By admin 
WILLCOX, Ariz. (13 News) – Rex Allen Days kicked off its 75th anniversary celebration this weekend — the first festival since former board president John Oberreuter was arrested in August for allegedly embezzling $48,000. Organizers say the show was always going to go on, but more than $80,000 in community donations ensured the milestone year could be celebrated at full scale.
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Oberreuter is now faced with charges of fraud, theft and trafficking stolen property.
Board president Ashley Finley said the parade, rodeo and country fair vendors were already paid for, but a full-scale production seemed out of reach — until the community stepped in.
“It was a bad turmoil that turned out into a blessing because I think people are realizing if we don’t have it, what are we going to have? A lot of our community relies on Rex Allen Days to be able to thrive for the year,” Finley said.
More than $80,000 was donated to the committee in a matter of weeks, including $50,000 alone from Riverview LLC— a Cochise County dairy farm.
“We’re all about community, and that’s why a lot of us live here in Willcox, Cochise County. We all pull together, we all help each other out when it’s needed,” said Robert Kirschmann, Rex Allen Days board vice president.
Finley said the board has since closed the loophole by changing its website, switching banks, and tightening who can access the organization’s money.
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“The problem was, there was a loophole that he found and so, we’ve tightened up the loophole, we’ve changed up, we’ve changed the website, we’ve changed the banks, we’ve changed everything to make it a little tighter so that we know those will not happen in the future,” she said.
This year’s comeback festival is now the largest in its history with more than 80 vendors, plus added volunteers, and new events.
“Oh, heavens. To have somebody do that, so that we can come out here and enjoy this. You know, do what we do to make a living. And, uh, there’s just some really nice people and they’re not all bad,” said vendor Dave Gilbert.
“There really are no words. I was really shocked when I saw that Riverview had generously donated the amount that they had donated, just so we can have this event,” said vendor and Willcox resident Julie Teeters.
The celebration continues Saturday and Sunday with the country fair and carnival from 4 to 10 p.m., plus a gun show, rodeo, live music and — for the first time — goat roping.
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For a full list of events, visit here.
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