Greetings from your LGRA Trail Blazer Editor. My apologies to Shane and everyone else. I haven't finished the new logo yet. Time flies when your work hours are upped and motherhood strikes and you have a partner who is always on the go and dragging you with her. *smiles at Jen*

This month we have a bit of a long article from our Trustee, Ernie Bowers. I couldn't find it in my heart to edit anything. Please take the time to read it. Its beautifully written. We also have a volunteer blurb from Chris Maurizio who is no longer a guest writer. Welcome aboard Chris, as our Volunteer Coordinator.

We have 16 January Birthdays in this edition. One tenth of our membership. I would have thought that one of them could have been a New Years baby.

Once again Im asking for "audience participation" Someone who would like to write an article, share some poetry. Give me a few pointers and tell me what you would like to see in the newsletter.

Please remember to check out the upcoming events in the newsletter and our website. We do have a Valentines Dance coming up in February. Hope to see you all there!!

The Yahoo Group sign up will remain at the bottom of the newsletter for anyone interested in joining.

~Jade

Email the Editor

Howdy gang,
Happy New Years. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season.

With the new year there have been some face changes for LGRA. Our new Vice-President is Jeff Bolognese our Social and Entertainment chair is Tom Dykes and our Volunteer Coordinator is Chris Maurizio. I would like to thank the three of them for stepping up to the plate to help LGRA stampede into history. We still have a couple openings left on our Board, Fundraising and Sponsorship, Membership Chair and PR. All of these positions are extremely important to help LGRA's success.

We are going to have a general membership meeting on Saturday February 10th at 7pm at PURE nightclub. It is very important we get members out for this as we are going to ratify our by-laws and vote on our budget. We are also going to have a special announcement that evening. I think everyone will be excited after they hear the good news.

Ernie and I are off to the Phoenix rodeo in a couple days. This is the first time he will be officially representing us at a Trustee meeting. We are also competing in Steer-Deco together along with several other individual events. While we are out there we will be meeting with not one but two potential rodeo directors for our Liberty Stampede rodeo. The offers of help have been pouring in from all across the country. I have never been prouder to be part of the International Gay Rodeo Association family.

Our next Board of Directors meeting is on Wed January 10th from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Our meetings are open to all of our members. This months space has been generously donated. If you wish to attend please email me or Jeff and we will send you the exact location. We need RSVP's for this meeting to make sure there is seating for all that attend.

Its an honor and a pleasure serving as your President. Let's rodeo.

Hi, my name's Ernie Bowers, and I'm honored to be serving as your trustee for the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association. I wanted to introduce myself, and tell everyone a little about what it is I do, what the association has coming up, and a little request to boot. But first of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has joined LGRA as a member, whether it be at one of our events or through the website. You are really helping to invest in our plan to bring the rodeo to Philadelphia for the first time in May of 2008. In under a year, LGRA has grown to over 150 members, which is comparable to a big chunk of the other rodeo associations around the country that have been around for years. I am committed to giving 110% to contributing my part in helping put on an event its members deserve, and something long-lasting for the community. Also, I am very grateful for the men and women who have aided us so much with the work and events we have already done. Volunteers like Jeff C, Shane, Mark, Ed, Chris, Jim, as well as June, John, and Cliff (I'm really sorry if I've left out anybody) have given much time and effort at our different events, and I as well as the rest of the board are so appreciative of their help. And I want to give special thanks to John Stypa, for devoting so much time for developing such a smashing website, and Jade Meskunas for putting out a great newsletter. And finally in the thank you department, thanks to Michael, Jen, Jeff, Rocco, and Cindy for helping put this thing together before I came aboard.

Now as for me, if you don't know me, I've been a resident of Yardville, New Jersey all of my life (save for a college stint in Chicago). I've worked for Verizon for seventeen years, currently in repair dispatch. My "route to this destination" of helping with the rodeo comes from 16 years of country dancing between Pennsy, Jersey, and New York. The "two-stepping community" as it is has been a great social and physical outlet that I think defies the normal stereotypes of gay life, either by us or by the mainstream. I am lucky to have as a result the best of friends and buddies a man can dream of. And let me tell you, I was obsessed. At one point, I was going to different places sometimes 4-5 times a week. Ah, the days of lower gas prices. Well in 1992 I found out about the gay rodeo in DC and was able to make it down there. I was floored. I have seen rodeo events before, but nothing like this. Between the regular steer and bull riding, calf roping, and horse events, there were fun "camp" events like Goat Dressing, Steer Deco, and the Wild Drag Race (you can see descriptions and videos for all these events on DC's excellent website www.asgra.org ). All this amongst bleachers full of ordinary men and women enjoying the time of their lives. I haven't missed attending one since in DC. A few years back, my friends Jeff (our Vice President), Mark, and I got the nerve to enter ourselves in the "Dolly Madison Race" (a camp event that is like an obstacle course from the netherworld). Let me tell you we were all sorts of nervous. But it was an amazing experience. Since then I have learned how to do Steer Deco (which Jeff and I competed last year), Goat Dressing, and Chute Dogging with the help of the "play day" LGRA and ASGRA put on last August (my birthday weekend, even) in New Jersey. And if you ever have been to the rodeo, and though about trying something out, that is the way to go. You never know until you try, and heck, you can just do it for fun or even compete in the rodeo itself (we got a ribbon for 4th place, and believe me, I was very happy about it). We will be putting on another play day or two next year, and will keep everyone posted on it. C'mon and cowboy up!

Now as I had said before, I'm Liberty GRA's trustee. As such, firstly I'm our association's "voice" on the board of directors for IGRA (The International Gay Rodeo Association, our parent organization), almost like a "union steward", representing us at board meetings and at various rodeos. I'm the liaison to bring information on national happenings in IGRA. Secondly, I'm conversely IGRA's link to our rodeo, and I am responsible for enforcing and administering IGRA's standards to our rodeo as well as other rodeos in our circuit. The trustees are required to make sure all rodeo specifications (safety rules, event specs, etc.) are being met, clear any variances for rodeo events, and resolve any disputes on judging and execution of the rodeo itself. In doing this, I am not only preserving the quality and uniformity of the events that IGRA sanctions throughout the US and Canada, but also protect the contestants and spectators as well. I hold this responsibility in the highest regard. In addition to all this, I'm right now being a jack-of-all-trades, helping the rest of the board with the long but important journey in setting up our first rodeo. I'll be the first to admit I've got a lot to learn still, but I'm committed to helping in anyway I can. If you have any sort of question about either our rodeo or the other rodeos around the country, or even IGRA's goings-on in general, please write me or see me out, if I don't know myself I know how to find out.

Lastly, I said I had a little request. Actually, I have two requests. First, if you see me round at twostepping or anywhere else, please come and introduce yourself to me. I know a lot of our members already from country dancing, but there are a lot I have yet to meet, and would love the opportunity to do so. You can ask me anything (well....) and I promise to be helpful and honest. You can also get ahold of me at the email trustee@libertygra.org. Secondly, and most importantly, I would like to ask everyone to get involved. This association is really a team effort, and is definitely not the vehicle or one or a few people. Between the rodeo events themselves, LGRA also is involved in a whole myriad of other things, like fundraisers, community work, promotion, and your talents can really help. If you don't think you would have anything to contribute, either skillwise or timewise, please reconsider. You never know what assistance we need that you may be helpful with until then. As I mentioned before, many people have put time and effort into helping this along, and I am so more than grateful for that. My feeling is the more people involved with this, the better this organization can be. Especially helpful right now would be anyone who would like to help with public relations, artwork, sponsorship, and social events. Heck even if you want to give an idea you have or to help set up something for an event we're doing, I'd really love to hear from you.

I'd like to close by saying I'm really excited about our future. We've got a long road ahead, but I am confident we're gonna be putting on a show to remember in 2008!

The success of any organization depends on the people who stand behind it. The LGRA is no exception. Over the next year, in preparation for our first rodeo in 2008, we will be having volunteer drives to increase our volunteer pool. Our President, Jen, has given me the exciting news that experienced out of area rodeo volunteers have offered to help us in 2008. I would like to intermingle as many local volunteers into that pool, experienced or not, so we can all learn, grow, and make the first and every LGRA Rodeo a great success. There will also be various events between now and our first rodeo that will require the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a member of our volunteer pool, or only wish to volunteer for a particular event, please contact me at volunteer@LibertyGRA.org.

Chris Maurizio
LGRA Volunteer Coordinator

Email Chris

January Trail ride is scheduled for January 7th
RSVP's closed on January 2nd

February Trail ride is scheduled for February 4th
RSVP's close on January 30th

Please dress warm.

Trail Ride Information

February 10, 2006

Cupid's Corral Dance At Pure Nightclub

Saturday, February 10th from 8pm to midnight at Pure Nightclub in Philadelphia. Admission is $10 for LGRA members, $15 for non-LGRA members. New members who join LGRA the night of this event will have their admission waived.

There will also be a general membership meeting at this venue at 7pm. Admission to the dance is $5.00 for members who attend the meeting.

LGRA Cupid's Corral Dance