Member Spotlights: Hill Country Buyers Club

Member Spotlight: Hill Country Buyers Club

What happens when a group of good friends starts talking over a round of beers about how they can give back to the kids who put so much time and effort into their livestock projects, sometimes at great personal cost. Well, this group of friends started a Buyers Club!

What is a Buyers Club, you may ask? Well, in the simplest terms, a buyers club is a group that organizes members to increase collective buying power, enabling them to make purchases and/or provide community support that a single individual cannot independently.
The Hill Country Buyers Club started in Burnet County to raise money to spend at the premium sale of the Burnet County Livestock Show. The “Hill Country” name was chosen to allow the group to expand to other counties in the future, as they identified other FFA and 4-H kids and clubs needing support in other local area counties

Hep Feurbacher, Bret Smith, Mike Cearley (President), Denise Braun, Justin Stevens (VP), Gina Stevens (Treasurer), John Franklin, Ronnie Ratliff (Secretary), and Tex Woodall plus spouses, and the amazing volunteers of Hill Country Buyers Club.

Hill Country Buyers Club (HCBC) holds events throughout the year as fundraisers, including a gun raffle kick-off at the Bluebonnet Festival, a 50/50 Spring Raffle, the annual Dale Watson Event at Pardners Nightclub, the first Sunday in June, and their Denim and Diamonds Gala held every October. Since its inception in 2022, HCBC has raised and donated more than $400,000 in support of over 600 FFA and 4-H exhibitors at the Burnet, Llano, Lampasas, Williamson County, Greater Leander FFA, Rodeo and Austin livestock shows, as well as the Hill District Grandstand in Fredericksburg.

Supporting the Hill Country Buyers Club's mission and the kids they support financially is… well, it’s fun! First, you can volunteer. Board meetings includes anyone interested in donating their time to our local kids and are held on the third Monday of each month at 6 pm at the Burnet Agrilife Building. In fact, there’s one tonight! Second, HCBC puts the FUN in fundraisers! Mark your calendars and buy your tickets now for the Dale Watson fundraiser on June 7th! Click the image to the right for more details and to buy tickets!!!

Third, it’s not too late to support local FFA and 4-H students by buying Spring Raffle tickets. And the prizes you enter to win through your raffle tickets purchases at the Dale Watson Fundraiser are fantastic! There will be SIX draws with a chance to win locally raised and processed meats, guns, and freezers! Don’t know a HCBC member, an FFA, or a 4-H student? You can purchase your raffle tickets here (or click on the image to the left)! The more tickets you buy, the better chance you have to win!

So, why do the volunteers of Hill Country Buyers Club dedicate so much time and energy into our local FFA and 4-H kids? “In almost every line of work and every sport, success requires hard work and dedication. That is not unique to the stock show industry. What is unique is that in order to be successful, showing requires compassion, selflessness, consistency, courage and commitment. It teaches patience and humility. It is a reminder that you're not always in control, but that you are in control of how you react. It's not always fair. It's not always guaranteed. But that's life. It's a competitive sport. Not everyone wins. But it is an equal opportunity sport that everyone can play. Financial assistance greatly benefits students, helping them buy animals, feed or other supplies or pay for pen rental. Many could not participate without some sort of support.”

For more information on Hill Country Buyer’s Club, check out their website at https://hillcountrybuyersclub.org. Or join us tonight at the HCBC monthly meeting at 6 pm at the Burnet Agrilife Building on Vandeveer Street! We hope to see you there and at the Dale Watson Fundraiser on June 7th!