November 10, 1954 -
IGRA# 2671
First attended a gay rodeo in 1986 (?)
Involved in gay rodeo through 2013 (?)
Inducted 2013
Linda M. Frazier was born in Kansas City, Kansas November 10, 1954. She was born the second child of six children to Leonard and Marie Frazier. In 1957, the Frazier family moved to Wichita where Linda graduated from high school in May 1972.
Linda spent most of her life living in the Wichita area with a few exceptions. One exception was when she went to college at Emporia State University, where in 1981 she met her partner, Darlene. Shortly after getting together, they moved back to Wichita.
Linda's initial exposure to gay rodeo was a fundraiser behind the old R & R Brass Rail bar in Wichita. That night there were several dance groups performing. Linda had never seen clogging before and she thought it was something she really wanted to do. Linda's first performance outside of Wichita was three months after joining the Kansas Rockin' "R" Cloggers, at the first Great Plains Regional Rodeo in Oklahoma City in August 1986. Linda was excited to be a part of an event that was produced and attended by gay people. In November of that year Linda attended the Texas Gay Rodeo Association (TGRA) rodeo before joining the Kansas Gay Rodeo Association in January 1987.
After joining KGRA, Linda learned that the Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Associations (KGRA, MGRA, and OGRA) had produced the Great Plains Regional Rodeo (GPRR) through a coalition effort. Each of the Associations had a financial investment in producing the rodeo, but equally important to the rodeo's success was that each Association provided volunteers responsible for specific areas. Each Association's Treasurer served on the Finance Committee; the Royalty worked together to provide the entertainment; MGRA provided timers and secretarial support for the rodeo; and KGRA provided the arena crew for the rodeo.
The KGRA Arena Crew worked at the GPRR for about ten years. Linda was a part of that team for eight of those years. The KGRA Arena Crew also had the privilege of working several other International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) circuit rodeos and three IGRA Finals Rodeos. Linda was extremely proud to be a part of that group of people. KGRA was recognized for their contributions to IGRA by then IGRA President, Tom Vance, with his presentation of the President's Award in 1996.
Linda served on the GPRR Board of Directors for several years. The Board met three times in the spring and three times in the fall during each Association's semi-annual fundraisers.
Working on the GPRR Board gave Linda the skills needed to serve as Assistant Rodeo Director for two GPRR rodeos and the 1991 IGRA Finals Rodeo; and as Rodeo Director for two GPRR rodeos and the 2002 IGRA Finals Rodeo.
Linda was a member of KGRA from 1987 through 2005. During her years with KGRA, she served in many roles with the Association. Linda was KGRA Trustee on the IGRA Board of Directors from 1988 - 1990, then again from 1994 - 1997. In 1990 Linda was chair of the Annual IGRA Convention Committee, and in 1991 and 2002 she chaired the IGRA Finals Rodeo Committee. In 1997 she chaired the IGRA Membership/Credentials Committee, and in 2000 she was co-chair for the International Sponsors Committee. While serving as KGRA's Trustee on the IGRA Board, Linda's appreciation for the IGRA and its value to her began to grow. Linda enjoyed her attendance at meetings, and working with others to make things better for all involved in rodeo. Linda served as the IGRA Membership Chair in 1996. At that Annual Convention, the delegates adopted the proposal to change Association membership based only on state boundaries, to membership based on approved geographical location. That change allowed for a new Association to form within the boundaries of an existing Member Association, after first receiving permission of the existing Association. That Bylaw change proved to be a significant factor allowing for the growth of the IGRA.
Linda served a two year term as the eighth IGRA President in 1998 and 1999. Linda joined MGRA in 2006, and served as the MGRA Trustee on the IGRA Board from 2008 - 2012. Until 2011, the MGRA By-laws stipulated that the Trustee also served as the President/Presiding Officer for all MGRA meetings. Because of that by-law, Linda also served as President of MGRA from 2008 - 2011. During her tenure as the MGRA Trustee, Linda also served as chair of the IGRA Health & Safety Committee from 2009 - 2012. During that period the committee put in place provisions for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) for all rodeo participants.
Although Linda, by her own admission, is more of an administrator, she did have the opportunity to compete in one rodeo. During the early part of contestant registration at the 2009 Liberty Stampede in Philadelphia, there were not many women available to sign-up for the Wild Drag Race event. Two highly seasoned contestants asked Linda to be the third member of their team. They were certainly surprised when she needed to sign-up as a new first time contestant. Linda's only goal was to make sure the team received a time; which they did. Unfortunately, the rodeo was rained out on Sunday, so they only competed together on one day; and Linda did literally compete in only one rodeo.
Linda has always enjoyed working in whatever capacity she could to support KGRA, MGRA, and the IGRA. Linda wants to encourage anyone reading this profile to check out the web site: www.gayrodeohistory.org. The web site helped her reminisce about the many things that she participated in with gay rodeo.