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IGRA#
First attended a gay rodeo in
Inducted 2023
Andrew was born in a small town in east central Missouri. There wasn't much to do in Wellsville, Missouri, mostly just riding bikes with other neighborhood kids...the ones with the banana seats and tall handlebars. Summers were spent visiting the grandparents and camping; school days were spent playing in the pep band, serving on the student council, and being the DJ at school-wide dances. After graduating from high school, Andrew enrolled at Truman State University where he wrote for the campus newspaper and worked at the campus radio station. He graduated with a degree in Journalism in 1994.
Shortly after graduation, Andrew moved to Branson, Missouri, where he worked in network radio and the obligatory stint in retail management. Eventually Andrew landed in Kansas City, Missouri, where he enrolled in the University of Missouri elementary education program, graduating in 1999. It was during this time when he started working as a DJ and bartender at Sidekicks, Kansas City's country gay bar. One life-altering requirement of all bar employees was to participate in its annual Bartender Review. After significant push-back, Andrew's female impersonator persona Mandy Barbarell was born. That single performance led to representing Sidekicks in the Pride Parade a bit later. Eventually Mandy would be a regular performer at Pride and a co-host of the festival. It wasn't long before Mandy was the Show Director at Sidekicks. Always a benefit for charity organizations, the Mandy Barbarell Show packed the house and was the place to be on Friday nights in Kansas City.
Andrew became involved in the Missouri Gay Rodeo Association MGRA) in 1997 and while not a competitor, found many other ways to participate. He held the offices of secretary, vice president, president, and Trustee. He served as Miss MGRA 1998, 1999 and 2003. In 2003, Mandy Barbarell earned the title of Miss International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) 2004 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In July 2004, Andrew was planning to ride along with Bobbie St. Jeor, MGRA Trustee, to the North Star Rodeo. At the last minute, his plans changed and, as a result, he was not in the car accident that took Bobbie's St. Jeor's life as she traveled to Michigan.
In 2007, Andrew served as the IGRA Convention Chair and was elected to serve the first of two terms as IGRA Vice President. During his time as Vice President, the rules governing the selection of IGRA Royalty were reorganized and the royalty contest interview questions transitioned to ones that encouraged candidates to talk about their strengths. He produced the 25th Anniversary IGRA Royalty Spectacular at Harrah's Showroom in Reno and served on the first board of the Gay & Lesbian Rodeo Heritage Foundation. Most notable during his tenure was the addition of the MsTer category - creating a position for male impersonators on the IGRA Royalty Team.
Andrew continued to participate in gay rodeo in a variety of ways. He was the announcer at the Show-Me State Rodeo for many years, receiving the Bobbie St. Jeor Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteer in 2007, and was selected Grand Marshal of the 2010 Show-Me State Rodeo. He was given the CGRA Volunteer Award in 2011 and served as an Assistant Rodeo Director at Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo 36 in 2018. Andrew also volunteers at BigHorn Rodeo in Las Vegas each year.
In 2016, after 18 years of teaching in the elementary classroom, Andrew earned his doctorate degree in education from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and transitioned to teaching in higher education. It seemed a natural fit, then, for Andrew to apply his professional expertise in education and his love of rodeo to IGRA University. He served as the IGRA University Chancellor in Tucson (2016) and Las Vegas (2017) and continues in that role today. He is also a member of the IGRA Alumni group.
Presently, Andrew lives in the Salt Lake City area. He is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at Utah Valley University.