What do you think of when you hear “The Wild Bunch”? A gang from the Wild West days? Maybe a modern-day group of reckless teens? Not quite.
The Wild Bunch is an organization that helps raise money for swine exhibitors who make the premium sale at the Oklahoma Youth Expo.
“Back in the mid 80s, the premium sale was not well supported by the OKC community,” said Clark Straka, a charter member of the Wild Bunch and retired ag teacher from Newcastle. “Red [Berlin] Goodson thought it’d be a good idea to collect money and use it toward swine exhibitors as premium sale add-ons.”
Goodson led the Wild Bunch in 1986 with hopes of making the sale as good as it could be for swine showmen, Straka said. The group has since kept its name and continued to grow each year.
“I went around supporting Red and asked for donations,” Straka said. “That was my job. We asked a variety of people for $20 increments – ag teachers, grandparents, parents and anyone who wanted to help out.”
The initial goal of the Wild Bunch was to ensure each swine exhibitor got equal amounts of money through the premium sale with add-ons, Straka said. Approximately 50 barrows have received add-ons each year since the Wild Bunch began, Straka said. They are now able to actually buy hogs that make the sale because of increased donations, but their primary goal is still to make sure every kid receives the same amount of money, Straka added.
They have two seasonal fundraisers to raise the money for the premium sale. The first one is a swine feed and semen auction in late fall. Many companies and organizations donate feed, memberships and semen to be auctioned off.
The second fundraiser comes from raffle drawings during OYE. The Wild Bunch sells buttons for $20 each and each button has a number on it. When you buy a button, a poker chip is thrown in the raffle with your number. Poker chips are drawn every day, and winners receive anything from feed to a set of scales.The raffle prizes are equally distributed during the gilt and barrow shows.
“I develop the buttons. I make the buttons. I do everything with the buttons,” said Stephanie Herren, organizer of the buttons and raffle drawings. “I have very little time to do it and I have to do it as fast as I can.”
To keep track of sales, 20 buttons are put in a bag. When those are sold, the money is taken to Kass Newell, who counts it and initials the check sheet, Herren said.
“People know Stephanie as ‘the button girl,’” said Newell, OYE executive vice president. “She is dedicated to that job, and her hard work truly pays off.”
Ag teachers, parents and interested community members help collect donations and/or donate supplies or money.
“My job was to help with the semen sale and collect donations,” said Jeff Davis, charter member of the Wild Bunch and retired ag teacher from Sterling. “ Another duty I had was to order, pick up, and deliver scales for the drawings at OYE.”
Goodson did everything by himself for awhile and then got Straka to help him, Davis said. But since then, many others have joined in to help.
“The coolest thing is that it’s gone from an organization that maybe raised $500 the first year to one that’s raising around $50,000 a year now,” Davis said.
Each swine exhibitor is now able to make around $4,000 or more, depending on the amount donated that year, which is much more than when the Wild Bunch first started, Davis added.
FFA programs involved in the Wild Bunch build gates to be used at OYE and help set up the show ring and pens the week before the show.
Davis and his students helped build hundreds of pen fronts for OYE during his time at Sterling.
“The biggest goal [of the Wild Bunch] is to impact swine showmen financially,” Davis said. “We want to help them buy another project or pay for the one they have.”
The Wild Bunch also presents scholarships to showmen who make the “Night of Stars” gilt sale.
“The hog industry is so unique here in Oklahoma because of the support group they have established over the years,” Newell said. “There are so many big supporters who have made that come to fruition and continue to make it thrive each year.”
So many people are completely dedicated to making the funds happen, Newell said.
People who know what the Wild Bunch is all about have a great respect for those involved and what they do for the youth of Oklahoma, Newell said.
“The Wild Bunch is a tremendous asset to have at OYE,” Newell said. “The impact they have on swine showmen is huge.”
The growth of the Wild Bunch since 1986 is phenomenal, Davis said. Red Goodson had the insight to create a great organization and its success has increased each year, Davis added.
“Though Red is no longer with us, all of his hard work and efforts do not need to go unnoticed,” Straka said.
What began as one man with a few colleagues trying to support Oklahoma swine showmen has turned into an organization that generates thousands of dollars each year to make the swine industry better, Straka said.
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