A vision for the future.

For the past 20 years, the Oklahoma Youth Expo has had many homes, all literal houses that served as office space for the team at OYE. From the early days in Leadership Square to the past eight years in the Paseo Arts District, these houses hosted some of the most inventive ideas the stock show industry has seen.

Yet, none of these buildings quite felt like home. Throughout the years, OYE’s team has grown and in the past year, so has the impact of OYE. In 2020, the team took on additional responsibilities and today manage not only OYE, but the California Youth Ag Expo, the Exposition for the Youth of Oklahoma and the newly launched Cattlemen’s Congress.

“We didn’t know how much we needed this office until we moved in,” said President of the Onward Foundation, Tyler Norvell. “This building has allowed us to grow and expand the impact our team has on the ag youth of Oklahoma and now, the entire United States.”

In 2018, chairman of the OYE board, Bob Funk expressed his interest in helping secure OYE’s future. To do so, Mr. Funk believed a new building was essential and that it was important it be located on the fairgrounds. Plans were made and the building began, funded mostly in part by Mr. Funk himself.

The Oklahoma Youth Expo moved into its new home, located on the southeast side of Oklahoma State Fair Park off of Reno Avenue, in May of 2020.

“Since then, this building has been the meeting place for livestock breed associations, local and state agriculture organizations and newly formed stock shows,” Norvell said. “It’s seen a lot in its first year and who knows what’s to come.

The Bob Funk Legacy is home to the Oklahoma Youth Expo, located at 21 Land Rush Street in Oklahoma City.

Bob Funk speaks at the building dedication of the life skills 4-H and FFA students learn throught programs like the Oklahoma Youth Expo.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this building helped launch us down an incredibly successful road,” he added.

The new building is home to OYE’s six staff members, has an official board room with state of the art video conferencing capabilities, a large work room and a large storage area.

“The 6,000-square-foot building is the permanent home for us and we are grateful for Mr. Funk in his role of underwriting a large portion of the project,” Norvell said.

In honor of Mr. Funk, the building was named the Bob Funk Legacy, home of the Oklahoma Youth Expo.

“It is a great legacy for me and I appreciate OYE for naming the building after myself,” Funk said. “I hope it is here for many, many years to come.”

Since the completion of the Bob Funk Legacy, the team at OYE has taken on additional responsibilities and become a major player in management of livestock shows.

“I truly believe we have the best team in the nation when it comes to managing livestock shows,” Norvell said. “This past year after OYE was canceled midway through due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we expected to slow down as much of the country did. However, our workload more than doubled.”

In May of 2020, a group of livestock enthusiasts in California approached the team and hired them to launch and manage the California Youth Ag Expo, which took place in Corning, California in August 2020.

“The board of directors in California liked what they saw at OYE and how our team is truly devoted to the ag youth,” said Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Youth Expo, Kass Newell. “Our priority is and always will be to make all of our shows enjoyable for the agriculture community and make decisions around how we can best serve them.”

Later in the summer, the Oklahoma State Fair was canceled due to the pandemic.

“As soon as we heard of the cancellation I knew we needed to step up to the plate,” Norvell said. “The team was ready and we created the Exposition for the Youth of Oklahoma.”

In a matter of weeks the team secured the Stephens County Fairgrounds in Duncan, Oklahoma to serve as the location and organized the EYO.

“It was a fast and furious summer to say the least,” Newell said. “These new opportunities are exciting because it provided a chance for our junior livestock exhibitors to showcase their hard work, and these events were created just for them.”

Shortly after the EYO, the National Western Stock Show announced the cancellation of their livestock show due to the pandemic. In a matter of days, a group of cattlemen and breed associations came together to form the Cattlemen’s Congress, a stock show designed for cattlemen and women across North America. That group approached the team at OYE to see if they were interested in managing a national show.

“We jumped at the opportunity,” Norvell said. “There were many hurdles we had to jump, from securing the fair grounds to navigating new health protocols, not to mention organizing and pulling off a record-breaking event.”

The Cattlemen’s Congress was hosted in Oklahoma City in January of 2021, bringing together more than 9,600 head of cattle from more than 2,700 exhibitors from 41 states and three Canadian Provinces.

For each of these events, the Bob Funk Legacy served as the home for board and industry meetings and it provided ample space for staff to organize and operate the new events, something the old offices wouldn't have been able to do, Norvell said.

The second part of Mr. Funk’s plan to secure OYE’s future was to create an endowment to help with the ever growing expenses of managing a stock show. The ONWARD Foundation was formed with Funk’s pledge to match dollar-for-dollar up to $5 million to support the Youth Expo and it’s more than 7,500 exhibitors who participate each March.

To-date, OYE has raised $3.5 million towards the ONWARD Foundation, which with Mr. Funk’s promise to double each dollar raised, brings the total to $7 million raised, all to support Oklahoma’s ag youth.

Of the $3.5 million raised, Herman Meinders generously donated $1 million in support. Meinders saw the need to support Oklahoma’s next generation of agriculturalists and leaders.

“OYE represents the best of our future,” said OYE Board Chairman, Bob Funk. “Rural youth are the future of food security and they are building tomorrow’s food promise. “They are our greatest investment,” Funk said. “OYE is my first love charity,” Funk said. “OYE’s programs foster treasured family traditions and it’s growing the next crop of students who will become tomorrow’s leaders.”

OYE REPRESENTS THE BEST OF OUR FUTURE. THEY ARE OUR GREATEST INVESTMENT.

– Bob Funk Sr.

Once the ONWARD Foundation is fully funded, it will go a long way toward ensuring that the Oklahoma Youth Expo is here for generations to come, Norvell said.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November to recognize Mr. Funk’s committment to the Oklahoma Youth Expo.

“Each and every one of us involved in OYE understand the value and importance programs like this serve,” Norvell said. “It teaches work ethic, determination and makes our youth care for something other than themselves, something I’m afraid seems to be missing in today’s society.”

Each year, thanks to industry and individual sponsors who see the value in supporting hard-working youth, OYE is able to award nearly $2 million in awards and scholarships.

“OYE has impacted tens if not hundreds of thousands of young people,” Norvell said. “To do that would be impossible without people like Mr. Funk who step up, commit, invest and truly care about our young future leaders.” – Written by JD Rosman