Behind the Scenes

Fair History

In 1855, the town of Starrville in Smith County held a county fair, this event was the precursor to the current East Texas State Fair. Since this small fair in Starrville, many sites across Smith County and throughout Tyler have hosted fairs and festivals, each of which contributed to creating the East Texas State Fair...

Staff

John Sykes,

President & CEO

Dawn Allen,

Exhibits Coordinator

Fred Lawrence,

Bookkeeper

Ron Mott,

Maintenance Director

Deborah Newman,

Director of Competitive Events

Heather Pickett,

Director of Presentation & Development

Cookie Young,

Administrative Assistant

Board of Directors

Dick Summers, Chairman	Harold Beaird, Vice Chairman	Preston Smith, Past Chairman
	Executive Committee
C.C. Baker, Jr.	Gillian Brasfield	Herbert Buie
Ted Conover	Kenneth Lewis	Felicity Reedy
Randy Roberts	Art Taucher	Lonny Uzzell
	Directors
Jesse Acosta	Jimmy Bain	Joel Baker
Lin Barker	Bill Barrett	Henry Bell
Rohn Boone	Nancy Bracken	Terry Brannon
Taylor Burns	Joe Cavender	John Gaston
Jim Giametta	Richard Griffin	JoAnn Hampton
Charles Hill	B.J. Hornbostel	Cynthia Johnson
Francis Kay	Jeannie Lafferty	Drew Landes
Roy Lilly	Sam Mezayek	Homer Mohn
Hayden Moore	Russell Moreland	J.D. Osborn
Danny Peggram	Kyle Penney	Shari Rickman
Chris Simons	Cindy Smoak	Gary Swindle
David Thedford	Don Thedford	Michael Tolbert
	Gary Traylor
	Lifetime Members
W.C. Edwards	Ben Fitzgerald	James Perkins
J.B. Smith	James Wilkins

Get Involved

There are numerous volunteer opportunities with the East Texas State Fair:

Academic Rodeo

AgriWorld

Creative Arts Competitive Exhibits

Fruit & Vegetable Competitive Exhibits

Livestock Show

Photography Competitive Exhibits

Senior Citizens' Day Committee

These are just a few available opportunities, call us to find your perfect volunteer fit!

903-597-2501