Become a Volunteer

Each year hundreds of individuals donate their time and talents to further the Royal's mission to be the Nation's leader for food and agriculture education, events and engagement. Whether delivering ice at the World Series of Barbecue®, serving at the livestock exhibitor's social, operating a tack taxi, handing out ribbons during the horse shows, or serving on one of our many committees, volunteers are at the heart of everything we do.

INCENTIVES

Every volunteer receives an authentic American Royal Pin when they volunteer with us. We encourage everyone to wear their pin on their left, over their heart, to symbolize their love for the American Royal.

Volunteers who work at least 1, four hour shift at a ticketed event, receive free admittance for the rest of that event!

Individuals who each contribute 200 hours – or more – to the American Royal each year are considered our Top Volunteers. These outstanding individuals usually serve in virtually every capacity during the American Royal season – working on committees, helping with the BBQ, livestock shows, equine events and even in the off-season for various events. They do it all! 200 hours-plus is an amazing amount of time for an individual to dedicate to the American Royal and our mission. In recognition of their outstanding service to the American Royal, each volunteer who contributes 200 hours or more will receive an Honorary Governorship to the American Royal the following season.

VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteer opportunities are available for Education Programs, Horse Shows, Livestock Shows, Youth and Pro Rodeo, Royal social events, and the World Series of Barbecue® among others. Join other enthusiastic volunteers who help the American Royal impact the future of agriculture.

To get an idea of the general volunteer roles we have and in which events you can find them, take a look at this helpful list:

Volunteer Roles by Area

Volunteer signup sheets will be listed by event on iVolunteer.

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Background Screening

Currently, all volunteers for our youth events are required to undergo a screening process prior to volunteering. In time, all volunteers will be screened.

We take precautions to ensure that we continue to be successful in our endeavors without jeopardizing our ability to achieve our mission, “to impact the future of agriculture through competitive learning, scholarships, education and agriculture events.” Thus, it is our responsibility to know more about our volunteers.

Background checks are good for seven (7) years. If you have already completed your background check with us within the last 7 years, you will not need to submit another one this year.

How to complete your background check:

If a background check is required of you, after you sign up you will receive a separate email and/or text message initiating the screening process from our background screening provider ([email protected]). Step by step instructions will be provided in that email/text on how to submit your background check information electronically.  You can use either link to complete your screening. This is a very quick and easy process.

Once you’ve submitted your information you can go back to that link at any time to check the status of your screening. You will be notified of your results via email.

Alternatively, you may wish to wait to sign up for a time slot until your screening has been cleared. In that case, you must contact the American Royal Volunteer Coordinator to initiate the screening process.

Questions?

We want to address any of your questions and concerns. Most inquiries can be answered by our Background Check FAQ below.

For any other questions or concerns, please contact [email protected].

Background Screening Policy
Background Screening FAQ