Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
Ed Bass is stepping down as chairman of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo after more than two decades, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Philip Williamson, a member of the board since 2000, was elected chairman at the board’s meeting April 23.
Bass was elected chairman emeritus.
Williamson spent 35 years at Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. LLC, parent company of Dickies, including 20 years as chairman, president, and CEO. He gave up those roles when the company was acquired by VF Corp. in 2017.
Under his leadership, Dickies won the naming rights to the multipurpose arena then under construction at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in 2017. At the time, Williamson said that the future Dickies Arena would become one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.
Williamson will be following in the footsteps of giants.
Bass, 78, was elected chairman of the stock show’s board of directors in 2001 after the death of John Justin, who had served for the better part of 18 years.
Bass’ tenure was consequential. He was the driving force for the construction of Dickies Arena, including putting together a group that financed roughly half of the $450 million structure. The Stock Show also expanded its schedule to 23 days.
The Stock Show and Rodeo pours millions into the local economy each year. The Fort Worth Report cited a study that showed that the annual festival generated more than $142 million for the month of February in 2023, which was among the most nationwide over that period.
Williamson’s great-grandfather and grandfather helped found Dickies in 1922. C.N. Williamson and his cousin E.E. Dickie had a hat distributorship with business across the state. In 1922, they bought U.S. Overall Company, a Fort Worth manufacturer, for $12,000. Williamson-Dickie was born.
