[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO SCHOLARSHIP FUND

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 18, 2006

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention 
to one of the most successful scholarship programs in the country. The 
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been known as the largest Rodeo in 
the world.
  It attracts the best of the best in the rodeo and livestock 
industries but it also raises millions of dollars for Houston area 
children to go to college.
  The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo awarded 315 scholarships 
totaling $3.78 million this year, and every year, the rodeo increases 
the number of awards given.
  Forty students in our Congressional District received a $12,000 Rodeo 
scholarship bringing in almost $500,000 in scholarship money 
collectively.
  Since 1957, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been helping 
students that demonstrate academic success, leadership, and need 
achieve their dream of going to college.
  Next year will mark 50 years since the Houston Livestock Show and 
Rodeo awarded their first scholarship and 75 years since the rodeo 
started.
  In that time, over 20,0001 students have received over $100 million.
  I was pleased to learn that students in our Congressional District 
have received almost $5.9 million in scholarship money since the Rodeo 
Scholarship Program has been in existence.
  The area I represent has a large percentage of first-generation 
college students. I was especially pleased to learn that Milby High 
School, a school that is 90 percent Hispanic has received more Rodeo 
Scholarships than any other High School in the State.
  Milby High School students have received 222 scholarships totaling 
$1.4 million. That's impressive for Milby and it's a statement to the 
commitment of the Rodeo to serve all communities in Texas.
  I'm sure hundreds of more students will enjoy benefiting from this 
amazing program as it grows in the future.
  I am proud to be a life member of the Houston Livestock Show and 
Rodeo and thank the thousands of volunteers that dedicate well over a 
million hours of service each year to make the rodeo and its 
scholarship program operate as smoothly as they do.
  Their service to our community is greatly appreciated.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite all my fellow Members to come down to Houston 
sometime to enjoy all the entertainment the Rodeo has to offer, and 
then join me in visiting some of our neediest schools so you can meet 
the students that benefit from the world's largest rodeo.

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