TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | m a r c h 2 0 1 8 10 Spotlight JOEL COWLEY is slightly allergic to livestock. Nonetheless, since he first showed two lambs at a Wyoming fair as a young boy, Cowley has built a professional life around livestock and rodeo. Since 2013, he has served as president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a nonprofit with an annual commitment of more than $26 million to scholarships, research and other educational programs. Q | You first visited the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1985. What was it like back then and how has it changed? A | When you grow up showing livestock, you know about the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In 1985, I was a junior college stu- dent and I came here as a member of the junior college livestock judging team. At that time, the contest was still held in the Astrodome—which I had only seen on TV and in The Bad News Bears. I can remember pulling up on the grounds that morning— it was me and my teammates and coach in a station wagon. It was a really, really foggy morning and we drove up and, all of a sudden, the Astrodome just appeared. It was huge. I went down on the floor and judged the contest, but I had never seen a building like that. Since then, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has grown and moved into the NRG Center. This building is incredible. It is 1.4 million square feet; the main exhibit hall is 700,000 square feet. Q | How did you get into livestock judging? A | I have agriculture on both sides of my family and rodeo on my father's side. The summer after my father died, I was 8 years old. My grandfather bought me two market lambs to show—Fred and Barney, named after characters from The Flintstones. My mother helped me raise and show them at the fair. They placed about fourth and fifth and they both qualified for the auction. I cried when I sold them, but when that check arrived a few months later, I thought, 'I might want to do this again.' Unfortunately, that December my mother passed away of breast cancer. At that point, my paternal grandparents brought my two brothers and me to Fort Collins, Colorado. My grandfather knew how valuable and how powerful these 4H programs were. He knew how much I loved showing those first two lambs while I was still in Wyoming, so he leased property just outside of town in Fort Collins so that my two brothers and I could raise sheep and show market lambs. Believe it or not, I am slightly allergic to livestock. I'm allergic to the dander of the animals. When I was in high school, I would shear sheep and I would definitely notice my allergies when I was doing that. But through showing lambs, I got enough courage to go out for wool judging, which is where you actually evaluate which fleece is the best. After that, I finally went out for livestock judging—sheep, swine and cattle. You apply logic and critical thinking to rank the animals and then you have to stand in front of an expert and explain why you ranked the four steers or four pigs the way you did, which for me was absolutely terrifying. But I actually ended up being pretty good at it, and eventu- ally became a member of a national champion 4H livestock judging team and then that led to a schol- arship to junior college. Half of my undergraduate education was paid for through scholarship. Q | How did you make your way back to Houston? A | I graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor's in Animal Science, was on the collegiate livestock judging team there and then came to Texas A&M University to work on a master's in Animal Science. When I came to Texas A&M and coached the live- stock judging team, I would bring the judging team to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo—starting in 1988 through 1995. When my old- est daughter was born and I thought maybe I should get a job, Michigan State University was hiring. I went to work full-time as an extension beef cattle specialist, helping producers evaluate their herds from a produc- tion and a financial standpoint. I started working on a Ph.D., but I completed an MBA at Michigan State University. From there, I went to Certified Angus Beef in Ohio— the largest branded beef program in the world. I still came back to every Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when I was at Michigan State and Certified Angus Beef to help out judging contests or judge junior commercial steers. I have been to every Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo since 1988, either as a judg- ing team coach, a judge, to help out with the judging team contests, or as an employee. In December of 2004, Mr. Leroy Shafer, who just recently retired from the Houston rodeo after 41 years, gave me a call. I flew down the day after Christmas in 2004 and agreed to come to work as the executive director of agricul- tural exhibits and competitions. Q | What's it like to watch a younger generation compete at the rodeo, and what do you hope these young people will gain from the experience? A | I feel a very close connec- tion with the show because of my background and seeing all of these young people who come here to compete—and knowing that was me. I am a product of the very programs and support that are offered by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This year, we have over 19,000 4H and FFA [Future Farmers of America] entries in a number

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