How it all started
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Dallas Bears marching in the 1995 Dallas Pride Parade
A word from our president
Hey Everyone!
My name is Randy Flores, and I am the current President of the Dallas Bears. I want to personally thank you for your interest in our club and invite you to attend any of our monthly membership meetings. The Dallas Bears have a long history of giving back to the DFW community, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this fine group of men. With the assistance of my wonderful Board of Directors and strong membership roster, it is my goal to continue the excellent work done by those before me, and strive to keep Texas Bear Round-Up™ one of the largest and most entertaining Bear Runs in the world 🐻
The Brotherhood of the Dallas Bears:
A Legacy of Community Service, Fellowship, Fun, and Lasting Friendships
If you’ve ever stood in the crowded atrium of the Hyatt Regency during Texas Bear Round-Up weekend and felt that pulse of laughter, community, and purpose, you’ve felt the spirit of the Dallas Bears. It’s a spirit born not from committees or bylaws, but from a few good men who wanted to create family when the world around them was still learning how to accept them.
Beginnings in the Shadows of Loss | Early 1990s
The Dallas Bears began humbly on November 2, 1993 when Dally Keller, his partner Chris Young, and the unforgettable David Ellis (Miss Ellie to most), started gathering friends on quiet Sunday Afternoons at TMC, the Throckmorton Mining Company.
There were no logos or titles nor pre-ordained agendas back then, just a handful of gay men who didn’t quite fit the “club scene” mold but wanted fellowship, laughter, and a sense of belonging.
They met for beer and conversation, not realizing they were laying the groundwork for a movement that would ripple through Dallas for decades.
Those early years were not easy ones for them. The AIDS crisis had already stolen a generation of mentors, brothers, and lovers. In the words of one founder, “It took our history along with them.”
Out of that deep pain grew a fierce need to preserve what remained, and to build something new.
The Dallas Bears became that refuge: A group where men could be celebrated for who we were, as we were, without judgment or shame.
The Spark That Ignited a Movement | Mid-1990s
In 1996, something extraordinary happened. Inspired by trips to the International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco, the Dallas Bears decided to host their own weekend event, a gathering where bears from across Texas could meet, connect, and celebrate who they were along with their admirers. They called it what we know today as Texas Bear Round-Up, or TBRU. Our Founders expected maybe a hundred people would attend.
But as fate would have it, and unbeknownst to anyone during its conception, nearly three hundred people showed up to celebrate.
Thus, Texas Bear Round-Up was born, and it was the start of a mighty legacy.
The Dallas Bears raised $1,500 for AIDS Services of Denton County that year, transforming what could have been just another party into what would become our lifelong mantra: “Party with a Purpose.”
Each year, TBRU grew. New faces arrived from Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, and beyond. Eventually, drawing attendees from all over the world! There were no corporate sponsors back then, just word-of-mouth and a shared conviction that joy could coexist with generosity, and a harmony amongst acceptance. The Dallas Bears had found their identity: brothers in service, using laughter and love to fight isolation and despair.
From Fellowship to Foundation (2000s)
By the 2000s, the Dallas Bears had evolved beyond a social circle. Membership swelled, and the club needed structure to protect what they’d built. In December 2004, under the guidance of Wayne Davis, Bryan Tomes, and Craig Clark, the Dallas Bears officially incorporated as a Texas non-profit corporation. Shortly thereafter, Wayne would later capture their mission in words that endure today: “Community Service, Fellowship, Fun, and Lasting Friendships.”
That incorporation marked a turning point. No longer just a club, the Dallas Bears became a force for good, hosting chili cook-offs, teddy-bear auctions, and drag turnabout shows to raise money for charities that supported HIV/AIDS relief, LGBTQ youth, and food security. Every event echoed that early promise: Have fun, take care of each other, and give back to the community that made it all possible.
After years of paperwork and persistence, the club achieved its 501(c)(3) status in 2011. The Dallas Bears were finally a federally recognized charitable organization, making every donation, raffle, and event part of a bigger legacy.
What started as a handful of men at TMC had become a perpetual engine of generosity.
The Rise of Texas Bear Round-Up | 2010s
Through the 2010s, under then-President Wayne Davis, TBRU became one of the largest bear events in North America.
Over the years, attendance climbed to 1,400, then past 1,700, then 1,900. And finally, as of 2026, over 2,300! The Hyatt Regency Dallas quickly became the Dallas Bears’ annual home, filled with various receptions, parties, contests, laughter, and hugs from every corner of the world. Yet through all that joy, the heart of the event never changed. It was, as it always will be, still about giving back.
Year after year, the Dallas Bears raised tens of thousands of dollars. In 2012 alone, they donated $58,000 to local organizations. By the decade’s end, TBRU had raised over a million dollars for charity. Our beneficiaries included a wide array of amazing causes such as AIDS Services of Dallas, Access & Information Network (AIN), Youth First, Greg Dollgener Memorial AIDS Fund, Cathedral of Hope Benevolence Fund, and many more.
A huge part of that success came from partnerships, especially with BearDance, another Dallas nonprofit that hosts a high-energy dance fundraiser during TBRU weekend. Together, the Dallas Bears and BearDance formed an unstoppable team, proving that generosity could be joyful and that charity could fill a dance floor. Together, not only could we prove to be a force of good for our community and those in need, but we could foster an environment for love, acceptance, peace, and appreciation.
Leadership, Legacy, Love, and Lasting Friendships
Ask anyone who’s been around long enough, and they’ll tell you that leadership in the Dallas Bears has always felt more like family than hierarchy. People like Miss Ellie, Wayne Davis, Patrick Sweeney, Randy Flores, Dr. Clay Cessna, and dozens of others carried the torch not for glory, but for gratitude; Gratitude for the brotherhood that saved them, shaped them, and gave them purpose.
Both Randy and Clay, though newer faces compared to the long-timers, quickly rose to the call of leadership after joining. Randy’s quiet steadiness and drive to modernize the organization gave fresh energy to the board, while Clay’s heart for service and instinct for unity grounded the team through times of change. Together, they represent a new generation of Dallas Bears; Men who continue to honor the legacy they inherited while pushing it forward with vision and compassion, with Wayne Davis still guiding from the Treasurer’s chair.
Alongside them were directors handling everything from charitable events, social gatherings, to social media, and much more. All volunteers, all driven by the same belief that built the club in 1993: We are stronger together.
Trials and Triumphs | 2020s and Beyond
Just as the world did as a whole, the Dallas Bears faced one of their hardest moments in March 2020. TBRU XXV, the silver anniversary event, was underway when Dallas County issued emergency orders shutting down gatherings due to COVID-19.
In an instant, twenty-five years of unbroken tradition came to a halt. With Heavy Hearts, the Dallas Bears suspended the remainder of the event mid-weekend with public safety in mind.
For a club that thrived on togetherness, the silence that followed was deafening.
But like true bears, we adapted. We held virtual meet-ups, supported one another through isolation, and made sure our beneficiaries still received the help they desperately needed. When in-person events returned, TBRU came roaring back, literally. TBRU26 and 27 broke fundraising records again, with over $147,000 raised in 2022, $165,000 in 2023, and the peak of their efforts reaching a climax in 2025 during TBRU29. With a combined $185,000 donated to local charities and nearly 2,200 souls in attendance from all corners of the world.
The laughter was louder than ever, the hugs tighter, the mission clearer.
In a world that has changed a thousand times in just a year, our purpose remained the same: To continue showing love with open arms. It is how we would honor those who came before us, how we would heal, and how we would endure.
The Heart of the Bears Today
Today, the Dallas Bears stand as one of the longest-running and most impactful LGBTQ organizations in Texas. Our events, from the Teddy Bear Auction to the Bearly Beauties Turnabout Show, continue to blend fun and purpose in a uniquely Dallas way.
Our annual Texas Bear Round-Up, now approaching its 31st year, remains the beating heart of our mission: A four-day celebration of brotherhood, service, and unapologetic joy.
But beyond the numbers, what defines the Dallas Bears is our humanity. We’ve become mentors, caregivers, advocates, and lifelong friends to countless people who once felt unseen. We’ve buried our dead, celebrated our victories, and carried our history forward one story, one laugh, one fundraiser at a time.
A Legacy Still Unfolding
If you’re reading this as a new member, or reading it while debating on joining, understand this: You are not joining a club; you are inheriting a legacy.
A legacy built by men who refused to let the world tell them they were too big, too hairy, too different to belong.
A legacy written in laughter, sweat, tears, and service.
Every dollar raised, every hand extended, every TBRU badge tucked away in a drawer tells a piece of our story. We are the living memory of those first Sundays at TMC, the embodiment of Miss Ellie’s laughter, the echo of Wayne Davis’s steadfast guidance and commitment to our brotherhood.
And as we move into the next chapter, toward TBRU31 and beyond, we carry those men with us. We build upon what they started. Because the Dallas Bears have always been, and will always be, more than a club.
We are a family. A force.
A legacy of love that began over thirty years ago and still roars today.
So know that when the music quiets, when the banners come down, and when the laughter fades into memory, what remains are open arms.
Arms that have held one another through loss and triumph, through silence and song.
So long as even one of us stands, the legacy stands with us, ready to welcome the next soul who needs to know that they are seen, that they are loved, and that they belong.
Because that is who we are.
And that is who we will always be.
