise and Shine. That's the theme this year, right? This thing is legendary. This thing is legendary. Rise and Shine. Yes, sir. Y'all come out and see this and we'll be right back. I am now here with J.T. Augenbaugh, who is chairman of the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate and Becky Renfro Borbola, who is chair of the Women's Steering Business Committee. Welcome, y'all. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you. Great. We're glad to have you here. So I don't think a lot of people know outside the regular things that happen of the rodeo, so many other organizations are a part of it and raise funds for the kids that participate and other programs surrounding it. So I wanted to have y'all on here today just to let that message be known that this is a bigger, wider thing than just what happens physically here on the rodeo nights and days and what happens at the cattle pens and everything. So tell us a little bit about the Stock Show Syndicate. How it got started, what's its purpose? So the sale champions, the junior livestock sale champions, if you think about the stock show, everything outside of the rodeo, 27,000 exhibitors come to the stock show, bringing animals, bringing different projects to 11,000 of those are junior exhibitors. And so they show their animals. And they're from everywhere, right? And Brad Barnes and Matt Brocken will tell you however many counties in the state were represented at the last sale, it's just about every county in the state. Bring their animals to the show and they go through the process and get ranked and judged. And the champions, and so in our case, for steers is where we're focused. The junior livestock sale of champions is traditionally the last Saturday of the stock show. This year it's February 5th. And so the top 10 from every breed, every class of steers, goats, lambs and pigs, sheep and pigs will go through the sale where the kids show their animal. And if you remember the kids, they buy an animal at the beginning of the year. They raise it for a year. They feed it, groom it, maintain it. It's a lot of work, it's a lot of effort, a lot of investment on their part. And those that are rewarded with placing high in their class go to the sale of champions. And so it was the night before the 1980 sale of champions where 11 friends got together and decided we need to make sure that these kids are being rewarded above market for their efforts. And so they committed $11,000 each to go to the sale the next morning and to contribute to the kids and make sure that they're gonna be rewarded properly. Well, started from there. They got so enthused with the process in helping the kids. They actually spent over $20,000 that first year in 1980. The next year, the momentum continued and they formed a 501C3, the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate. That year they raised over $130,000 on 1981 sale. And so since that time, the momentum has just continued to progress. The sale of champions since 1980 has raised over $65 million for the youth in agriculture in the state of Texas. And our momentum continues with the addition of multiple buying groups. The women's steering business has been a significant impact to the sale since they began to get involved. Wonderful. So tell us a little about women's steering business, how it got started. So 2013 was our first sale and literally four weeks before the sale, I sent out an email to several friends and business women that I knew and said, hey, would you get $500 and let's go to the sale and buy a steer raised by a young woman? That's what makes us different. And I had 75 women step up and that first sale, we had $45,000 and the next year, kind of like the syndicate, everybody was excited about what we were doing. And because this was new money to the sale day, we were, no one was asking any of us for money. And so I had, I think we had 189 women step up and we brought almost $300,000 to that sale the second year. And today, this is our eighth sale in seven sales we've raised. We've given the young women $1.6 million. What I wanna say about Fort Worth that I love is our sale gives 100% of the money to the kids where the other sales do not. So I love that about Fort Worth. That's wonderful. So you've mentioned this too. Y'all fundraise as part of Stock Show Syndicate and that's a big piece of, but y'all are writing checks. So that's sort of the main difference between your buying group and other buying groups. Yes, we I think are the only buying group that write a personal check. So I have 125 to 150 women writing a personal check because we're tired of fundraising. So we said, okay. You said no one's hitting you up. I'm surprised that no one's hitting you up because I know you get up all the time for everything. Yes, you do get hit up a lot. But no, we just, we're tired of fundraising. We also run boarded directors and we're like, we, you know, so everybody writes a personal check. Tell us a little bit more about who are the women that make up women's journey? So we have, our youngest is, well actually we have a nine year old that's a member and all the way up to, yes she is. I think her mom and dad help her a little bit. But all the way up to 80 years old. And they, the some are retired, varied careers. We have a CEO and presidents of companies here in Fort Worth, outside of Fort Worth. We have one young lady. Her sister is a member and she's in the military and she heard about our group and she's long distance. She's in Colorado and she joins. She's believed in the cause and wants to help. She believed in the cause and she gives us $1,000 every year but she loved the cause that we were helping young ladies. And, you know, the first young lady we supported, she just graduated from Texas Tech and now she's working on her master's in animal science. And she came and spoke to us in September at our launch party and it was just phenomenal to hear in, you know, seven, eight years how our money, there's four girls in the family. They have all shown at the Fort Worth sale and how our money went into their college fund. And that's what we hear. And then the syndicate hears these stories. All the buying groups hear wonderful stories about how we impact these kids' lives. And some of these kids, you know, it costs, they said $6,000 to feed that steer in a year. And so if the child gets $10,000 from the sale, they put- Better return than some investments. Better return than some, yeah. Yes, and a lot of the kids reinvest in their agricultural careers, but it also goes into their college fund. That's amazing. So just the support. You've talked a little bit about JT, the sale of champions. You know, what goes into that day? What does that look like and who can participate? Well, it's a culmination of a year's worth of work. We are a year round organization. We have 160 members of our organization and so have events throughout the year to keep our members engaged, to keep them motivated, to keep our buyers and our sponsors. So we do fundraise. So of our members, we ask that they open their networks of business contacts, friends, family members, and go out and fundraise and bring buyers to the sale to actually see it, experience it. And because those that are there, they're gonna be back next year. They get to meet the kids who raise the animal, spend time with them, they're gonna be back. And so we foster an environment throughout the year that really builds up towards sale day. We have a sponsor party, which up in the north side and the stockyards in the fall to kind of kick off the season as we get ready for the stock show. And it's all about keeping our buyers and our sponsors enthused and engaged. And again, culminates on the sale. And so it is a lot of work. We host a breakfast cowboy breakfast on sale day morning. We feed over a thousand people who are getting ready for the sale. We have a lot of fun. You get the scarves, you get the scarves, you get your badges, yeah. Multiple badges and pens and it's fun time. It is a really fun time. Encourage it, it's open to the public. And so the sale of champions this year is February 5th. It is 9 a.m. And so that's when the grand champion, the grand steer champion is auctioned off. You will not, not only will you not be able to find a seat in that west sale arena, you won't be able to find an inch of space that is not occupied. It is a really exciting time, exciting event. And so it is open to the public. Encourage anybody to come and participate. And if you feel so inclined. Where can they get the information to know more about it? So Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, FWSSS.com, FWSSR, the Stock Show and Rodeo's website. They'll, they have a large selection, section dedicated to the livestock junior exhibitors. And so again, here on the grounds, Will Roger Grounds, 9 a.m., February 5th. It's a fun time. That's wonderful. And women's steering business, where can they find more information about that? Women's Steering Business.com. Great. Well, I want to say, you know, this is not your day job, right? You're at J.P. Morgan and you're Mrs. Renfrow Foods. Yes. So, which is, I want to do a shout out because y'all are all, you're involved in so many things and help the community in so many ways. And I know this is just a piece of what you do overall. So thank you on that behalf and thank you, all the kids and the lives you've changed about what you and your members do. We really appreciate it. It's well worth it. It's a, Fort Worth is an amazing place that really steps up to help the community. And this is a way for our community to help the whole state of Texas. True words, that's amazing. Well, thank you and we'll be right back. One of the things I love about Fort Worth is our giving spirit. We just heard from Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, as well as Women's Steering Business, who are supporting kids that are involved with the rodeo, with scholarships, and other means necessary to build a business. Now I'm here with Jody Cnaughton, who is with Methodist Justice Ministries. She's the legal director there. And another great charity, nonprofit here serving the people of Fort Worth. Welcome Jody. Thank you. How are you doing today? I'm well, thank you. Good, good. Well, I love the mission of Methodist Justice Ministry. So tell our viewers a little bit, what is it and how does it help people? Okay, we were started with a specific purpose to focus on really challenging family law cases, specifically involving domestic violence and child abuse. So our primary criteria is that there are some sort of domestic violence or child abuse. We help women, mothers, fathers, caregivers, whoever's trying to help keep the child safe, and also women seeking to leave a domestic violence situation. So very important work, and it happens more here than we probably hear about, right? Sadly. Sadly, that's, so what's a success story? Tell us a good success story that y'all have had. Okay, we worked with Olivia a few years ago. She was 20 years old, attending Tarrant County College. She had three half siblings that were ages seven, eight and 10. She, they had been kind of bouncing around from various family members. They landed on her doorstep one day, just for the weekend. They ended up staying several months later. She didn't have any authority to get the medical care, treatment, things that they needed. And so she came to seek our services. We were able to get her custody of her three siblings. She actually had to quit school for a bit to care for them. She's now back in school working on a nursing degree. She ended up working at the church, the First Methodist Church for a bit as well. And so she was able to get those protections and the custody that she needed to be able to make decisions for her children and keep them safe from their mother, who is unfortunately addicted to methamphetamine. And it sounds like maybe get right, her life right, so she can go back to school and have a job. It sounds like maybe some other thing. Yes, yes, we focus on the whole family, not just the children that were helping. So we provide services for the whole family. Yeah, tell us some of the other services that you provide. Yes, we are definitely different than a typical law firm. We provide counseling free of charge to our clients and their children. Not only the children that have maybe experienced abuse directly, but also indirectly. We provide emergency financial assistance, which is especially important for women leaving abusive situations because maybe they don't have the financial means to pay a deposit on an apartment, pay utilities, and all of those things to break free from that cycle. And so we're able to provide that emergency financial assistance. And then also we help poor grandparents get custody of their children, their grandchildren. They're already poor, and we make them poorer by giving them more children to have to care for. And so we can provide some assistance for them as well. We also just go above and beyond with our friendship and our guidance to our clients. I've actually taken my family to help. So mentoring of sorts, yeah, okay. Yeah, so I've actually taken my family to help move a client to a new residence. You know, we just really go above and beyond to help our clients. Total wraparound services for them. Well, I'm excited for the reason I wanna introduce you to the viewers because y'all are the Foodie Philanthropy 2022 Charity Partner this year. And for those of the viewers that might not know, this was a charity my wife and I started, Joanna Crane. We started and it brings restaurants together. They donate a table of 10 all in one night. And we have many restaurants that do it. I think last year we had about 40 restaurants. And all the money that's raised is given to the charity partner that year. Y'all are the charity of choice. And so we're very excited about that, about partnering with you. We understand the mission that you have and what you make, but what doesn't mean to you that y'all are receiving these funds this year? It means so much to us. We'll be able to continue providing the life-saving and life-changing work that we do. And we will also be able to reach, you know, additional people that we haven't reached in the past through sharing our message with those that attend. That's wonderful. That is a big piece of this event. I've always said it'll raise a little bit of money and a little bit of awareness for you. And I know that other past partnerships that we've had, it's raised even more money after the event and it's created lifelong partnerships, volunteers, other knowledge that people know. So I'm hopeful and I know that will happen with y'all as well. This year's event is February 26th. So if anybody's interested in learning more about that, that's foodiefilanthropy.org. And February 26th, foodiefilanthropy.org. And how can people find you? Through our website, www.methodistjusticeministry.org, all spelled out. And we also have a Facebook and Instagram pages. Great. Well, I appreciate the work that you're doing on behalf of those that, in a lot of times, can't help themselves. And they don't even know where to go to start to help themselves. So thank you for what you're doing and we really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. We're excited. Great. We'll be right back. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Fort Worth Forward. I hope you've enjoyed meeting some of the people that are part of the rodeo and part of the stock show. And you'll come out and see this beautiful facility. It is an amazing time. Bring your family, bring your friends, and have a great time. Until the next time, thank you again for watching.