Tyler Norvell, executive director of the Oklahoma Youth Expo, the world’s largest junior livestock show, was the guest speaker of the Kingfisher Rotary Club last week.

Norvell told the Rotarians and guests that the event, which will be held at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds March 11-21, provides an economic impact of over $30 million to the greater Oklahoma City area.

It also provides over $300,000 in scholarships to participating students who show their livestock at the show each year, he said.

Norvell, who has been executive director of OYE since 2012, said the event will be the last one held at the State Fair Arena before it is demolished as a new facility is currently being constructed.

He said he has been involved with the OYE since he was 9 years old as an exhibitor, having grown up on his family’s farm and ranch in the Amber-Pocasset area.

He said the OYE is a “wonderful opportunity” for Oklahoma’s rural youth to earn income through selling their show animals and to further their education past high school with scholarship opportunities.

“It’s life changing for some of these kids. I see it every year,” Norvell said. “I get emotional when I talk about it, because it really does affect these kids lives in a positive and profound way.”

He said trapshooting and agriculture mechanics have been added to the show in recent years and there is a large turnout for those competitions as well.

Norvell said Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals, and Jimmy Harrel, CEO of the Bank of Western Oklahoma, were both very active chairmen of OYE and he said both have played empowering roles toward the success of the event.

OYE has grown and evolved since its inception in 1915, providing many opportunities for generations of Oklahoma’s agricultural youth.

Norvell said the show began as the American Southwest Livestock Show, which was mainly for adults.

At the time, there were livestock shows in Wichita, Kan., and also in Fort Worth, Texas.

He said the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce leaders decided Oklahoma City needed a show that exhibitors could show at on their way from the show in Kansas to the show in Texas.

In the 1930’s, after a fire burned down the show coliseum, it was decided to only show the youth livestock and from that point forward it has been exclusively a junior livestock show.

Norvell said well over 50,000 people turn out from across the state to attend the event each year, making it OKC’s largest multi-day event.

In 2002, a group came together and formally established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and named it Oklahoma Youth Expo, Inc.

Norvell said Funk and Harrel have been actively involved as board members since that time.

He said Funk established an endowment fund to help ensure OYE would continue by pledging to match dollar-for-dollar funds donated up to $5 million.

To date, more than $4 million has been raised to help support OYE’s mission to provide Oklahoma 4-H and FFA members with opportunities to showcase their agricultural projects and foster their education goals and leadership skills.

In closing he invited those in attendance to see the event for themselves next March.

Darcy Reherman, Rotary member who is employed as an accountant for the Funk family operations, arranged for the presentation.