By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Preparations for the Clark County Fair are humming along with a small army of staff and volunteers working nearly around the clock to get everything ready for the community’s big show. But there is one major personality in the Clark County Fair and Rodeo that will be missing this year. And his absence has been keenly felt.
Last June, long-time Clark County Fair board member and Rodeo Director, Doug Schwartz, was killed when he was struck by a car while crossing the street in Elko, Nevada. This week will be the first Fair since Schwartz’s loss. And that has truly been a struggle for Fair organizers.
“Doug was such an important part of our organization,” said Fair Manager Kevin Willard last week. “You don’t just hand that off to someone else and move on. His contribution is sorely missing.”
With more than 20 years of involvement at the Fair, Schwartz’s role in its operation was vital. In 1994, shortly after moving his family to Moapa Valley, he started working at the Clark County Fair as a volunteer in the position of Assistant Rodeo Director. He took to the role quickly and well. In 1996, he was appointed to the Fair Board of Directors. By 1998, he had taken over as Director of Rodeo, where he continued to serve until last year.
Even after moving from Moapa Valley to Elko in 2013, Schwartz continued his devoted service to the Fair. He used vacation time from work to come down to Logandale and manage the rodeo at the Fair each year.
As Rodeo Director, Schwartz led a long transformation of growth in the event. His work over the years, transformed it from a small local rodeo event to the place of national prominence it enjoys today.
The Clark County Rodeo is considered to be one of the top 20-25 rodeos in the nation. As part of the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour, the event joins forces with only 18 of the greatest rodeos in the country in showcasing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s (PRCA) top cowboys in a nation-wide series of rodeos.
In addition, Schwartz instituted a very successful sponsored team roping competition at the Clark County Rodeo. This gives rodeo sponsors a chance to be represented by supporting a team of ropers. It also allowed a whole host of amateur rodeo contestants to compete in the big-time rodeo arena.
This year, there are 24 sponsored teams represented in the event. It runs in the same format as in the real rodeo where amateur contestants compete for a chance to get into the finals. The event has become a very popular draw for rodeo fans and contestants alike.
Accomplishing all of that success for the Logandale event required a vast variety of skills and contacts on the part of Schwartz, said Clark County Fair Director Todd Robison.
“There were so many different areas that he had to be involved in and so many subtle relationships and situations that he had to navigate,” Robison said. “Doug was a master at all of that. He knew everyone in the rodeo business and had a way of making everyone feel important and welcome; from the contestants to the sponsors to the rodeo stock personnel.”
Finding someone to step in and do all of that in this first year after Schwartz’s death has been a major challenge for fair organizers.
“That kind of PR and relationship building ability is hard to find,” Robison said. “Doug’s influence in the Fair has been huge. That is a pair of boots that you are just never going to be able to fill.”
That has proven true this year. No one person has been able to take over what Schwartz was doing by himself. Instead it has required a whole team of people.
“It is not like we can just call someone to come in and take care of everything he did,” Willard said. “There are so many pieces to the puzzle and those pieces are being picked up by a number of different people. The rodeo will be great this year, as always. But it hasn’t been easy.”
This year’s rodeo will feature a series of memorials to Schwartz. Each night there will be a brief remembrance of the former Rodeo Director. Then on Saturday night, a major tribute will be held just before the sponsored team roping segment. A special video presentation will be shown honoring Schwartz. Doug’s family will also be in attendance for a special presentation in memory of the man who did so much for the Clark County Rodeo.
