T WA M E M B E R P R O F I L E
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Brad Barnes A Lifetime of Anticipation
Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photos courtesy of BRAD BARNES and FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW & RODEO
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ince childhood, Bradford S. “Brad” Barnes has eagerly anticipated the annual Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (FWSSR). “When I was a child, the Schutts family invited me every year to sit with them in their box for a Stock Show rodeo performance,” said Barnes, a lifelong Fort Worth resident. “Their box—the best seats in the house—sat right above the bucking chutes. For a city boy, it was the highlight of my year to look down and watch those cowboys.” Anticipation turned to excitement with the annual distribution of the beloved Fort Worth Independent School District tickets. The one-day grounds pass admitted
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students to the world of premium livestock, head-spinning rides, skill-testing games, stomach-stretching food and even more cowboys. “The whole experience was just huge,” Barnes said. THE FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW & RODEO Today, the huge experience, including distributing more than 365,000 School Day tickets to area students, falls to Barnes, who since 2010 has served as the president and general manager of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, and his team. The widely talented group that brings one of the nation’s oldest stock shows to life for 23 days each year from mid-January into
