Larry, Jane and Phil. Longtime Expo Center benefactors first to on Wall of Honor

The Expo Center of Taylor County has undertaken an effort to recognize those who, for years, have contributed to the facility.

On Saturday, at the 13th Evening for the Expo dinner-and-show event, Jane and Phil Guitar and the late Larry Hall were honored with plaques, which soon will displayed on a new Wall of Honor at Taylor Telecom Arena.

The two recipients were referred to as "founding honorees."

The 45,000-square-foot Guitar Arena, which accommodates livestock shows and equestrian events on the grounds, is named for the couple.

Hall, who for more than 30 years sponsored the annual Western Heritage Classic parade, died July 25 at 69.

"You can only imagine for many, many years all of the various things they supported and they have done," said Gary Galbraith, Expo Center board of directors members and a former president.

After dinner at the north end of the Taylor County Coliseum, attendees ambled to the south end, where a stage was set up. After the plaque presentation, a group of Nashville songwriters showcased their music.

First, though, came the unveiling of the identical plaques.

Rochelle Johnson, general manager of the Expo Center, board president Cade Browning and Nancy Smith, board vice president, came before the musical instruments to unveil the plaques. Joining them was Galbraith, who also has been involved with the long-running Western Heritage Classic, which comes again in May.

The board of directors, Galbraith said, wanted to honor those "who have been instrumental in the long-term success of the Expo Center. The decision was made to establish an Expo Center Wall of Honor."

Smith said Wall of Honor recipients must meet three criteria:

• Maintained a long-term and consistent philanthropic commitment

• Invested financial resources that have "significantly impacted its overall financial health and future"

• Have been instrumental in encouraging and motivating others to actively promote and support fund-raising efforts

Johnson said she personally has worked with the Guitars for 40 years at the Expo Center.

"Phil and Jane Guitar have devoted their lives to the betterment of our Abilene community as well as to the Expo Center," Johnson said in her plaque presentation. "In 1986, they started the Western Heritage Classic, and a year later began the Rhinestone Roundup."

Both events are major fundraisers, when the Rhinestone event also aids a local nonprofit.

"Along with their commitment to being good stewards of the land, their quiet support of our mission to promote agriculture and our western lifestyle have written their names forever in the Expo Center's history.

"We can't express how much we appreciate them."

Galbraith spoke about Hall.

"He was known across the Big Country as a generous, caring, community-minded individual. Larry Hall was always willing to sponsor events through the automotive dealership of Lawrence Hall," he said.

The dealership also has been the title sponsor of the Evening for the Expo event since 2011.

"Larry also personally sent unsolicited checks to Expo for such as events at the Texas High School Rodeo Finals, cutting horse events, cattle shows, youth livestock shows and many others," Galbraith said. "His donations through sponsorships were instrumental to the continued success of the Expo Center."

He did this, Galbraith said, not for recognition "but gave from his heart. His primary goal was to support the community he loved - Abilene and the Big Country.

"It was Larry just being Larry."

Browning noted there are 250 events scheduled yearly at the Expo Center. Those, in turn, bring folks to Abilene and makes the Expo Center an economic driver, he said.

"That only works because y'all are here tonight," he said.

The three prime money-makers for the Expo Center remain the September West Texas Fair & Rodeo, Western Heritage Classic and the Evening for the Expo Center fund-raiser.

That, he said, takes a lot of work and financial support, two things that Hall and the Guitars provided for many years.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Larry, Jane and Phil. Longtime Expo Center supporters on Wall of Honor