Each year at the Oklahoma Youth Expo, legislators have the opportunity to be paired with a showman and compete with other legislator/exhibitor pairs for the top showman. This opportunity allows legislators to connect with the future of the agriculture industry and be part of the Oklahoma Youth Expo experience.
Following the Legislative Showmanship Competition at OYE, Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to visit with State Representative, Dell Kerbs, about the OYE and legislative session.
“OYE is one of the biggest events for us,” Kerbs said. “We look forward to it every year. We have competitions between the House and the Senate on raising funds for the sale that comes at the end of the week.”
The best part of the event, Kerbs said, is having the chance to learn from the exhibitors.
“You can’t put a price tag on that, because that is our future, and they are teaching us, and they are ready,” Kerbs said.
Kerbs complimented the exhibitors at the show and said having FFA or 4-H on a resume is a valuable asset because it shows that those individuals know how to work hard.
“When you walk through these barns, and you see these kids, they are here day-in and day-out, and that is just here at the show,” Kerbs said. “That is not to mention what these kids do at home. There is a work ethic like no other. They are our future.”
Regarding the legislative session, Kerbs said education has been a big topic, along with everyday issues such as marijuana.
“Recreational marijuana went down,” Kerbs said. “We have an excellent Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority that takes care of the medical marijuana. We still got a long way to go- we get that. But we have come a long way, too, from where we were when that vote happened two years ago.”
Kerbs talked about Service Oklahoma and said it is a work in progress, but it is on the right track.
“I promise we are going to keep working at it,” Kerbs said. “The legislative body is going full string. We have got an awesome team over there with that department now. We are going to make it happen so everybody can have great service from the state that they love, which is the state of Oklahoma.”
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.
