The Real County Centennial Celebration has been one of the most enjoyable, worthwhile, and rewarding experiences I have had as a county official. Milestone events like county centennials and sesquicentennials are important occasions, and I am thankful that I was the county judge during our centennial year. Here are three things that we did to help make our Centennial Celebration a success.
Plan Early and Plan Often
Within a few weeks of taking office as county judge in January of 2011, I began talking to people around the county about our 2013 Centennial. During those conversations I found some people who were especially interested and willing to commit to helping plan the celebration. We formed the Real County Centennial Steering Committee and began meeting in March of 2011.
In our first monthly meetings we discussed what we wanted to accomplish as a committee instead of talking about specific events or programs. We quickly decided that we wanted the Centennial to accomplish three things:
Support local organizations and businesses throughout the year.
Involve school children.
Make a lasting impact on the county.
It was incredibly helpful to define those three principles early because they became the Steering Committee’s roadmap as we planned events. At each crossroads of opinion, we would ask ourselves which choice being considered would best accomplish our three goals, and that process always helped us to move forward with a consensus.
Some people (OK, probably most people) thought we were a little nuts in 2011 when we started talking about what we would do in 2013. Looking back, we needed every bit of that time to solicit input, plan, schedule, and work through the mountain of details for different Centennial events and programs. Along the way we were careful never to have a meeting only for the sake of having a meeting, and we focused on keeping the meetings short (usually one hour) and productive.
Pitch a Big Tent
We also decided that we wanted to request input regarding the Centennial from as many people as possible. Early on we conducted a series of community meetings around the county to gather ideas and to find people who wanted to help with the Centennial Celebration. During these meetings we were open to all possibilities, which worked out amazingly well. People came forward with many ideas about possible things we could do to honor and celebrate Real County’s history, many of which we were able to use.
Inviting countywide input also helped people and organizations to feel connected to the Centennial. This in turn led to people stepping up to help, like Diane Hirst who made a quilt with a Centennial theme that she then donated to the Steering Committee for us to auction off as a fundraiser. This also led some people to initiate their own events with a Centennial theme, like local store owner Penny Maguire at Canyon Charm who hosted a campfire cobbler cook-off.
The Centennial Celebration has been a great community project. Because so many people had so many ideas and wanted to help, this year we will have historical tours throughout the county, a quilt expo, a mohair style show, the dedication of a historical marker in Leakey, the refurbishment of an old jail in Camp Wood, written histories by county residents age 90 and above published in a local newspaper, art projects by elementary students, a chuck wagon cook-off, a salsa cook-off, a ranch rodeo, a 5K run, and both a Centennial-themed ballet and melodrama, to mention a few!
Have Fun!
The Centennial Celebration has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime event for me and for most other people in Real County. Sometimes we need to step back from the stress of modern life and just appreciate what we have and how we got here. For me, the Real County Centennial has been an opportunity to talk to many people about our county’s past, present and future. We have honored the hard work and vision of our early pioneers who helped get the county formed and operating. We have celebrated the accomplishments of our citizens over the last 100 years, and we have laid the groundwork for our county’s future. Our motto this year is, “You Only Turn 100 Years Old Once.” Enjoy the ride!