EYO a success in Duncan

With the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds closed in Oklahoma City due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stephens County Fair and Expo Center became the focal point of the Exposition for the Youth of Oklahoma (EYO) this past weekend.

It was estimated more than 7,000 people were at the fairgrounds this past weekend. All Duncan hotels were at or near capacity. Trucks, trailers and cars were parked for blocks.

District 3 County Commissioner Russell Morgan, who oversees the fairgrounds said everything went extremely well and out-of-town visitors left happy.

“People had tents and campers set up and were cooking, grilling and smoking meat,” Morgan said. “I’ve never seen that many people at the fairgrounds before. I would say it is larger than the Fall Classic (pig show).”

Even with the large crowd, everything went rather smoothly.

“The people who put on the show had a plan and got everything going and were very methodical,” Morgan said. “It was good. People loved it and said they want to have it here every year. The people who ran it were very quick and thorough.”

Morgan said that would be unlikely once the state fairgrounds opens back up, but Duncan and Stephens County left a lasting impression on visitors.

“People had places where they could set up cookers and stuff here where they can’t up there,” Morgan said.

The Duncan Convention and Visitors Bureau put on a dinner Friday night, which also made a big impression.

“They were impressed with that and the crew,” Morgan said. “They had never been catered to like that before. That’s all Matt Byerly and his group. They took care of them. We may not have the newest or biggest facilities in the state, but one thing we can do is take care of them. That’s kind of Matt’s motto and we discussed that. It’s all about customer service.”

Several Comanche students showed at the event.

Placing in the livestock events were:

n Raelee Ellis had 5th place with her class 2 Dorper Wether.

n Dixi Percival had 8th place with her class 2 wether goat.

n Crosbee Padgett had 6th place with her class 3 wether goat.

n Kynlee Waters had 6th place with her class 1 AOC steer and 5th place with her AOC steer.

n Kylie Lemons had 6th place with her class 5 cross steer.

n Clara Cross had 6th place with her class 3 Maine heifer.

n Kate Cross had 2nd place with her class 3 maintainer heifer.

n Ema Parks had 1st place with her class 1 Simmental influence heifer.

n Paige Pollard had 12th place class 1 doe goat.

n Crosbee Padgett had 5th place class 9 doe goat.

n Ema Parks had 2nd place class 1 Angus heifer.

n Kylie Lemons had 7th place class 3 Chi heifer.

n Keeley Peacock had 4th place class 5 Chi heifer. 

n Kate and Clara Cross both had 1st place in their open heifer classes.

Also, Alesha Zibbell won Reserve Grand Champion and Karissa Morrison took 6th place in the poster plant contest for life of a pepper plant.