  | Volume XIV, Issue 8 August 2005 | Last update Jan 21, 2020 |
Letter from the President
Guys and Gals! As the summer heats up, so do our preparations for Atlantic Stampede 2005! I'd like to especially thank those who have answered our call for volunteers. Special thanks go to Paul Marengo who will serve as our Volunteer Coordinator who will be in touch with everyone who volunteers. We're still looking for folks though, and I'd encourage anyone who can donate time to us to sign up using the new Volunteer link on the ASGRA website. Stampede weekend heralds the close of one rodeo year, the beginning of another and our annual election of Officers. I'd like to thank Busty Bottoms for serving as this year's Nomination Committee Chair. The Association will select a President, a Treasurer and a Trustee. As was the case last year, the election will take place during Stampede weekend and eligible members may vote by mail, in person or on the website. The committee has worked hard to make your participation in selecting the Association's leaders as easy as possible. Visit the website, watch your mail for further information and-most importantly-vote! Gaither Pennington, ASGRA President
The Atlantic Stampede needs your help! We have many events planned and as in previous years, volunteers are needed for all areas. Volunteers are needed for set up and tear down, help in the arena, security and at the front gate, as well as working the chutes and stables. Volunteers are also needed at the hotel for registration, at the dance in hospitality, the ballroom and decorations. Floaters are also needed to fill in where needed.
Paul Marengo, Volunteer Coordinator
Summer bachelors, like summer breezes, are never as cool as they pretend to be. Nora Ephron
Summer Training Opportunities
Need a place to practice your calf roping? Looking for some instruction on Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, or Flags? Then August is the month for you! Two of our ASGRA members have graciously agreed to open up their farm, Thundering Hooves, located at 13279 Croom Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, for some training opportunities. Speed Events-August 6th (10am-2pm) is the time to practice barrels, flags and pole bending. The rain date for this clinic will be the 7th. A well qualified instructor will be on site for this event and students are asked to plan on paying the instructor directly. The cost will be $25/student and participants should plan on bringing cash to cover their registration fee. All participants will need to bring a horse and provide negative Coggins documentation. There is also very limited boarding space at the farm. Please contact Louis or Andy directly at 301-579-6005, to inquire about availability/cost for boarding your horse. Calf Roping-August 14th (2-4pm) is the final date for practice. The farm is not yet set up for live calves, but hay bales with calf heads will be available for those who want to practice their roping skills. There will be no instructor for this event; it is simply a free chance to hone your roping skills with a little practice. Pre-registration (at www.asgra.org) for these events is required so that we know how many people to expect at each event. Please note that payment for the Speed Events clinic will be handled on-site the day of the event and students should come prepared to pay the $25 fee in cash. Many thanks go out to Louis and Andy for making their farm available to us for these events. Scott Smiley, ASGRA Treasurer
 ASGRA is still looking for delegation members for the 2005 IGRA Convention in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the weekend of October 20-23. Partial reimbursement of expenses is available for our delegates. This is a great way to visit a wonderful city and find out more about the workings of ASGRA and IGRA.
If you are attending any of the upcoming IGRA rodeos and have an interest in serving ASGRA as a substitute trustee when our own trustee is not present, please consider doing so. The official role of a trustee at a rodeo is to observe the goings-on and assist with the formal evaluation of the event in order to help the rodeos improve from year to year. Trustees also deal with special issues that arise when necessary. Any member, whether competing or not, is eligible to serve as substitute trustee, but you must be appointed in advance by the current trustee. Please contact me or 301-770-9363 if you would like to be more involved in either capacity. Michael Lentz, ASGRA Trustee
A few thoughts from your former Membership Chair Mike S.
Each year has 12 months in it. 9 of those 12 months not much happens in the world of the ASGRA Membership Chair. There may be a few new people that join, or move or change their email addresses. Then BAM!!! June hits. For most people, the summer months mean trips to the beach or vacations. To the Membership Chair it means a lot of work. That is our renewal period. Our membership is over 200 people, all sending in their renewals during this time. It's a full time job to process all of those renewal forms.
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: August 7th: Take a break from the dog days of summer with a ride along the woodland streams of Maryland. September 4th: Spend part of your long Labor Day weekend enjoying a cool ride on the Maryland trails. For further information, contact Patrick.
Upcoming Rodeos
First Annual Billy Collison Volunteer Award This year, ASGRA and Carol's Western Wear will be awarding the first annual "Billy Collison Volunteer Award". This award will be given to a volunteer for ASGRA and Stampede 2005. Billy was deeply involved in many aspects of our community and the word volunteer was truly his middle name. Please keep in mind all those who work hard at ASGRA all year and make a nomination in June and July for this special belt buckle which will be donated by Carol's Western Wear. The award will be awarded at Atlantic Stampede 2005 on Sunday during Grand Entry. A rodeo report from two of our members: Fr. Patrick Cronk and his partner Ed Higgins participated in both Rodeo Wichita 2005 and the Great Plains Rodeo in OKC. Ed rode bulls and roped calves in both rodeos. He made it to 5.9 seconds on his bull ride at Wichita, 1 tenth of a second off a cover. His bull fell to its knees out of the gate and he received a re-ride where he was bucked off. In OKC he was knocked unconscious twice, but he and Fr. Patrick still "had a great time meeting IGRA around the USA". Fr. Patrick became a time keeper, and did timekeeping at OKC; he is also planning to do so in Chicago and Wash DC.
Are you an entertainer? You can get all the information at our website about performing both at the Hyatt Regency, our host hotel and at the rodeo grounds for Atlantic Stampede 2005. You can also fill out the registration form. http://asgra.org/stampede2005/entertainment_app.htm On Sunday July 17th at Freddie's Beach Bar and Grill Ms. ASGRA 2005 Busty Bottoms held her "Welcome Home Busty" event to benefit Metro TeenAids. A small but appreciative crowd was in attendance and she raised over $500 for this deserving charitable organization. Join the fun at a number of fun events leading up to rodeo! Learn to two-step in time for rodeo!! Every Wednesday night in August, Join ASGRA at the Green Lantern for FREE 2-step dance lessons. Classes taught by JR Key. 9:30 to 10:30pm Join ASGRA and the Green Lantern and reduce the summer heat! Underwear/Swimsuit Auction Saturday, August 20 at 10:00pm. Buy your favorite pair! Oh yea, we have a pool! We will also be selling mini-boots to support the rodeo and our charities at the green Lantern the whole month of August. Buy a boot for $1.00 and help support your rodeo!
August 2005 2 9:30pm Bingo Night at Titan to benefit ASGRA charities 3 9:30pm Free 2-step lessons at the Green Lantern 7 11am Trail Ride at Piscataway stables, Clinton, MD 9 9:30pm Bingo Night at Titan to benefit ASGRA charities 10 8pm BHT Meeting; DC Eagle; Washington, DC 10 9:30pm Free 2-step lessons at the Green Lantern 11 7:30pm ASGRA Board Meeting; Hyatt Regency Hotel 16 9:30pm Bingo Night at Titan to benefit ASGRA charities 17 8pm CAB Meeting; DC Eagle; Washington, DC 17 9:30pm Free 2-step lessons at the Green Lantern 20 10:00pm Underwear/swimsuit auction at the Green Lantern 23 9:30pm Bingo Night at Titan to benefit ASGRA charities 24 9:30pm Free 2-step lessons at the Green Lantern 30 9:30pm Bingo Night at Titan to benefit ASGRA charities 31 9:30pm Free 2-step lessons at the Green Lantern A Royal Congratulations…
…from the 2005 ASGRA Royalty Team to the following ASGRA members who will celebrate birthdays in August: (Note: If your birthday is this month and you aren't listed, we either don't have your birthday on file or you have requested that we not print your name. We wish you a happy birthday as well!)
We are also looking for additional vendors and sponsors. If you would like to be a vendor, sell your items, be a food vendor, or if you give a great massage, please check out the sponsorship/ vendor page at asgra.org. You can pay by credit card or by electronic check. We also need a contestant tent sponsor, shirt sponsor, ribbon sponsor and more. Some sponsorships are as little as $25.00. Go to ASGRA.org for the information on all the opportunities available. Watch for fund raisers, bingo, an underwear contest, rodeo-ropin' karaoke and free dance lessons in August. I will need some volunteers for each of these events; also needed are 5 volunteers Friday, Sept. 9th and over AS2005 weekend to work with the vendors. Free weekend passes for a 10 hour commitment of your time. Please e-mail me. Thanks in advance for your continued support of ASGRA and Atlantic Stampede 2005. Mary Lynn Logsdon, Fundraising Chair
Heard Around the HerdHowdy boys and girls, We are a little over 6 weeks out from Atlantic Stampede 2005 and our web page is full of information. We are in need of volunteers in all areas before, during and after the rodeo. Be sure to fill out the volunteer form. http://asgra.org/stampede2005/volunteer/VolunteerForm.htm You can purchase tickets for Atlantic Stampede 2005: https://secure20.prohosting.com/~a0016886/store/StampedeTickets.htm, Want to sponsor a buckle?: http://asgra.org/stampede2005/BuckleSponsorship.htm, and (of course) renew your membership: http://asgra.org/store/mem_application.htm
Check it all out and be sure to tell your friends! Mike S., ASGRA VP
You all used to do 'X'. Why don't you do that any more? That is a question that was repeated over and over again during Washington's Pride Day celebration. Normally, it wouldn't mean a lot. But this question came from fellow ASGRA members. When I sat and thought about it, what I heard is that the general membership expects someone else in the association to do all the work. The question was "You all used to...", not "We used to..." The running of any volunteer organization depends on its members to chip in and help out. But what ends up happening a lot of times is you have 6-8 people that do everything. Generally the same 6-8 every time. A call went out to participate in Baltimore and New York Pride celebrations, as well as to assist as an alternate Trustee at rodeos, for delegates at IGRA Convention, Royalty team members, submissions to the newsletter, vacant board positions and volunteers for the rodeo. How many people have answered those calls to help? How many answered the call to find out what was involved? Enough to make those things successful? Probably not. So what happens when those 8 people get tired? Who will step up and fill their shoes to make sure the organization keeps going? Any one??" Submitted by a concerned (and involved) ASGRA member
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Be sure to check our website (www.asgra.org) for updates. You can fill out the volunteer form online or if you prefer you can mail the volunteer form in this newsletter to Atlantic Stampede 2005, P.O. Box 22042, Alexandria, VA 22304-9204, Attn: Volunteers. Please get in touch with me, if you have any questions. Thank you again and see you in September!
We have a new chair this year, Ric Legg. I appreciate Ric stepping up and taking on this position. He is still learning all the ins and outs of what he is responsible for, and it may take him a little longer to get your cards out than what you were used to. I ask that you give him the same understanding and patience you gave me when I was new as the Membership Chair.
Royalty Roundup
The rodeo is only 6 weeks away and we need your continued support. This year all buckle sponsorship is being done on line to insure accuracy. All-around buckles are only $250.00 and event buckles are $200.00. If the buckles are not awarded, you get to keep them!
