A director for the Western Stock Show Association provoked groans Wednesday night with a racially-tinged joke during a speech intended to honor Citizen of the West Hank Brown.

With more than 1,000 people seated for the speeches, William R. Farr read a series of fake tributes to Brown from legendary dignitaries.

At the end of one, Farr said, “if Obama gets elected, you’ll have to change the name of the (White) House.”

The tables went silent, with the exception of embarrassed murmurs.

As the crowd mingled after Farr finished, he said he hoped the remark would not appear in the newspaper.

“I thought it was really funny. It wasn’t taken as funny,” Farr said. “It wasn’t supposed to be derogatory.”