Butch Young keeps things hopping at the expo center
Everett Brazil III
Butch Young may be the hardest working man at the Payne County Expo Center, and possibly in Payne County.
As marketing director, he spends much of his time at the fairgrounds, bringing new events to the county and aiding in the operation of the expo center.
But Young wasn’t born in Payne County. And while much of his life has been spent in the Stillwater area, he has lived and worked in many places, in many fields.
Young grew up in Woods County, near the Kansas border in a little town named Dacoma, a town that no longer exists. From the time he was 8, he was reared by his aunt and uncle on their farm, where he first became interested in livestock.
Woods County went through an awful drought, Young said, in the 1950s. But after high school graduation, Young attended Oklahoma State University from 1959-61, earning a degree in animal husbandry, known as animal science today. He stayed on at OSU as the swine herdsman in 1963.
“I told my uncle, ‘If I ever hang my hat somewhere, it was going to be here because it rained!’” Indeed, compared to the extended drought of northwest Oklahoma, precipitation flowed more freely in central Oklahoma.
Then, Uncle Sam came calling, he said, and he served two years overseas in the U.S. Army.
When he returned, he was determined to do something different with his life, in a way, to seek adventure. He accomplished this as a traveling representative for the Polland China Record Association in Illinois. Polland China is a breed of hogs, a type of livestock Young has been interested in since growing up on the farm. He traveled across the country, traveling from “Minnesota to the north, to Georgia, Alabama and Florida to the South,” he said. He also traveled the Southwest and as far northeast as Pennsylvania. He spent just over two years traveling for the company.
During his travels, he found time to attend the Rash School of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa, and soon began auctioning purebred hogs. It was a line of work that would become a career to this day, where he still calls auctions at the Expo Center.
After leaving the hog company, he found ample work as an auctioneer, and has called them across the state, and even into Texas, and especially at the Expo Center. He started auctioneering the premium sale regularly in 1978 at no charge.
Young has worked at the Payne County Expo Center for about nine years. He’s in charge of booking returning events and attracting new attractions and events to the Expo Center. He’s seen a lot of usual events: County fairs, livestock shows, family reunions and wedding receptions. Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops use the facility, and many a fundraiser has been held there.
“From livestock shows to antique shows and everything in between,” he said.
Which means a lot of events that are considerably different than usual. One of the most interesting, and biggest, he said, was an RV convention held about five years ago. The entire grounds of the expo center were covered in recreational vehicles. The event brought in so many people that it had the largest sales tax collection in the county for that month and that year.
“It was a time of the year when we didn’t have much going on,” Young said. “It was a blessing.”
Another interesting event occurred a few years ago when a machinery company came down from Canada with an interest in the Expo Center.
“We made a contract and they rented four or five buildings for about three weeks over Christmas time.”
Although the company was going through a buyout during the show, the event went off smoothly, he said.
The Expo Center has grown dramatically in the past 10 years, and Young has been there to witness is all. There was a time when there wasn’t much happening, when goat shows were some of the largest events. Today, buildings are regularly booked continuously in July and August for wedding receptions and family reunions, he said.
Young and his wife Rosie have one daughter and will celebrate their 39th anniversary in November.
When events are hosted at the Expo Center, especially the Payne County Fair, he works at least as many hours as anyone.
“When Butch says he’ll do something, you don’t have to worry. It’ll get done,” said Dee Shenold, secretary for the Expo Center.
Nathan Anderson, Payne County’s OSU Extension agent, has worked with Young many years.
“He may be older than dirt, but he stays on his feet and works as hard as any young man I have ever seen.”
Editors Note: Butch is neighbor of ours... we know first hand the reason he is so good... it's Rosie, his wife... she is his rock! They helped raise our kiddos too, along with many other neighbors children and family. We are proud to call them our lifelong friends!
