Go Texan Parade 2024

Celebrate the start of the of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ at the 59th Annual Go Texan Parade as decorative floats intermingle with hundreds on horseback to fill the streets with hoof beats, marching bands, elected officials, businesses and organizations.

Enthusiastic parade spectators can line the streets and sidewalks to be involved in one of the area’s most popular celebrations! The parade takes place Saturday, February 17, 2024, at 1pm in downtown Conroe.

The parade is presented by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Houston Metro Go Texan Committee Conroe/Willis/The Woodlands Subcommittee and the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce.

This year, Ray Hinsley will serve as Grand Marshal for the parade.

Ray Hinsley grew up in Richmond, Texas, and attended Lamar Consolidated High School. During high school, he was involved in FFA showing steers and Jr. Breeding Beef bulls at the Fort Bend County Fair. He then attended the University of Texas and in 1984 after coming home from college, he went to work in the automobile industry as a client relations representative. He also became a member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and joined the Swine Auction Committee. His father, George Hinsley was a longtime Show volunteer and Lifetime Vice President. He served on the Swine Auction Committee for 7 years with 3 of those years as Vice Chairman.

One of his most gratifying accomplishments was in 1990. He was the founding member and first Chairman of the Resource Renewal Committee, now called the Recycling Committee. He identified the amount of recyclable material going to landfills and approached Show leadership for approval to form a committee. The committee grew quickly from 10 to 50 volunteers in just 2 years recycling aluminum, glass, and cardboard creating a new revenue source for the Show.

He was elected to the HLSR Board of Directors in 1990 and also served in leadership positions on the Quarter Horse and International Committees from 1994-2000.

In 2000, he was elected as a Vice President of the Show, serving as Officer in Charge of the Lamb Auction, Grand Entry, Transportation, and Veterinarian committees. During his tenure as a Vice President, he was responsible for adding goats to the Lamb Auction Committee becoming the Lamb & Goat Auction Committee. This resulted in an opportunity for 300 more students to show and sell their goats at auction almost doubling the auction proceeds of the committee.

When his Vice Presidency ended in 2002, he joined the Grand Entry Committee serving as Chairman from 2014-2016.

He was elected to the Executive Committee in 2017 and is now entering the 8^th year of a 9-year term. He serves as Chairman of the Risk Management Committee which manages the Show’s insurance and liability exposure.

Professionally, in 1987 after 3 years in the automotive industry, he founded a roadside assistance business, Mr. Rescue, which contracted with the newly established cellular phone industry. The company grew to over 1 million cellular subscribers and more than 100 employees. He sold the business in 1995. He then founded Texan Inspection Services in 2003 and Your Home Check in 2006 specializing in residential construction analysis for both consumers and builders. He serves as General Partner in both entities.

He and his wife, Arlene, have four children, three of whom live in Houston and became volunteers through the Jr. Rodeo Committee and are now serving on Parade, Muttin’ Bustin’, and Special Children’s Committees. Arlene is a lifetime member of the Show and has served on the Special Children’s Committee for 29 years.

They split their time between their home in Richmond and bay house in Galveston. He enjoys participating in team roping competitions in Texas and Arizona. He is also an avid golfer and spends lots of time on West Galveston Bay fishing. He is a member of the Tejas Vaqueros, Galveston Country Club, Sunshine Kids Foundation and the Houston Association of Realtors.