Hurricane Forces YMBL to Cancel Fair for First Time in 63 Years
Hurricane Rita and its aftermath have forced the Young Men's Business League to cancel the South Texas State Fair.
The YMBL made the announcement during a news conference Friday morning.
Chris Colletti with the YMBL tells KFDM News it was an agonizing decision for the organization. He told us the fair has not been cancelled since the YMBL took over the event about 63 years ago.
YMBL President Don Thompson says revenue from the fair averages $600,000 to $700,000 each year, and the YMBL donates about $200,000 to $300,000 to other organizations in the community.
The YMBL Board of Directors met for several hours Thursday night to talk about the fair. The board said the decision was made because of the devastating effects of Hurricane Rita on Jefferson County and Southeast Texas.
The South Texas State Fair and the YMBL Rodeo are the organization's major fundraising events. Colletti says the YMBL will continue serving the community, but he says the organization will have to tighten its belt as many other businesses and groups have done since the hurricane struck Southeast Texas.
THE YMBL has already set the dates for next year's fair. It'll run from October 12-22.
Here is the text of a statement from the YMBL:
"It is with sadness and deep regret that we, the Y.M.B.L., producers of the annual South Texas State Fair, announce that our Board of Directors has elected to cancel the 2005 South Texas State Fair. This decision was made due to the devastating effects Hurricane Rita has had on all of Southeast Texas and Jefferson County in particular. Hurricane Rita has had a profound impact upon the financial well-being of the citizens of Southeast Texas. We must consider this as being of utmost importance in order to make the 2005 South Texas State Fair
of viable financial benefit to our community. The widespread financial difficulties being experienced by our citizens are a good indicator that the Fair would not and should not be a top priority as individuals rebuild their lives. In addition our volunteers are and will for quite some time be working to get their lives and businesses and those of family and friends back in order. Without their efforts we could not put on a successful Fair. Finally, it is our understanding that Ford Park will continue to be a staging area for federal, state and local assets being used in recovery efforts.
We look forward to working toward a successful 2006 South Texas State Fair which is scheduled for October 12-22, 2006.
In an effort to continue to serve our community, the YMBL will still conduct the remainder of its projects scheduled for 2005. Those projects include the YMBL/CBR Championship Bull Ride which is scheduled for November 11 & 12 in the Ford Arena, the YMBL South Texas Shootout Basketball Tournament which is scheduled for December 8-11 at West Brook High School, and the YMBL Community Christmas Food Baskets scheduled for December 17. In addition, we are in the process of investigating additional ways to redirect our efforts to serve our community."
http://www.kfdm.com/engine.pl?station=k ... ocal.shtml