James Lebow was honored at the 73rd Annual Banquet of the Hill Country Livestock Raisers Association banquet in Llano.
Mr. Lebow said a friend of his called him and said, “Hey, we have this banquet every year; it’s the Hill County Cattle Raisers. We give this award every year.” Mr. Lebow thought his friend wanted him to present an award at the banquet. His friend told him it was the “Cowboy of the Year” award. His friend then informed him that Mr. Lebow was the one who was going to receive the award.
Mr. Lebow was very shocked. He told his friend that he hadn’t been a cowboy since he has been Commissioner. He was told it was for his lifetime, and he was chosen as the winner.
The event was covered by the Llano News. Here is an excerpt from John Britton’s article titled, “An Evening of Fun and Recognition at 73rd HCLRA Annual Banquet” on the presentation to Mr. Lebow: Director Joe Freeman then introduced James Lebow as the recipient of the 2024 Cowboy of the Year Award. Lebow moved to Kingsland in the 7th grade. He started bull riding and calf roping in high school. He continued team roping for years after high school and began a lifetime working with horses and livestock. He went on to work at too many ranches and properties to list, even working at one time for M.J. Wootan at the Big Turk Turkey Farm, although he did get to work with the cattle there. Over the years he also had many interesting experiences such as being an original member of the San Saba Polo Team and working as a wrangler and stunt man in the movie industry.
In his acceptance speech, Lebow jokingly said he was really thankful he wasn’t receiving the award posthumously. He said “I do live in San Saba and I have for a long time, but I’ve still got Yellow Jacket blood running through my veins and I’ll always be from Llano. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I didn’t know there was an award for something you love so much and did to make a living for your family. Thank you all so much.”