OYE’s “This One’s for The Girls” Event Continues to Grow and Inspire Girls as They Navigate Through Life

Listen to Reagan Calk talk with Lacey Dale about “This One’s for The Girls.”

At the Oklahoma Youth Expo, Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with Lacey Dale Gracia and talk about this year’s “This One’s for The Girls” event put on by Diamond Hats. Now with Diamond Hats, Gracia was previously the Marketing Manager for Express Ranches.  

“This was just a dream birthed in my heart,” Gracia said. “One year, I was sitting at the National Finals Rodeo with Mr. Bob Funk, and we were sitting at the ladies’ luncheon, and I just wanted to give the girls a couple of hours to step outside of the barn and remember that they were girls, because they are working just as hard as the guys out there.”

The goal of “This One’s for The Girls,” Gracia said, is to provide an environment for the girls at the show to be inspired, make memories, and take part in learning essential lessons to take with them as they navigate their lives.

Each year has been a different theme, Gracia said, ranging from etiquette to cell phones.

“This year, our theme happened to be ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go’ from Dr. Seuss, where the girls have gone around to different booths and learned different aspects to grow them up as they go so many places in life,” Gracia said.

Event layout (photo taken after the event, as visitors made their way out)

This year’s event took place in the Barn 3 Sales Pavilion at OYE for two hours, Gracia said, and the crowd was phenomenal.

“The crowd started with about 30 girls back in 2007 when we started, and each year, we have been giving out 300 door prizes, so we know there are at least 300 girls or more coming in the doors, and that has just been wonderful for our Diamond Hats organization to see how many young lives are impacted annually,” Gracia said.

As the event provides a strong female voice of inspiration and direction for the girls who attend, Gracia said that each year she has received amazing feedback.

“Maybe they don’t listen to mama about something, but mama brings them in this room, and all of a sudden, maybe what mama was saying did become gospel,” Gracia said. “It has been so impactful on us, in return, to see how many young ladies, even not just the moms, come up and thank us for something they have learned or a way that this has impacted their life.”

Click here for the full schedule for the 2023 OYE. The Oklahoma Farm Report team will be snapping pictures from start to finish- and you can see them as we add them to our Flickr album for 2023- available here. If you want to look back to the 2022 OYE- click here for our pictures from last year’s event.

Our coverage of the 2023 Oklahoma Youth Expo is sponsored by Hilliary Communications- who deliver the latest cutting-edge communications services supporting tens of thousands of customers across 22 counties throughout Oklahoma, Texas and Iowa. The company offers internet, voice and HilliaryTV. Hilliary Communications continuously researches the marketplace for innovations and strives to improve underserved areas, offering services that exceed customer expectations. Click here to learn more about Hilliary Communications.

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