There is one thing for certain at the Cattlemen’s Banquet – the entrée will be prime rib, and it will be excellent.
Other dependable things at the banquet? Elected officials – in this case Sen. Ellen Roberts and Rep. J. Paul Brown – lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation, organizers offer one of the most distinctive silent auctions at an area fundraiser, the brand quilts created by the La Plata County Cowbelles are a hot ticket and the dancing afterward,the music by the Wild Country Band, fills the dance floor.
Everyone who attends is always in high spirits – it’s a chance to catch up with old friends that these hard-working folks rarely get to see, and much of the money raised that evening goes to scholarships.
The auction is distinctive because of its many agriculturally oriented items, including care items for livestock, repairs for irrigation equipment and welding services. Almost 60 sponsors and generous members of the Cattlemen’s Association donated items for the silent auction.
The brand quilts are highly coveted, particularly if a family’s brand – or brands – is on it. Karen Baxter gets kudos for assembling them.
This year, Ken Buck once again switched gears from auctioning off livestock to running the bidding for a quilt in a spirited bidding war that eventually brought in $4,700. Buck had reminded the crowd that it went for $4,000 two years ago and $4,500 last year, and Ken and Pam Decker made sure the upward trend continued.
Fortunately, the Cattlemen had recruited two very tall scholarship recipients, Austin McMenimen and Michael Semler, to display the quilts, so everyone got a good look at them.
The Cowbelles sold raffle tickets for the second quilt, and Donna Sullivan was the lucky winner, although her husband, Chuck Sullivan, took some ribbing on that one. Since he didn’t draw the ticket, it would have been a tough maneuver to rig.
In a surprise move, Bill and Terrie Miller donated back a quilt they had won at the event several years ago, with funds raised to be donated to the scholarship fund in honor of Marvin Conrad, who died last year.
Apparently Karen Zink got the auction bug after buying the infamous Arc of History dinosaur head for her husband, Jerry Zink, for his 65th birthday, as she was determined to get that quilt, eventually paying $3,300. Dinosaurs were cold-blooded, so maybe she was looking for a Southwest Colorado-style warmer for it.
The scholarship has grown as people have honored mainstays of the ag community after their deaths. Sandy Young read a list of all the people who had been remembered this way, and it was a “Who’s Who” list for sure. I couldn’t write as fast as she talked, but a few of the names I heard included Lloyd Hess, Joe Hotter, Jim Mars, Stella Montoya, Art Isgar, Ruth Cole, Phyllis Lee, Bob Cooper, Merl Short and Lawrence Huntington.
La Plata County Fair royalty Naomi Wood and Rylie Wonderling added a glamour quotient and helped distribute numerous door prizes. Frank Daley, the president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, caught members up to date about what’s happening at the state level, and several other officers traveled from all over the state to be there.
The grand finale of the evening is the naming of the Cattleman of the Year, and this year’s honoree was Jerry Zink. In general, I feel a responsibility to give him a hard time, but on this instance, I may have to surrender to the fact that this was a well-deserved honor. In addition to coming from a longtime ranching family – his father, John Zink, was also accorded the honor – he built Sunnyside Meats, a humane slaughterhouse for area beef producers.
(It also explained why both daughters, Holly and Heidi, made an appearance at the banquet. It was Heidi Zink’s first time.)
So many congratulations, Jerry. I’ll catch you next time.
Kudos to Banquet Committee members Mae Morley; Ned and Barbara Jefferies; Trish and Larry Corman; Young; Sharon Nossaman; Debbie Willhelm; Jake Nossaman; Norma Conley; Penny Crawford; Melody Semler; Gary and Peggy Beebe; Wayne and Patti Buck; Gary Everett;, Kyle Beebe; Tom Compton; Shirley Engler; and Emma Shock.
HHH
After missing so many columns because I was either out or immersed in my fall of Saigon story, I’m very confused as to where I am on birthday greetings. Some people may be getting double wishes, and I may have missed some people’s big days, but here’s wishing the best to Nancy Carr, Peter Cunnion, Kelly Cunnion, Greg Drover, Katy Freiberger, Jan Postler, Steve Parker, Asher Smith, Kristin Smith, Eric Hjermstad, Megan Reid, Brandon Rolph, Cora Landgren, Jamie Nelson, William Crouch, Matt Pane, Thomas Dey, Christopher Larson, Donnie Wince, Jane Marentette, Kade Jackson, Bob Sexton, Collyn O’Brien, Greg Drover, Alex McLean, Virginia Pewterbaugh, Joe Wade Plunk, Rita Warfield, Charles McMillan, Brendan Roche, Darlene Cheesewright, Sandy Beebe, Clarice Huckins, Hillary Wolfe, Sherri Libby, Carl Hotter, Rinda Slack and Ann Norris.
HHH
I’ve been in a veterans kind of mode lately, first covering Fort Lewis College students Nick Brandau, Andrew Hopkins and Kade McDougall and their presentation comparing World War II, the Vietnam War and the global war on terror. It was certainly food for thought, not just about how we wage war, but about who we are as a nation.
The next Monday – April 27 – I came into work and was assigned a story to do what we in the journalism biz call “localizing,” taking a national (or in this case, international) story and finding an angle that pertains to La Plata County. In this case, I was to localize a story about the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Five veterans of the Vietnam War, including nurse Judy Dennis and John Malarsie, George Usinowicz, Joe Perino and Fred Riedinger, shared open and honest memories about the most difficult time of their lives. It was one of the most intense and meaningful stories I’ve ever reported.
So it seems like things really do come in threes, as now I’m reporting about a fundraiser to help the vets at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Grand Junction have access to recreational activities. Louise White has been raising money for Bowlers to Veterans Link for more than 25 years – even in the years when there wasn’t a bowling alley in La Plata County.
This year, White and her cohort in crime, ’er bowling, Janey Silver, are trying something new for the fundraiser they’re organizing under the auspices of the La Plata County chapter of the U.S. Bowling Congress.
Rather than having people make pledges based on how many pins they drop or bringing bowling-related items for sale, they’re asking people straight up to make donations or go out and raise money, and then bowl for free at Rolling Thunder Lanes at the Sky Ute Casino & Resort (apparently a recurring location in this particular column).
The bowling will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 16, but bowlers need to call 563-1707 to make their lane reservations by May 15.
If you’re a nonbowler but want to support the effort, mail your contribution to Hilda Burch, La Plat USBC manager, P.O. Box 1263, Ignacio, CO 81137.
HHH
It’s a ditto on the anniversaries from what I said about the birthdays, but best wishes go to Bill and Tamara Volz, Bill and Jan Postler, Randy and Molly Bondow, Joe and Dianne Milarch, Kevin Jones and Donna Suggs, Jim and Jane Marentette, Fred and Fran Rusk and Paul and Monica Broderick.
HHH
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