The Trinity Valley Exposition (TVE), one of Liberty County’s longest-running traditions, was in the spotlight during the Dayton Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon on Tuesday, April 8. Held at the Liberty Center next to Liberty City Hall, the luncheon featured guest speaker Cory Anderson, chairman of the TVE Board.
Anderson, a Tarkington native who has served in various roles with the organization since 2013, spoke passionately about TVE’s mission and its deep-rooted history in the community. He began by thanking the Chamber for the opportunity to speak and share updates about the upcoming exposition, which will be held Oct. 10–18, 2025.
“This year marks the 116th year for the organization,” said Anderson. “TVE was started in 1909 as the Liberty County Fair. It moved on to become the Trinity Valley Exposition in 1939. I know there are three years in that time frame of war (World War II) that there was not an event. There’s some more history and I’m not going to give you all a full history lesson on it because I would probably tell you all wrong, but I know my dates are factual.”
TVE is a nonprofit organization operated by a 13-member board and more than 200 dedicated volunteers. Gina Worthy, the group’s facilities manager, is the only paid employee.
“This group of volunteers is providing our community the biggest event and gathering that they have the opportunity to be a part of each year in Liberty and Dayton areas, including even in Chambers County as well,” Anderson said. “We, as an organization, provide the youth of this county and the community members that are non-participants an avenue, a venue to get out and have family entertainment. And what we’re doing for the exhibitors and the youth in this community is beyond … it’s the greatest thing we can do for our children. The future of our area is our children and we’re honored to be able to provide them a platform.”
Anderson explained that TVE’s mission is to promote agriculture, youth organizations, and youth education through a variety of programs and events, including livestock shows, home economics contests, horticulture competitions, and scholarship opportunities.
“We provide youth livestock competitions through showing livestock, horticulture events, home economic events. We have scholarship opportunities, which we do every year,” he said.
In 2023, TVE launched its Ag Ambassador Program, which gives students the chance to take on leadership roles and improve their public speaking skills.
“We started in 2023 an Ag Ambassador Program, which allows the youth to be more vocal, have a leadership role, and be more involved in the daily activities, what goes on during the fair,” Anderson said. “This program, as a sponsor, as a buyer in the youth auction, and as a board member, this program right here is really, really dear to my heart because you get to see the kids that want to go over and above. Today it’s hard to get a child to speak. They’re usually on their phone texting. They’d rather text you than talk to you. This program puts them out of their element. It makes them go out and communicate verbally and it is a program that everybody should come out to see.”
The rodeo, long a central feature of TVE, has also evolved to align more closely with the organization’s mission. The traditional professional rodeo has been replaced with an intercollegiate rodeo that brings in the top contestants from each college rodeo region across the United States. Competitors have a shot at qualifying for The American, a million-dollar rodeo where individual event winners can earn up to $100,000.
“We’ve changed our rodeo format to follow our mission statement,” said Anderson. “It’s increased our competition to where on Saturday nights the last two years, we’ve had the best rodeo performances I can ever remember being in Liberty, Texas.”
Beyond the livestock and rodeo events, TVE hosts a full slate of community activities. Highlights include the AgVenture program, which gives children unfamiliar with agriculture a hands-on introduction to livestock and farming, and the annual rodeo parade, barbecue cook-off, baby parade, old-timers reunion, and nightly concert dances.
Anderson also shared some impressive figures: Over the last decade, TVE has raised more than $6.59 million for the youth of Liberty and Chambers counties — funds that go directly to student exhibitors, not toward event overhead. In addition, TVE has awarded more than $306,000 in scholarships since 2015, with 31 students currently receiving scholarship assistance.
For those looking to get involved, Anderson encouraged sponsorship, volunteering, or simply attending and supporting the event.
“If you don’t want to be a sponsor, we always can take volunteers. If you’re volunteering, we need all the people we can get to make this event successful, and if you don’t want to volunteer, we ask you to attend. Bring your family, bring your children, and experience what we’re doing at the Trinity Valley Exposition,” Anderson said.
He closed by expressing his personal commitment to the organization’s mission and reminded attendees of a quote by journalist Tom Brokaw: “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.”
Anderson added, “And we at the Trinity Valley Exposition all have a goal to make a difference in each and every child’s heart in Liberty County.”
During his presentation Anderson shared the Top Buyers during the 2024 TVE. They were:
- Maci Fee
- 2830 Mini Storage
- Kimco Consultants
- First Liberty Bank
- Kinder Morgan
- Furlow Ranch
- Smart Oilfield Services
- Southeast Texas Solutions
- Kevin Fleetwood
- Shoppa’s Farm Supply
- Premier Roofing
- ANDCO
- Hometown Tire and Auto
The Top Sponsors for 2024 were:
- 1 Point 5
- 2830 Mini Storage
- Curtis and Son Companies
- Del Papa Distributing
- DL & PS Auction Services
- Earthscapes of Texas
- Maci Feed
- Tommy Watts Group
- Wingfield Concrete
- WOWCO
- ANDCO
- Community Toyota
- C. Hill Propane
- Doggett
- Whataburger
This month’s Dayton Chamber luncheon was sponsored by Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center. Speaking on behalf of the hospital was Dr. Burnett, who provided attendees with insight into the emergency services offered just minutes from home.
“When you walk in, every single time, you’re gonna see a physician formally trained in emergency medicine,” said Dr. Burnett. “There’s no med student, there’s no residents, there’s no other provider there. You’re gonna get seen immediately by a physician that’s been through an emergency medicine residency.”
He emphasized the importance of timely treatment for strokes and heart attacks, noting that proximity to emergency care can make a lifesaving difference.
“If you’re having a stroke, we’re right here. The same medicine, if you drive an hour away, you’re burning that time in your brain. You’re not gonna get that time back. You have a window of opportunity. And thankfully now, these things didn’t used to exist, but they do now. We have this technology, we have these medicines, and it’s literally two minutes away from you right here,” he said.
Dr. Burnett also praised the efficiency of the local facility.
“We have a pretty lean operation, and we try to get people immediately back. So we’re pretty proud of it. You take the doctors and the technology out of a big hospital that has a big waiting room and a big wait time, and you put it in a small community that’s lean and efficient and knows what to do, then you can really make a difference,” Burnett said.
He concluded with a message of gratitude and encouragement.
“We’re doing well. Thank you for the trust that you’ve put in us. I just want to say if you’re having a real emergency, we’re happy to help. Thank you for all your support. Thank you for just having an amazing community that’s thriving, that’s growing together,” he said.
Anderson is not a native of Tarkington. He hung out with old men in Dayton until he finally found Tarkington. I guess TVE has no idea how he acts in the community.