The Spirit of Texas in Spring Branch

By Liz Clearman

Part of the excitement of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the pre-rodeo festivities, which includes the wildly popular World Championship Bar-b-que Contest (colloquially known as the cookoff) held February 23-25, 2023. Lifelong rodeo-goers, Spring Branch residents, and husband-andwife team Trudy and Leslie Singleton are one of over 250 teams who participate in the famed barbecue contest each year. Their team, called The Spirit of Texas Cookers, started in 1987 and they’ve been going strong ever since, placing in the top ten in 2020 in the brisket and chicken category. In addition, Trudy placed fourth in the Dutch oven category for her “Do-nothing” cake entry. “When you’re in the top ten for any of the entries for bris ket, chicken, or ribs, members of the bar-b-que team come and surprise you with the announcement and escort you and members of your team to the garden stage. They have the head cooks go behind the stage and then announce the winners and top ten for each category,” Trudy said. “For the other categories, the cookoff committee announces the top three, so I didn’t go back- stage for that [the “Do-nothing” cake entry]. I didn’t know I got fourth place until we closed down the next day — imagine my surprise!”

Along with their involvement in the cookoff, Leslie has been a member of the Medical and Safety Committee for an impressive 40 years. Much like the name suggests, this committee is responsible for providing medical care to show guests when needed as well as assisting in crowd control. As if that isn’t enough of a commitment, Leslie also dedicates his time to the Donkey & Mule Committee, which is responsible for handling the setup and arrangements as well as the details for the Donkey & Mule Show and competition.

There are 110 rodeo committees ranging from Agricultural Education to Black Heritage and Carnival Ticket Sales to Winery Relations (sign me up!), and there truly is something for everyone. The rodeo operates successfully each year due to its more than 35,000 volunteers working behind the scenes to ensure that every corner of the event is taken care of. If you’re interested in joining the thousands of Houstonians and beyond that help the HLSR run smoothly, visit rodeohouston.com/GetInvolved/Volunteer to see how you can get involved in the largest livestock show and rodeo in the world.