2018 Maverick County Junior Livestock Show Dedicated to Travis Kelly

By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2018

The 2018 Maverick County Junior Livestock and Sale (MCJLS) was dedicated to longtime Maverick County farmer and rancher, Co-Founder of the MCJLS, former President of MCJLS, former Maverick County Deputy Sheriff, and U.S. Military Veteran Travis Kelly of Quemado, Texas for his unselfish dedication and support of Maverick County 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) members and the MCJLS for many, many years, announced Tim Hardt, President of the MCJLS Association Board of Directors.

Kelly was honored at the 2018 MCJLS Dedication Ceremony held on Saturday, January 27, 2018 before the start of the Sale.

Kelly was accompanied by his wife, Olivia S. Kelly, family members, and friends at the 2018 MCJLS Dedication Ceremony.  MCJLS President Tim Hardt presented Travis Kelly with a beautiful bronze plaque commemorating the dedication of the 2018 MCJLS in his honor and gifts such as a MCJLS Cup and Cap.

MCJLS Master of Ceremony Mike Castillo presented a brief biography of Travis Kelly during the Dedication Ceremony. Kelly was born on October 27, 1930 in Terry County, Texas to E.R. and Ethel Kelly. Kelly was one of three children born to E.R. and Ethel Kelly.  He had one brother, Carlton Kelly, and one sister, Ernestine Davidson.  The Kelly Family moved to Quemado, Texas in Maverick County in 1934. Kelly attended public school in Quemado and graduated from Eagle Pass High School in 1949.  He attended Kilgore Junior College. In 1951, Kelly volunteered in the U.S. Army and served for two years, receiving an honorable discharge in 1953.  Kelly and his first wife had two children born to them, a son named Terry (deceased) and a daughter named Cathy.  Kelly and his current wife, Olivia S. Kelly, have been happily married for 30 years. Kelly is blessed to have two grandsons and three great grandchildren.

Kelly has been in the farming and ranching business since 1953, according to Mike Castillo. He owned the Texaco Gas Station in Quemado for many years and served as a Maverick County Deputy Sheriff for 30 years under five different Maverick County Sheriffs. He also served 12 years as a Board of Director of the Maverick County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1, six of those 12 years as the Board President. The Maverick County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 recently honored Travis Kelly by naming its Water Hydroelectric Power Plant in his name due to his leadership in the acquisition of the Hydroelectric Power Plant and service on the Board of Directors for 12 years.

Kelly stated that during the start of the MCJLS in the 1960s, the MCJLS was held in a parking lot on Jefferson Street between Main and Quarry Streets without facilities in downtown Eagle Pass, Texas.  Initially, the Maverick County community was not very supportive of the MCJLS due to its novelty but gained support every year until its strong community support today.

Kelly recalled how the MCJLS first had difficulties attracting buyers for the animal projects in the show, but since it was held in downtown Eagle Pass they recruited local merchants and businesses to purchase the 4-H and FFA members’ animals.  Kelly noted that A.T. Gill and him used to take turns providing the square hay bales to form the pens for the animals since there were no facilities available for them.  Kelly added that the MCJLS eventually moved from the downtown parking lot to the grounds of the former Bracero Center adjacent to the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 1.

Kelly stated that Eagle Pass banker and businessman Bill George helped the MCJLS apply and receive a grant with the Ewing Halsell Foundation and was able to build its first facility at the Eagle Pass Industrial Park.  After building its first facility, the MCJLS began to grow steadily as more students participated in local 4-H and FFA programs and the business community got behind the MCJLS for support. Later, the MCJLS moved from the Eagle Pass Industrial Park to the Maverick County Lake in Eagle Pass.

Kelly received a standing ovation from the more than 1,000 persons attending the Dedication Ceremony on January 27th as MCJLS President Tim Hardt presented the commemorative plaque dedicating the 2018 MCJLS in his honor.  Kelly thanked the MCJLS Board of Directors for their kindness and honor bestowed upon him.