Legends Hall of Fame

At nine years old, Randy Kessler stood up at his 4-H meeting and shared that he was going to grow up one day, raise Angus bulls and sell them for a living. He didn’t come from a traditional cattle family and the Angus breed wasn’t the flavor of the month in the 1960’s. Never underestimate the plans of a child with the grit of a cattleman. Kessler proved true to his word. More than fifty years later, he’s doing exactly what he set out to do.

He grew up in Umapine and it was at a county fair in 1962 when he first stepped into the show ring with an Angus heifer gifted from his parents. In 1963, his first Angus bull was born. The herd multiplied through his 4-H and FFA years, but it took time for the passionate young breeder to make his own cattle pay the bills. To support his growing Angus herd, six days a week he worked for a Polled Hereford cattle outfit and in the few off hours cared for his own herd.

It was during the Benton-Franklin County Fair that Randy met the love of his life, Dawn Cargill, by writing on his fair entry form that he was single and looking. They married in Kennewick in 1986 and lived happily until Dawn’s death in 2011, months shy of their 25th wedding anniversary. Randy and Dawn were blessed with three children, Tierra, Cheyanne and Cody.

Each year, without fail, Kessler has led his Angus cattle into the show ring at the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days — a tradition continued long after he outgrew the 4-H and FFA competitions. In 2024, Randy will compete in his 62nd fair. All three of his children have followed in his footsteps and are still helping with operations at Kessler Angus Farm.

Known for always wishing everyone a smile and a wave, the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days Board of Directors would like to honor Randy Kessler as one of our 2024 WWFFD Fair Legends.

As an active and valued member of the Walla Walla community for many years, Dick Moeller has contributed significantly to the community. Dick’s partnership with the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days began in 2002 when he, along with Dr. Carl Nelson and Mel Wheatly, led the charge to restore the cupola of the Pavilion Rotunda to its former glory after it burned in 1970. Together with the Pavilion Preservation Foundation, he co-organized the Century Celebration, a lively dinner/fundraiser that marked the start of the restoration fundraising campaign for the Pavilion. Moeller served as Co-Chair with Terry Atchison during the restoration efforts in 2007-2008, transforming the Pavilion Exhibit Hall into a more functional and rentable space for the fairgrounds.

Dick started his nine-year tenure on the WWFFD Board in 2003. During his term, Dick held many positions such as Director of Rodeo, Director of Royalty, and Director of Security then eventually Board Vice President and Board President. He was involved in a multitude of significant projects on the premises, such as overseeing roofing projects for the Expo, Community Center, Barns 1 & 2, demolishing rental houses, implementing various water line replacement initiatives, and numerous other undertakings.

In addition to his term on the WWFFD Board of Directors, he has served on the Frontier Days Foundation Board for several years.

The Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days Board of Directors is proud to name Dick Moeller as one of our 2024 Fair Legends.

Rowdy Barry was once one of the industry’s top-ranking bullfighters. He started his 38-year career of fighting bulls at the age of 14. Growing up just down the road in Touchet, Rowdy joined the PRCA in 1986, with one of his first PRCA contracts being the Walla Walla Frontier Days. That partnership would span the length of his career. Like many of those in the industry, he spent over 85% of each year on the rodeo road.

Rowdy was infatuated with bulls from an early age. “Bulls were the attraction,” he said. “Still is. I have studied them over the years. Man vs. bovine, it’s a primal instinct that goes back hundreds of years. For me, they are amazing athletes for their size. I have seen them take a barrel with a man in it and throw it 8 to 10 feet out of the arena. I have seen bulls throw guys 10 feet in the air.”

When most people watch a bullfighter, they see the show put on for the crowd. While Rowdy loved the adrenaline rush, his work always exuded so much more than that. It was a way of serving the rodeo community for him. His job was to protect those in the arena at all costs. Even when he wasn’t on duty, he took it upon himself to step into the line of fire to protect those in and out of the arena. During the 1992 NFR, he was on the bucking chute crew picking up horse flanks and untying calves. This was not one of his years there as a bullfighter. During the rodeo, a contestant got hung up for over a minute, which can be detrimental in the sport. Rowdy saw a shot and took it, freeing the cowboy from a potentially dangerous hang up.

Rowdy has spent countless hours giving back to the community that has given so much to him. This mindset flows throughout his family. His wife, Laura Lee, has spent over 30 years planning opening ceremonies and coaching the Wrangler Girls drill team. His daughter, Clay Noel, works as a rodeo journalist, promoting the sport they love so dearly. Rowdy’s two sons, Miles & Ryan, have followed in his footsteps as PRCA bullfighters. Rodeo is in their blood.

Even in his retirement, he continues to find ways to serve the rodeo community. You can see it in his artwork, like the rodeo posters he has done for Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days, Pendleton Round-Up, the Walla Walla College Rodeo, the Horse Heaven Roundup, and many more. He served on the Columbia River Circuit board as president for over 10 years. He now serves on the Horse Heaven Roundup and Basin City Freedom Rodeo committees. You can see him with his boots still in various arenas as a chute boss. While he has retired as a bull fighter, we highly doubt he will ever retire from rodeo.

His drive for perfection and his love of our lifestyle led to fighting at the NFR more than once. The bull riders vote for who they want to protect them at the biggest rodeo in the world where they ride the rankest bulls the industry has to offer. That honor is not appointed, it is earned with respect and trust.

Rowdy has fought at countless rodeos across North America. Needless to say, there are by far too many awards, qualifications, and career statistics to list. But he is the type of person that never needed the fame and recognition. Choosing to be a bullfighter wasn’t a career path for Rowdy, it is a lifestyle like all people in our rodeo family. If you ask him, he will say. “I have never worked a day in my life because I did what I loved.”

That is why we are proud to welcome this well-known cowboy artist… this renowned bullfighter… and this true hero as one of our inductees to the Walla Walla Legends Hall of Fame.

Steve Kenyon has one of the most well recognized voices in all of professional rodeo, as a national television and radio personality, and now producing his growing podcast. He’s been announcing in the PRCA for the last 30 years. Steve had been the announcer for 25 plus PRCA Rodeos and multiple other non-sanctioned events including several new PBR events in 2024.

Steve had been the voice of the WWFFD Days for the last 17 years. He does what is needed to be done, whether it be announcing slack sessions or doing voice-overs for fair, rodeo, and concert commercials, to even being on standby to announce the Demo Derby a time or two!

Steve has used his connections with the Cowboy Channel, Rural Radio and on ProRodeoLive to bring the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days to the rodeo world.

Steve is one of only four rodeo announcers to have been selected twice as the WPRA's Announcer of the Year including just last year. He was also selected by the PRCA in 2023 as one of the announcers at the National Finals Steer Roping, an opportunity reserved for the best talent in the industry. Additionally, he has been selected to announce the Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo 25 times!

Walla Walla Frontier Days
Rodeo Legends