  | Volume XI, Issue 2 February 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Call To Service from the President
As we approach the beginning of a new rodeo year, I'd like to wish you the best possible 2002 and share some thoughts. Let me begin by reaffirming my personal commitment to you as your President to devote the time and energy necessary to assure the Association's continued growth and success. Each of the other members of the Board shares this commitment because they too share a deep personal loyalty to ASGRA and its goals. It's clear to me that this Board is fully committed to ASGRA's success and is actively engaged in the business necessary to plan and produce Stampede 2002 this September. It is both a privilege and a pleasure to work with the talented men and women who make up the 2002 Board of Directors. That being said, I must also note that the Board is seriously understaffed due to four vacancies. ASGRA still lacks a Secretary and a Treasurer and the committee chairs for Public Relations and Social and Entertainment remain vacant. In addition to these vacancies, we are still recruiting for the position of Rodeo Director for Stampede 2002. These vacancies limit the Association's ability to conduct regular business and compromise our ability to effectively plan and produce Stampede 2002. Indeed these continuing vacancies forced the Board to table Hoedown 2002 so that it could focus its limited resources on the production of Stampede 2002. While this change of focus may enable us to celebrate rodeo again this year, I fear that Stampede 2002 may not meet the quality standards of past events. ASGRA has a well-deserved national reputation for producing high quality events. It is my hope that this year's rodeo will continue in that proud tradition. However, I would fail in my duties if I didn't point out the possibility that we may not be able to meet our quality standard unless folks step forward to fill these vital positions. If you are willing to share your time and talents, please contact Membership Chair Mike Sanders or me. In a similar vein, the ability of an organization to meet its obligations and reach its goals is directly proportional to the active involvement of its members. As I thank each of you for your support of ASGRA through membership, let me also urge you to become as active a member as possible. There are so many ways that an active member can contribute: serving as an Officer or Committee Chair, volunteering for Rodeo Director, participating in Board and General Membership meetings, serving on a committee, volunteering for ASGRA activities, attending ASGRA-sponsored events, recruiting new members and serving as ambassadors to the community by "getting the word out" about ASGRA. I know that each of us face many personal and professional demands every day. Nevertheless, I ask you to you become as actively involved in the on-going business of the organization as possible. The organization is blessed during rodeo week with folks-members and non-members-who help make the event possible. While it may not be obvious, all the activity of rodeo week must be preceded by 11 months of preparation and it is essential that we have member involvement in these preparations. Please try to attend as many Membership meetings as possible. If you must make choices about which Membership meetings to attend, please attend those during which the budget, By-Laws and elections are on the agenda. General Membership meetings are held at a variety of convenient locations-consult your Newsletter or the website for the time and place. As I've already said, your current Board is committed to producing the best possible rodeo celebration this September. Help us though a personal commitment to take some extra time to share more of your talent and energy with us in the coming months. Gaither Pennington, President "When will we ever learn that the thing we have in common is an uncommon love."  Carol King ASGRA 2002 Budget Notice The Board of Directors unanimously approved a proposed 2002 budget at its December 8th meeting. The budget is based on the actual expenses from 2001 with the exception of providing additional funding to support a full 2002 Convention delegation and some additional funding to support fundraising activities. This budget proposal is conservative and projects the Association to have a positive ending balance of approximately $9,366.00. The Board hopes, with your help, to increase attendance and secure additional funding for Stampede 2002. These increases would further improve the end-of-year balance. Please contact Bruce Forchheimer via email to see what you can do to help improve ASGRA's financial health. 
Therefore, in accordance with the By-Laws, this budget proposal will be presented to the General Membership for review and approval at the February 24th General Membership meeting. I urge you to attend this important meeting so that the budget can be formally approved. Please check your Newsletter or our website for the specific location and time for the February meeting.
A summary of expenses and income is provided below. Any member interested in a detailed summary should contact me by email at
A copy of the detail proposal will be provided by return email.
Interested in advertising in Thirteen Spurs? Business card sized ads are being accepted now! Cost is $5 per issue or $50 per year. Fees will be waived if a discount is provided to ASGRA members by the business. For more info contact Lonni La Bel. Happy Trails Are Here Again!" Remember, ASGRA trail rides are the first Sunday of the month at 11:00am! Weather permitting, we will be holding a trail ride at Piscataway Ranch in Clinton, MD at 11:00 am on the following days: February 3rd: Bring someone special (or who you'd like to become special) and set the stage for Valentine's Day early with a romantic ride through the forest! March 3rd: Bundle up for a ride through the late winter woodlands! For further information, contact Glenn at (703) 538-2225. ASGRA General Membership Meeting Schedule 2002 All Meetings are scheduled for Sunday afternoons. Exact times and locations TBD. Stay tuned!
January Membership Meeting: Sunday, January 27, 2002, 4:30pm Remington's; 639 Pennsylvania Ave, SE; 202-543-3113
 DID YOU KNOW? You can receive a discount every time you rent a car from AVIS, just because you're an ASGRA member! When making your reservations, mention ASGRA's AVIS discount code T238399. Not only will you receive a discount, but ASGRA will also get a rebate from AVIS once a year as a thank you for having our members rent through AVIS. Other ASGRA membership Benefits include:
ASGRA Royalty RoundUp
The ASGRA Royalty Team 2002 has been keeping busy since Stampede 2001! Here are some of the highlights of what they've been up to so far:
Events for this Month February 2002 
3 11:00am Trail Ride at Piscataway stables, Clinton, MD3 8:30pm Sequins & Studs with ASGRA Royalty 2002/Academy; Remingtons, Washington, DC 8 9:00pm ASGRA Night at StageCoach Saloon & Restaurant, Baltimore 8 9:00pm Benefit for Dean Berkan Memorial Fund; Sheridan's, Washington, DC 10 8:30pm Sequins & Studs; Remingtons, Washington, DC 12 7:30pm ASGRA Board Meeting; Capital Hilton 13 8:00pm BHT Meeting; DC Eagle; Washington, DC 17 9:00pm Sequins & Studs; Remingtons, Washington, DC 20 8:00pm CAB Meeting; DC Eagle; Washington, DC 24 4:30pm General Membership Meeting; location TBD 24 8:30pm Sequins & Studs; Remingtons, Washington, DC 2002 ASGRA Meeting Schedule General Membership Meetings February 24: Annual Budget Meeting March 24 April 14 May 19: Annual By-Laws Meeting June 23 July 21 August 18 August 27: Rodeo Production Meeting September 15 October 27: Election Meeting November 17
2002 IGRA Rodeos
Cowtown Rodeo 2002 TGRA Fort Worth, TX
Big Horn Rodeo 2002 NGRA Las Vegas, NV
LA Rodeo 2002 GSGRA Los Angeles, CA
Rodeo in the Rock 2002 DSRA Little Rock, AK
Great Plains Rodeo 2002 OGRA Oklahoma City, OK
Southern Spurs Rodeo 2002 SEGRA Atlanta, GA 
ASGRA Volunteers Needed For NYC Gay & Lesbian Trade Show
IGRA and the RDP Group that sponsored the New York City Gay and Lesbian Trade Show at the Jacob Javits Center last year has again requested ASGRA's presence with our mechanical bull and roping calf, "Woody". The event will be held at the Javits Center on Saturday and Sunday, March 16 &17, 2002 (Saint Patrick's Day weekend). Setup will take place on Friday, March 15. Last year, RDP had over 10,000 people attend the event, including the cast of Showtime's "Queer as Folk", who are expected to participate in this year's event as well. All ASGRA members who would like to share in the work and the fun, please contact ASGRA Trustee, Les Boggs, at 703-671-0536, or , no later than February 15th. The Trade Show is a major media event and is a terrific opportunity for IGRA and ASGRA to strut their stuff in New York City! Last year it was a real Blast! (Note: ASGRA Bull rider Oscar Mocelo was quite the spectacle on Bam Bam!…and we almost got "Emmett" from "Q as F" to ride him---err, Bam Bam, that is!) :: Let's see if we can get Sharon Gless as "Debbie" to wear an ASGRA T-shirt on the Show this year!!! Les Boggs, IGRA Trustee
 The ATLANTIC STATES GAY RODEO ASSOCIATION is a charitable and social organization whose primary purpose is to promote the sport of rodeo and foster country and western lifestyles in the Gay community. Our members enjoy the fellowship of numerous social, recreational and educational activities. ASGRA educates, trains and fields teams to compete in International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) rodeos. ASGRA also sponsors Atlantic Stampede, its annual rodeo and country-western festival, held each fall in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Since the founding of ASGRA in 1991, our association has raised and distributed thousands of dollars to Gay, Lesbian and other local charities in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. ASGRA is one of the largest Gay and Lesbian organizations in the Washington, DC metro area, with members throughout the United States and Canada.
As an IGRA member association, ASGRA subscribes fully to the IGRA's Statement of Animal Welfare: The International Gay Rodeo association hereby endorses and adopts the promotion of animal welfare and the humane, responsible treatment of animals in their housing, feeding, training, exercising and competition. We shall strive to assure that our events are purposefully tailored and executed to provide animal and human participants the safest environment possible and shall act to immediately disqualify or reprimand any contestant, official or contracted personnel found to be treating animals in an inhumane manner.
Please send all questions, concerns or requests for information to:
March 2002 issue Submissions due Monday, 2/18/02 Mail out date of this letter, Monday, 2/25/02 |
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| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | [an error occurred while processing this directive] | P.O. Box 22042 Alexandria, VA 22304-9204 (202) 547-9590 |
Fellow ASGRA Members:
Board of Directors Meetings