Celebrity Steer Shopping

Before closing RodeoHouston, Zac Brown buys a reserve champion steer

Zac Brown, Shelley Brown at Rodeo steer auction

Zac and Shelly Brown were among the winning bidders at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Junior Market Steer Auction.

Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

The day before he performs in front of a sold-out crowd to close out this year's edition of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Zac Brown went steer shopping.

The country superstar and his wife, Shelly, joined four others to put in the winning bid of $330,000 for a mixed-breed reserve champion named Magic raised by 16-year-old Stock Martin from Hereford. The teenager is guaranteed $40,000 from the sale.

The Browns were joined by Victoria and Parker Johnson, and Amber and Steve Mostyn in the successful bid.

"I was a member of FFA (Future Farmers of America) growing up as well. I did poultry judging, livestock judging, the whole thing, so I know how important it is," said Brown, who grew up in a rural area outside Atlanta. "I'm here to help the next generation carry on."

The Zac Brown Band will headline RodeoHouston Sunday night at NRG Stadium. Only standing room tickets remain, at $16 each.

The grand champion, a Charolais named Playa, sold for $345,000. Jagger Horn, 15, of Anson will receive $80,000 from his sale. Heather and Sean Congdon, Mary Alice and E.D. Lester, Olympia Drywall/Narciso and Greg Flores, and Schaefer Ranchwear/Emily and Robert Clay were the winning bidders.

The Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion steers, along with the top-placing steers in each breed division, were sold at the Junior Market Steer Auction Saturday in the NRG Arena Sales Pavilion. A record 2,814 steer entries were entered in the competition this year.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”