The 20th Annual 2025 Diamond Hats Gala brought together a lot of great supporters of 4-H and FFA youth in our state on Thursday evening- the fundraiser filled the Great Hall at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
For 19 years, Diamond Hats has been impacting the lives of thousands of Oklahoma young people through scholarships, donations, leadership training and motivational events. The annual Gala is their biggest single fundraiser to make that all happen.
Oklahoma Farm Report’s KC Sheperd and Ron Hays served as co- emcees- and at the end of the evening- were able to announce that a record $353,739 had been raised to help the Diamond Hats support their efforts at the 2026 Oklahoma Youth Expo- that’s over $65,000 above the previous record of $287,000 raised in 2023. Congrats to Ruth McEndoo, President of the Diamond Hats and all of their members who care about the future of our state by investing their time and resources to encourage and support our rural youth.
The primary fundraising focus is to support the Oklahoma Youth Expo, known as “The World’s Largest Junior Livestock Show.” Each year, the Diamond Hats purchase exhibitors’ premiums in the annual OYE Sale of Champions!
The Diamond Hats were formed in 2005 with 28 members and through fundraising efforts were able to raise $15,000. Since the inaugural year, the ladies have only continued to grow in membership and contributions made to Oklahoma’s agricultural youth.
