By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter
At 1,680 pounds, it’s more than a bale of cotton. It’s even more than the first bale of cotton harvested in the nation. For a handful of kids, that bale is the opportunity to further their education. It’s a chance to follow their dreams.
It’s all made possible by the Harlingen Cotton Committee’s First Bale Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser, the very fabric that is woven by the generosity of farmers, volunteers and businesses in the Rio Grande Valley.
“It’s the first person to deliver 1,600 pounds of seed cotton,” Brady Taubert, president of the Harlingen Cotton Committee, said. “We normally put it on display at the [Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce] until the night of the event. We auction it off to raise money for our scholarship fund.”
This year, the inaugural bale brought in $16,600 at the auction.
Bayer CropScience, Cris Warren, Helena Chemical Co. and Wilbur-Ellis Company paid $9,000 for the bale.
Then, First Community Bank, Texas Regional Bank, Elliff Motors and Neuhaus & Company contributed $1,000 add-ons. Kathy Wolfe donated $600 to the fund.
Wyatt Agri Products, who brought in the first bale, contributed their $3,000 reward back to the auction.
“This event has steadily gotten bigger over the last 10-12 years. Whenever I first got on the cotton committee, we were giving away maybe $2,500 worth of scholarships,” Taubert, who is also president of the Cameron County Farm Bureau, said. “This year, we gave $10,000 to TSTC [Texas State Technical College] and then helped them decide which students [would receive the scholarships].”
The Lozano-Long Foundation matches the money raised at the fundraiser, bringing the total scholarship funds donated to TSTC to $20,000 this year.
The scholarships are awarded to students attending the Agricultural Technology Program at the school.
“It does my heart good,” Taubert said. “As we all know, it’s a tough way to make a living, regardless whether you’re a farmer, rancher, chemical salesman or whatever. It really does my heart good to see that there’s youth interested in this, considering it’s what I was born and raised doing.”
Over the years, the Harlingen Cotton Committee and Lozano-Long Foundation have donated more than $70,000 for student scholarships.
“We actually had some of the students that received scholarships this year in attendance. Five of them came, and they all got up on stage and thanked us and quoted scripture,” Taubert said. “It was touching. It brought tears to my eyes. A lot of people afterward came up to me and said, ‘If we ever had any doubts whether our money was being put to good use, that all got wiped out tonight.’”
The Algodón Club of Harlingen raised additional funds for scholarships for students pursuing an agricultural degree in Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties by holding a silent auction after the first bale auction.
This year, they awarded $30,000 to nine students.
In addition to helping the next generation follow their dreams, the annual fundraiser honors a long-standing tradition with roots dating back to the 1800s. At that time, the grower of the first bale would have to transport the cotton to Houston to be certified.
In 1953, the Houston Stock Exchange allowed the cotton committee to move the contest to Harlingen.
The competition has remained there since with the cooperation of the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce.