The State Fair of Texas has chosen a new voice for fair icon Big Tex.
"I think it'll be cool, we'll have a new voice up there and it'll sound pretty much like Big Tex is supposed to sound," said Rusty Fitzgerald, with the State Fair of Texas.
In total, 111 people applied to be the next voice of Big Tex after Richardson's Bill Bragg lost the job he held for 11 years in a contract dispute.
State Fair of Texas organizers narrowed the list to four finalists, and then extended an offer to one of them late last week.
"Now that contract and agreement is in the attorneys office," said Sue Gooding with the State Fair of Texas. "And we hope to be making all of the signatures happen on that soon."
Gooding will only say the man they chose is a longtime North Texan, about the same age as Big Tex himself.
"A big, tall Texan needs a big, tall voice, so I think over the years we've shown that every voice is a very deep, good-sounding Texan for that historical, iconic voice," said Gooding.
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The state fair doesn't plan to reveal the man's name until the first day of the fair in September, when the new Big Tex, replacing the one that burned last fall, is unveiled.
"We're going to let it be a surprise," said Gooding. "When Big Tex returns he'll find his voice waiting for him at the State Fair of Texas."
