OCR Transcript by Frank Harrell, March 9, 2013
This Oklahoma City boy moved to Fort Worth after being in Iran for 3 years for a large manufacturer in Fort Worth. He would come to the Corral Bar, order a beer and stand by himself. He would shiver if someone was going to talk to him. According to a bartender, if he did sit at the bar and you spoke to him, he would just giggle. The bartender said he just never talked to anyone. (Don't you wish he was that way today?)
Gerald was not involved in much of anything, until he went to the first TGRA Rodeo at Simonton in 1984. As they introduced the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio Chapters, he was expecting Ft. Worth to be introduced also. He did not understand why Ft. Worth was not represented. He went home and got busy getting enough people together to form a new chapter. He was elected the first Chapter President.
After serving two years as Chapter President, he went on to be elected State Secretary in 1985. As State Secretary he was also Rodeo Secretary. Betty worked really hard that year getting ready for the Rodeo. Gary Miller was State President but forgot to tell Gerald one thing. When preparing checks for day money you have to write them for both Saturday and Sunday. Betty wrote Saturday checks only. Well, as they were setting up the awards it was discovered what Betty had done. Well, Betty had to do some fast running and writing.
After one year at State level, Betty went back to the Ft. Worth Chapter as President for one year. He was elected State President of TGRA in 1987. He went on to serve as IGRA Vice-President in 1988 and President in 1989. He has now blossomed to being involved in everything in which he has taken an interest. Ever since 1989, when he was IGRA President, he has kept a telephone line in his home for rodeo questions.
Gerald has worked long and hard over the years to see that TGRA and Ft. Worth have grown. He purchased the 651 Club in 1989 and went on to see that everyone who came to the Rodeo in Ft. Worth would be entertained and would want to come back someday. He rented the Old Train Station and brought in Mason-Dixon to entertain.
Gerald has really become involved in his community. He has served two years on the board for the AIDS Outreach Center, and is now the Co-Chair for the NAMES Project in Ft. Worth. From a tall, skinny, giggling young man, scared to talk to anyone, Gerald has taken the Ft. Worth gay community, 651 Club, TGRA and IGRA to heart and helped each grow. He has given many hours to all his varied interests. No one can question the dedication, heart, and experience that "Betty" continues to extend to our community. We tip our hats to Gerald (Betty) Ford!
