First of all, thanks to everyone who took the time to cast a ballot in October's election. JR Key and his Election Committee deserve a hearty "well done" for their efforts to make voting as convenient and accessible as possible. We owe a debt of gratitude to Scott Smiley for his superb work as our Treasurer for the past two years and, I'm happy to say, we'll be privileged to continue to have the benefit of his financial expertise, judgment and skill as our Treasurer through 2005.

On November 1st, with regret, I accepted Jason Hays resignation as Vice President. A year remains on his term and we need to fill this important position. If you are interested, please contact Frank Harrell, our Secretary, or myself by email or phone. Mike Sanders, who has done wonders with Membership, again volunteered his services as Membership Chair. Mary Lynn Logsdon, an indefatigable member of last year's highly successful Fund Raising Committee, has volunteered to serve as Fund Raising Chair. The Board of Directors approved Mike and Mary Lynn's appointments at its November meeting. We are now looking to fill the Chair vacancies for Rodeo Events and Training, PR and Social and Entertainment. If you are willing to help the Association with service in any of these areas, please contact Frank Harrell or myself by email or phone.

As I close, please remember that the Association's continued success depends on the active involvement of the membership. We're always looking for a few good men and women-especially now! Won't you please share your skill and talent? Thanks and have a happy holiday season!

Gaither Pennington, President

Howdy all

I want to take a minute to thank the Board of Directors and the general membership for your continued trust and support as I begin another term as your Membership Chair. It means a great deal to me that you have faith in me to continue to hold this position.

With the start of the new rodeo year, people may be looking for travel buddies, rodeo partners or roommates. The ASGRA Yahoo! Email group is the place to find these. You can access the list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASGRA_Connections/.

Remember to keep me up to date on any changes in your personal information. This way, you will continue to be informed of meeting notices and special events, and to receive your newsletter.

And lastly, as your Membership Chair, I serve as your liaison to the board. If you have concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to bring them to my attention. I can be reached by email or by phone (see sidebar). Keep checking the web page for all announcements and updates on upcoming events.

Mike Sanders, Membership Chair

Place: Titan Bar (1337 14th St., NW)
Date: Friday December 5th,

Bam-Bam, our Bull master will be onsite to test your bullriding skills!

Upcoming Royalty events

Ms. ASGRA Connie will be hosting a benefit at the Phase 1 for SMYAL. The tentative date is Dec 5th. The entire 2004 Royalty team and former Miss ASGRA Jymmye Jaymes will be hosting the Christmas for Children benefit in December at Freddie's Beach Bar.

The current ASGRA Royalty team, as well as several past Royalty members will be performing at the '12 Days of Christmas' event on December 13th at the Hippo in Baltimore. Details on the event can be found at www.hookernboys.org.

MsTer ASGRA Cody Jaymes will be helping out with 'Daddy Christmas' sponsored by the Shipmates Club of Baltimore on December 6th at the Baltimore Eagle. They will have a 'good' Santa (none other then Remingtons' own DJ Stan), along with a 'naughty' Santa. There will be a chance for photos with the Santa of your choice, as well as a silent auction and club bar.

Remember, ASGRA trail rides are the first Sunday of the month at 11:00am!
Regardless of the weather, ASGRA's monthly trail rides are held at Piscataway Ranch in Clinton, MD at 11:00 am on the following days:
December 7th: Kick off the holiday season with a winter wonderland ride.
January 4th: Start the New Year off right with a ride through the woods with friends old and new.

For further information and to RSVP, contact Glenn at (703) 538-2225.

What a lucky person I am! To be a part of such a wonderful group of people such as ASGRA and to represent you for a year of fun, hard work, tears and laughter, has been the most remarkable experience of my life. There are so many people to thank that it would be impossible to name every one, but I would be remiss if I did not thank certain individuals: Mike Sanders, Lonni LaBel, Jymmye Jaymes, Patrick Hunter, Mike Lentz, Mary Lynn Logsdon, Blair Michaels, Doug Smith, Sonny Koerner and Daniel Lusk. Each of you has been a wealth of support this year in more ways than you'll ever know and I could never have done it without you. And of course, this is not a solo gig -- it is a team. A special thank-you hug for Mr. ASGRA, John Alvey for making this such a memorable year.

We have a wonderful association and a fantastic new Royalty Team. I am looking forward to working with you and them in the coming year in preparation for Omaha Finals. Again, thanks for all the words of encouragement, assistance and financial support you have given. I am indeed proud and humbled at the same time.

Courtney Lovelace, Miss ASGRA 2003

Road Runner Regional Rodeo AGRA Phoenix, AZ January 16-18, 2004
2004 Cowtown Rodeo TGRA Fort Worth, TX March 5-7, 2004

Your ASGRA Royalty Team members will be attending the following IGRA events:
IGRA University; St. Louis, MO * Cowtown Rodeo; Ft. Worth, TX
Big Horn Rodeo; Las Vegas, NV * Southern Spurs Rodeo; Atlanta, GA
LA Rodeo; Los Angeles, CA * Atlantic Stampede; Washington, DC
IGRA Finals Rodeo; Omaha, NE * IGRA Convention; Denver, CO

Your ASGRA Royalty Team 2004 is already hard at work and busy planning the upcoming rodeo year's events!

Mr. ASGRA 1st runner up Rudy, Miss ASGRA Destiny and Ms. ASGRA Connie represented ASGRA at the 1st ever "King of the Castle" drag king contest at the Hippo in Baltimore on November 7th. MsTer ASGRA Cody Jaymes performed.

The ASGRA Royalty Team held a charity event at Freddie's Beach Bar on Sunday November 9th in honor of Veterans and active duty military. Specific donated care package items were collected to send to the troops currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We received a copy of a letter from the Acting Director of Whitman Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia thanking Freddie's Beach Bar & Restaurant, along with "the girls of 'Freddie's Follies'" (including ASGRA's own Destiny B. Childs, Miss ASGRA 2004 and Jymmye Jaymes) for their participation in the November 14th mixer and fundraiser benefiting WWC/NOVA. As of November 17th, funds raised were $6,558.00. Nice work!

Miss Destiny B. Childs & MsTer Cody Jaymes performed at Coconuts in Baltimore on November 20th.

On November 23 the ASGRA 2004 Royalty Team joined several past ASGRA Royalty and Academy members performing at Rhinestone Review, the annual event to raise monies for BHT charities.

The ASGRA 2004 Royalty team would like to ask all ASGRA members to send us the names of suggested charities for which we can raise money. We have each selected our own individual charitable organizations, but we would also like to support other worthy groups in which ASGRA members have an interest. Suggestions (along with any contact information) can be sent to Miss ASGRA 2004, Destiny B. Childs at .