October 10, 2008

Dear Rodeo Families:

First off, I want to thank the Sonoita Rodeo Committee for the great job they did hosting us during their fair. I heard many positive comments about the beautiful buckles.

In regard to draw partners for the team roping, I want to remind any member who is in need of a draw partner for the spring rodeos to contact Director Duane Harrington to be placed on the agenda to go before the board of directors at the Florence Rodeo.

The association is in need of three more youth directors so any member who is interested in becoming a youth director or want to nominate a member will need to contact Rodeo Secretary Jodi Ivy prior to the Florence rodeo so they can be placed on the ballot.

Also, the Rope the Gold tickets will be ready at the Florence Rodeo. Members will be required to sell 20 raffle tickets at $20.00 each and the tickets will not be due back until the March rodeo in Globe. By having the tickets due by the March rodeo, the awards committee will then know how much will be available for the A & B finals awards. The board also decided that if a member would like to sell more than the required 20, for every additional $400.00 worth of tickets sold, the member will receive $100.00 of that money.

Our November rodeo will be here before we know it and the Florence Rodeo Committee is working hard on another great rodeo and will again be providing 2 all-around saddles. Make sure you designate the three events that you want to count toward the all-around on your entry form or if you have already submitted your entries, contact Rodeo Secretary Jodi Ivy before the Saturday performance begins.

I would encourage everyone to review the financial reports on the website. For those of you that are not aware of the costs facing the association, every rough stock out is costing $65.00, a total of $130.00 for both days. The contestant’s fee is $100.00 so the association is currently covering the remaining cost. Every timed event is costing the association $12.00 for a total of $24.00 for both days. The contestant’s fee is $25.00 so that does not leave much left for payout. Currently, we are using the association and office fee to offset the difference. This has reflected in a loss of approximately $2,000 at the St. Johns rodeo and about $3,000 from the Sonoita rodeo. The board of directors recently voted to raise the timed event entries from $25.00 to $35.00 for calves and steers and $25.00 to $30.00 for goats. Of course the 90 day waiting period must be observed before it takes effect but this will at least cover the cost of the stock and increase the payout.

On a more positive note, I was fortunate to witness a young lady win her first AJRA buckle in Sonoita. The culmination of two years of hard work and perseverance paid off for her. Seeing that smile on her face only served to reinforce my opinion that this is where we need to be with our kids. We continue to face challenging economic times so I commend each and every one of you for your commitment to your families and this association. We are fortunate to have so many wonderful people dedicated to providing a safe, structured environment for our kids to compete within and I want to thank the directors, drawn families and volunteers who step up each and every rodeo to ensure its success.

As always, if anyone has questions, comments or ideas on ways to improve our association, please don’t hesitate to contact me.



Sincerely, Clayton Bond



Clay Bond
President